A United Kingdom, UK, based human rights lawyer, Barrister Njoku Jude Njoku, has faulted the interpretation of laws by Nigerian judges in the ongoing trial of the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu.
Njoku, in a statement on Saturday, alleged that the judges that have been handling Kanu’s trial are misinterpreting laws written in clear English.
The lawyer suggested that the judges should undergo a refresher course on ‘judicial English’ to avoid further misinterpretation of the law.
In the statement titled ‘Nigerian Judges and the English Language: A Crisis in Comprehension that Imperils Justice’, Njoku argued that misinterpretation of the law has made it difficult for the IPOB leader to get justice.
He said, “What is unfolding in Nigerian courts today is nothing short of astonishing. We are confronted with a judiciary where laws written in clear English are mangled into absurdities by those entrusted with their interpretation. If truth be told, before many of our judges ascend the bench, they may need a refresher in basic English comprehension, and perhaps a mandatory industrial training stint in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, or Australia, so they can imbibe the nuances and subtleties of judicial English.
“Two clear and recent examples in the case of Nnamdi Kanu expose the depth of this crisis: Section 303(3)(c) of the ACJA 2015, Judges Refusing to Evaluate Evidence:
The law is unequivocal. Section 303(3)(c) mandates that in a no-case submission, the court must evaluate whether “the evidence so far led is such that no reasonable court or tribunal would convict on it”. This naturally demands judicial scrutiny of the cross-examination record. Yet, astonishingly, Justice Omotosho flatly refused to evaluate the devastating cross-examination conducted by Chief Kanu Agabi, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, Paul Erokoro, SANs, which shredded the credibility of the prosecution’s witnesses.
“How can a judge claim he will not weigh the evidence when the law compels him to do so? This is not an academic debate, it is a judicial duty. By refusing, the court stands in open violation of a key law in Nigeria, and in doing so, abandons justice at the altar of expediency.”
Continuing, Njoku said, “Section 122 of the Evidence Act, Failure to Take Judicial Notice of Repealed Laws:
Section 122 of the Evidence Act commands courts to take judicial notice of all laws duly enacted in Nigeria, including repeals. It is a safeguard to ensure no man is tried under a dead statute. Yet, both the Supreme Court (in remitting Kanu’s case) and Justice Omotosho (in his ruling on the no-case submission) failed to acknowledge the repeal of the Terrorism Prevention (Amendment) Act 2013 by the Terrorism Prevention and Prohibition Act 2022.
“This is not a minor oversight. It is a jurisdiction-terminating error. The settled law in Nigeria is that where a court fails to take judicial notice of a repealed statute, the entire trial collapses. That is the position of the Supreme Court in NNPC v. Fawehinmi (1998) 7 NWLR (Pt. 559) 598, where the apex court held that “failure to take judicial notice of a law or its repeal vitiates proceedings”.
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The UK-based lawyer declared that the Nigerian judicial system is in urgent need of English lessons.
He warned that unless that is done, justice will continue to be lost in translation.
“A Judiciary in Desperate Need of English Lessons: The conclusion is inescapable – what Nigeria is suffering is not merely a judicial crisis but a linguistic crisis in the judiciary. Laws written in plain English are twisted beyond recognition. Fundamental statutory mandates are ignored. Trials are prolonged on the strength of repealed laws.
“Until Nigerian judges learn to read, understand, and apply the English language in its ordinary meaning, justice will continue to be mocked in our courts. Mazi Nnamdi Kanu’s ordeal is a living example of this malaise.
“What Nigeria needs is not merely judicial reform, but judicial rehabilitation in comprehension. Otherwise, justice will remain forever lost in translation,” Njoku stressed.
