Rickey Tarfa, lawyers and media trial

RECENTLY a Newspaper in an editorial took a swipe at Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANS) for showing solidarity with one of their colleagues Rickey Tarfa (SAN) after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arrested him in the hallowed court premises. The newspaper criticised Tarfa and former Presidents of Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Joseph Daudu (SAN) and Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) amongst others.

Tarfa was arrested in court while performing his duties as a lawyer by the EFCC on the grounds that he was obstructing the course of justice by allegedly shielding two citizens of Benin Republic from justice. But in a press statement signed by the Head of Chambers John Odubela, the law firm of Rickey Tarfa &Co denied any wrong doing by him. The Lagos branch of the NBA in a media briefing by its Chairman, Martins Ogunleye condemned the manner Tarfa was arrested inside a court room in Lagos and subsequently detained, noting that Tarfa, a senior member of the Bar, was denied access to food, his lawyers and family members for almost two days. The NBA President Augustine Alege (SAN) waited for hours and was denied access to Tarfa.

The EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu also accused the legal profession of jeopardizing the war against corruption. He told a motley crowd that “protested” at his organization’s headquarters in Abuja that lawyers are the problem of EFCC. While Magu may be pardoned for playing to the gallery, he needs be reminded that lawyers cannot be stopped from practicing their profession or defending their clients as enshrined in the Nigerian constitution.

First members of the NBA would not allow the EFCC, under whatever guise, to stop lawyers from having unfettered freedom to practice their profession. Secondly the NBA and indeed the Nigerian judiciary would not stand by and watch as the nation appears to be sliding into civilian dictatorship where the rights of citizens are trampled upon with reckless abandon.

At the just concluded NBA NEC meeting in Jos, Plateau State, Alegeh in his speech to the gathering under the issue of Corruption among others said “The war against corruption is raging on several points. The NBA restates its zero tolerance for corruption policy as well as its commitment to work with FGN and all willing Agencies to contribute its quota in the battle to kill corruption before corruption kills Nigeria. We must also stress that the war against corruption must be fought within the ambit of the law and rule of law at all times be given primacy. The war against corruption can be won within the ambit of the law. There is no need to resort to any other means other than legal means to win the war against corruption.”

Alegeh added “ I have laboured to draw attention to this position in view of the erroneous view being wrongly peddled by some persons that lawyers in defending persons accused of corruption are aiding corruption. Far from it. Counsels have a duty and are trained to prosecute or defend. Whichever position they may take, they are carrying out legitimate duties and cannot be wrongly classified as persecuting or aiding corruption. It is laughable that an agency of Government would retain Counsel to prosecute persons accused of corruption but frown at Counsel representing such persons. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.”

Magu could have remembered that the Commission itself seven years ago warned against media trial. During the 2009 Annual NBA Conference in Lagos held at the Eko Hotel, Lagos between August 16th- 21st the then Executive Chairman of EFCC, Chief (Mrs.) Farida Waziri AIG (Rtd) in her remarks at the Lawyers In The Media (LIM) of NBA session with the theme: Crusade Against Corruption and The Effect of Trial By Media” noted the effects of media trial on the judicial process thus: “The judiciary is referred to as the last hope of the common man. It is the bastion or citadel of justices; it rests and carries out its functions on the pillars of rule of law, and public confidence. Anything that undermines public confidence in the judiciary is inimical to the judicial process. The media should be wary of this.

“Trials by the media of criminal matters, prejudices the minds of the populace and make them hold the court in contempt and dishonored where it ultimately reaches a conflicting or different verdict. More often than not, allegation of compromise and corruption are made against the judge. This is very unhealthy for the development of our legal system, and judicial process.

“The commission has also recently come under media trial. Its efficiency is now assessed not so much on the actual work done but on work which the media wants the public to believe that the commission ought to have done. Slow proceedings in the courts are placed at the door of the Commission. The media also wants the commission to investigate and prosecute certain individuals without which the commission would be considered as ineffective. Some of these individuals are already condemned by the media as guilty of corruption even before being charged to court. This approach negates all civilized principle and particularly the rule of law which we must all upload,” she warned.

The media must be objective and balanced in their reports. Also the EFCC should focus on presenting their case in court instead of conducting “media trial” of accused persons. This has denied them many convictions in the past because the energy that ought to have been focused on conducting investigations, like their counterparts overseas, is often wasted in undue dramatization of arrests and detentions of accused persons. Besides the EFCC not being above the law, must not violate the rights of Nigerians while carrying out their own duties.
Njoku, a lawyer is the director of Constitutional Watch (Conswatch)