Legal Practice In Nigeria: Are Sureties More Important Than Lawyers? By: Hameed Ajibola Jimoh Esq.

pro bono to indigent persons who have been alleged to have committed one or more offences but could not afford to engage the services of a lawyer. More so, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)-herein after referred to as the Constitution- considers the offering of legal aid in section 46(4) of the Constitution and by virtue of the provisions of the Legal Aid Act, 2011. However, this privilege seems to have been abused by some indigent persons ungratefully, especially, the rendering of pro bono legal services by lawyers do not attract any recognition from the Nigerian government. No courage and no motivation for the carrying out of same. Many lawyers or some very few lawyers who put in efforts to carry out these pro bono legal services just like the writer of this paper does, do it as a way of serving God Almighty and as services to humanity. Nevertheless, those to whom such pro bono legal services are rendered at some occasions prove to be dubiously smart by even duping a lawyer and pretending not to even have money even the little sum, to pay for his services. At some occasions, the lawyer will even have to use his personal money to transport himself and even the client, file processes on behalf of the defendant, feed the defendant etc., and the whole case becomes his responsibility. More so, the attitude of the relatives of some of the defendants is disheartening to find some of them that where a lawyer decides to render services pro bono to a defendant then one or more of his relatives show up in the course of the trial, then, they make promises to pay the lawyer some allowances like his transport fare even if little. At the long run, they refuse to fulfill their promises perhaps because a lawyer is doing the case and their non-provision of the allowance would not discourage him from continuous services. Unfortunately, the defendant and or his relatives are able to provide money to a surety in order to secure freedom but to pay a lawyer is a mere impossibility! That is why this paper is written in order to draw the attention of learned colleagues to some of these scenarios as perhaps they might find one or few things to learn and or make use of. When a suspect has been arrested and brought before a police station, the next step is for the suspect to make provisions to secure a surety to bail him. What the writer of this paper has experienced in practice is that at many times, securing a surety is accompanied with challenges. Sometimes, the suspect might not have any family member to stand as surety for him or they might be available but are not qualified to stand as surety. So, they have to seek an external person to help. Though, most importantly, no one ought to stand as surety for someone unknown to him because of the consequences where the bailed suspect jumps bail or refuses to comply with bail the conditions. However, perhaps the economic challenges associated with majority of Nigerians have compelled some individuals to be available as prospective sureties, thereby turning the surety to a business venture. Some of them have landed property with valid documents, some of them are civil/public servants, some are corporate bodies or non-governmental agencies, among others. When consulted, some of them request for a very high sum of money to stand surety in order to bail the suspect, such as N50,000.00, N100,000.00 and above or thereabout. Therefore, in order for the suspect or defendant to secure his bail, he and or his relatives search around or even to borrow or secure loan in order to pay the surety. Many times, some of those sureties are ill-mannered in their approaches and threaten not to stand or withdraw their surety if they are not paid or not paid on time. All these plans, many times, even occur in the presence of the lawyer or the suspect and or his relatives would even inform the lawyer as an excuse from paying him his legal fees that they have paid such a high amount of money to the surety and he (the lawyer) should show them mercy by not charging or demanding any money from them. The most surprising thing is that, the high fees are paid to such surety even with ‘I beg!’. Sometimes, the suspect is charged to court the next day he was bailed out and that marks the end of the bail, so, he has to seek the surety or another surety who fulfils the conditions for bail laid down by the court, and thereby double-pay within a short time, else, he would be remanded in prison. So, because of the urgency involved, and the fact that generally, no one would like to be detained in cell or prison custody or to sacrifice his freedom because of money, and since the persons rendering the surety-services are also aware of this fact, their charges are always at the high side accompanied with rude and intimidating manners, as displayed by some of them, that if they are not paid the amount charged, then, they would not stand or would withdraw their surety. Furthermore, at some occasions, a lawyer representing the suspect at such police station is appealed to either by the suspect or his family members sometimes or many times, in a bid to win the heart of the lawyer or to influence his dilemma condition already created, the lawyer is informed that the life and freedom of his client lies on him and even ask him whether he does not trust his client?! They even use God’s name to beg him to help professionally with no pay! Then, the temperature of such lawyer rises high! So, he has to sacrifice his own professional fees! Many of these occasions, especially, where the lawyer declines to represent the suspect or defendant because he has not been paid, the suspect and or his relatives look at the lawyer as a wicked person and continue to appeal to him to yield to their request. In fact, the relationship with such suspect becomes unfriendly! Nevertheless, the writer of this paper is of the plea to lawyers not to submit themselves to any of those pressures from either the suspect or the suspect’s relatives in relation to his fees. This in the view of the writer of this paper is to the safe-guard of a lawyer placing the liability of his client who he does not know than in relation to his professional services to him and no more, and then, bring such liability on himself as a lawyer and then put himself and his family members in avoidable financial troubles. In the submission of the writer of this paper, the surety is not as important as a lawyer in a criminal trial more so, considering the professional roles played by a lawyer in the defence of the suspect or defendant. So, lawyers should be the ones to lay down their standard and enforce same. More so, pro bono only relates to professional fees and not that the lawyer should place the financial burdens of his clients upon himself despite the country’s economic recession. Though, there are those persons who could not afford such legal services even a token. For those persons, it would be the lawyer’s understanding that he is absolutely rendering pro bono legal services to them and not in the situation of those who have or could try but pretend not to have. Those are the dangerous clients and a lawyer has to be very smart in relating with them without violating professional rules. Finally, considering the above narrations and notwithstanding the personal submission of the writer of this paper that a lawyer is more important than a surety, it still remains the question that the writer of this paper is asking ‘whether a surety is more important than a lawyer?!’ e-mail: hameed_ajibola@yahoo.com]]>