Lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana, at the weekend, gave a graphical revelation of how his late friend and senior colleague, Chief Ganiyu Oyesola Fawehinmi (SAN) through subtle blackmail, caused the authorities to stop hanging pictures of president or state governors in court rooms.
Falana told THISDAY that in what seemed like a drama at the Lagos High Court some years back, Fawehinmi had told the presiding Judge in a libel case instituted against him (Falana) by then ex-military head of state, General Olusegun Obasanjo that merely sighting the picture of the then military administrator of Lagos State, Col. Raji Rasaki, hanging on the wall behind the Judge, he was sure he would not get justice since he was caught in a litigation with a general.
He said the Judge was caught unawares and had to adjourn the case. Since then, the photographs of state governors disappeared from court rooms and were replaced with the coat of arms.
Falana who shared some of the insightful and intimate moments he had with the late lawyer and activist said one of the strengths of Fawehinmi as a practising lawyer was his ability to aptly read the mood of the court and on the basis of that, advance the kind of arguments that would naturally enhance his chances in court.
Citing several instances where he claimed Fawehinmi had employed what he described as “sheer blackmail” to see through his ways in court, Falana said Fawehinmi stood out as one lawyer whose cases were rarely struck out for technical defects, except on grounds of law.
Falana said: “There was an instance when General Obasanjo wanted to go to the United Nations; the Committee for Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) issued a pamphlet on why he was not a fit and proper person for the post of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. So, I travelled to New York to distribute the pamphlets and I succeeded in putting at least, two copies in the pigeon hole of every member states of the United Nations.
“Of course, General Obasanjo sued us for libel- Gani was our lawyer. We got to the Lagos High Court for the trial of the case on one particular morning- fine morning. And when we were sitting in the bar, Gani called me and said Femi; this case will not go on today. I said why, Chief? He said, just wait and watch me and the judge. About 10 minutes after, the Judge came in and the case was called. The General was going to call his witness when Gani raised some objections: not to the case or to the appearance of the witness and neither was he challenging the competence of the case.
“But he asked the Judge to look at the photograph of the governor of Lagos State- the military governor of Lagos State behind him, terrorising him. Of course, the Judge looked at his face and said: “So, what?” Gani said, no, My Lord, this man is a retired general and this one is a Colonel in the army and that’s the photograph of Raji Rasaki - My Lord, I am not comfortable. I mean, that is the military governor of Lagos State and how can they be hanging his photograph on your head? We can’t get justice in this court. No, it cannot work. There will be influence- dangerous influence between the plaintiff and the military governor of the state who is on your head sir.
“The Judge said, but Chief, the thing has been hung there for years, so, what is the problem? He said no, My Lord, it questions the concept of separation of power…in your court, the photograph of a military governor? My lord, this is to intimidate us. Of course, the court had to rise because nobody could defend it and it caught the judge unawares.
“And that was how all the photographs were removed, not just from that court, but from all the courts. Gani, no doubt was a legal icon because that led to the removal of the photograph of the President or Governor from our courts. And what we have had since then is the logo of the republic. That incident however gave us time to prepare our case,” Falana said.
In another instance, Falana told of how he and Fawehinmi were being taken to court during one of their brushes with security agents and by help of blackmail, Fawehinmi secured for them, the bail they would have ordinarily been denied.
“There was a day we were being taken to court and he then asked whether we should pack our things and the prosecutor said, no, don’t pack your things. Now, when we were asking for bail, Gani had to tell the court that the prosecutor was so sure that we were going to return to the cell that he asked us not to pack our things as my lord, you and the prosecutor had both met. And as it appears, we are going back to be locked up again. The judge was forced to ask the prosecutor: “Did you say that?” But it was true and the man admitted. That was how we got bail,” he said.
Fawehinmi died Saturday, September 5 after months of battle with cancer of the lungs. His final journey home has been fixed for Tuesday, September 15 after almost a week of pre-final burial arrangements. He was survived by two wives and 14 children, some of whom are successful doctors and lawyers.
- Blogger Comment
- Facebook Comment
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(
Atom
)
0 comments:
Post a Comment