A man was complaining the other day about how the Nigerian Armed Forces forcefully and illegally took his landed property in the Maitama area of Abuja. For those that are not conversant with Abuja, Maitama is a high-brow area of Abuja, it is the “Ikoyi” of Abuja so any property in that area must be worth hundreds of millions of Naira if not billions.
Some people were advising the man to go to court and sue the military to reclaim his property and the man who is quite enlightened asked his advisers; “going to court and suing the armed forces is to what end”? After spending a huge sum of money dragging a court case for years and the court finally grants him judgment how do they enforce the judgment against the military, which court bailiff or policemen can boldly go to the land which the military guards every day to kick out the military men from the property.
As a lawyer, I saw reasons in his argument for his reluctance to go to court and why he does not want to waste his time and resources going to court. Rather, he has been applying diplomacy and calling forth anyone who can intercede on the matter to intercede on his behalf.
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This is The major problem bedeviling the Nigerian Judicial system. The problem of the enforcement of court judgments.
This issue has made a lot of persons lose faith in the Nigerian judiciary which ought to be the last hope of the common man. Aggrieved persons who know that they have a good case and should approach the judiciary to grant them the justice they deserve are always reluctant in doing that because they feel even when they have been granted justice by the court, the enforcement of that justice becomes another issue. Enforcement becomes a difficulty especially when the defendant is a government agency, top government official(s) or law enforcement agency, or other government owned institutions or parastatals.
For instance, how do you enforce a judgment against the military in a country like Nigeria where the military think they are more powerful than everybody put together in the society. Which court bailiff or police can enter the military barracks or military settlement or even the home of a military man to serve in court process or to enforce court judgment without the fear of being intimidated or being assaulted by the military.
How can you also enforce a judgment against government parastatals or agencies?
Most times when citizens sue law enforcement agencies for fundamental human rights enforcement and judgment is granted in their Favour, the issue becomes the enforcement of that judgment.
When the court mandates a law enforcement agency or its agent to pay a citizen a particular sum as damages for the breach of their fundamental human rights the problem becomes getting their law enforcement agency or its agent to pay.
The police, the FRSC, the VIO, the customs/immigration, the EFCC, the DSS, the armed forces, and all other paramilitary/ law enforcement agency are all guilty of flaunting court orders and refusing to obey court judgments or refusing court judgment to be enforced against them.
If we must get it right, if we must restore the faith of the citizens in the judicial system and process, the government agencies and government officials must learn to obey court judgments and let there be full enforcement of court orders to the latter against any person no matter your status or standing in the society.
We have all witnessed how law enforcement agencies and government officials flaunt court orders with so much impunity. Law enforcement agencies are fond of disobeying court orders to grant a suspect in their custody bail or release the suspect even when the court has ordered bail or ordered them to release the suspect. The DSS is always handy in cases like this, especially when the case is politically motivated.
How can an aggrieved person whose fundamental human rights have been trampled upon enforce the judgment he got against an agency like the DSS, an agency that feels they are bigger than courts or not bound by regular rules of the land?
Top government officials must be ready to subject themselves to the judicial system and also advise their subordinates to do the same too so that citizens won’t have any reason to engage in self-help and jungle justice or to be taking laws into their own hands to fight for themselves if the judiciary can’t fight for them.
Enforcing judgments against individuals or private institutions is not always the problem but the problem comes with enforcing judgments against government agencies or top government officials or law enforcement agencies. Which law enforcement agency can you use to enforce a judgment against a government agency which is also owned by the government.
The principle that No one is above the law should be the watchword. Every person, every institution, and every agency should subject themselves to the dictates of the judiciary that has been charged with explaining the law and serving justice to every one according to whichever anyone deserves.