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Law & Justice
Mr. Dele Awokoya is a consummate lawyer with 31 years post-call experience. He had his pupilage at the Chambers of Chief Gani Fawehinmi where he gained considerable experience and honed his skills in advocacy before setting up his law firm, Awokoya, Awokoya & Co. In this interview with KENNY ODUNUKAN, he speaks on Dele Giwa murder case, the new Evidence Act and criminal prosecution in the country among other issues. Excerpts.
Monday, December 30, 2013
National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Let’s remove immunity clause
As a lawyer who had his pupilage at the Gani Fawehinmi chambers in the early 80s’, what is the most exciting case you handled in the law firm before you set up your firm? First and foremost, I will say that most of the cases were monumental in themselves. So, I cannot point or single out any particular one as the most exciting. I can’t really identify one as landmark. The Dele Giwa’s case was a landmark in itself and many cases like that. What was the experience like during Dele Giwa’s matter? The experience we had during those days was that we felt that some people were responsible for Dele Giwa’s assassination and it was important that all evidence and personnel be brought into focus towards ensuring that justice was meted out to the perpetrators of the offence. Unfortunately, the persons perceived to have perpetuated the crime are still not apprehended till now and we hope by the grace of God that the perpetrators are brought to book. We also took a bold step to mention the names of the alleged perpetrators. All I can say for now is that the Dele Giwa‘s assassination was a landmark crime committed against the fourth estate of the realm which Dele Giwa personified. So my take is that that case must be revisited and perpetrators must be brought to book. Do you ever regret working in Gani Fawehinmi chambers as a result of constant intimidation and harassment by the police and security operatives? Could you share your experience at that time? I was never intimidated at any point in time. This is because when Chief Gani Fawehinmi addressed you in the office, he gives you courage and when you are doing anything, you know you are supported with the law and once you are supported by the law, you know nothing can stand on way to achieving your ways. The Nigerian Gays and other people of eccentric sexuality are increasingly advocating their sexual rights, although the National Assembly has passed a bill prohibiting the act, what is your view on the trend?
Awokoya
First and foremost, I will address it from a religious point of view, most of our religious organisation in Nigeria frowned at the concept of gay talk less of gay marriages therefore I am against homosexuality in the country. It is my view that our freedom of choice is absolute and should be in accordance to societal norms and practices. When you look at homosexuality from social perspective, you will find out that our society also frowned at it and considered it highly immoral. So if the legislators attempt to consider the proposal of gays in our country, it will definitely not be in the interest of the Nigerian people and their culture. So my advice for the gays is for them to be re-orientated in the fashion God wants as he set it down in the Bible and I think they should be made to understand these points clearly. How will you react to the emerging consolidation of the Nigerian legal market with the merger of law firms in the country? As far as I am concern, partnership is the ideal style of operating for most law firms. It is in consonance with change and contemporary law prac-
tices. My take is that so long as the economy of the country improves, we will certainly have such kind of partnership in our country. Law partnership firm is the key to any successful law firm. If we want our firms to outlive us, then we must align ourselves with the prevailing world order which is partnership. I must also add that the bad economic situation of Nigeria has hampered the successful running of the law partnership firms in Nigeria. If the economy is bad, lawyers cannot combine resources to create the legal framework that will enable sustainable legal partnership firms. If the economy is bad, it will be difficult to project the various law firms in the ways they should run. So we need to emphasize on the importance of good economy in order to enhance
THE DELE GIWA MURDER CASE SHOULD BE REVISITED AND PERPETRATORS MUST BE BROUGHT TO BOOK
a good working environment for most law partnership firms. You were one of the lawyers who faulted the Evidence Act, particularly in relation to law of defamation and computer-generated evidence at a seminar organised by G.M Ibru & Co last year. Have you altered your position on the issue? Law is not static, law must also change. We are in a computer -age economy and the law must adapt itself to the computer age. There are things which the computer age has now introduced; the law must adapt to the trend of these developments. So the Evidence Act must be amended to reflect the changes in the computer-driven economy. If you are to propose amendments to criminal law in the country, what innovations will you suggest to the lawmakers? There are many amendments I would to propose, but first and foremost it is the police that must be re-orientated, it is the police that have that constitutional responsibility of detecting and solving crime. That aspect of police in the administration of justice system