COVID-19: Why Lawyers Are Essential Workers By Vincent Adodo, Esq.

Introduction

In order to forestall a countrywide spread of Coronavirus otherwise known as Covid-19, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, issued the Covid-19 Regulations 2020 pursuant to enabling powers conferred on him under the Quarantine Act 1926. Pursuant to the Covid-19 Regulations, the President imposed a lockdown on the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun States. Acting under the Public Health Law of their respective states, some State Governors have also issued similar instruments imposing lockdown, social and physical restrictions in their States.

Specifically, certain persons and institutions are exempted from the application of the Covid-19 Regulations and similar instruments. These are designated as persons or institutions providing essential services, such include health services, electricity workers, food providers, security agencies and financial institutions. In relation to justice administration, the Covid Regulations provides that Courts will sit during the lockdown only on matters that are urgent and time bound but it is silent on the status of legal practitioner who appear before these courts.

This piece advocates that lawyers are essential service providers and should be designated as such under the Covid-19 Regulations and similar instruments.

Fair hearing and legal representation

Nigeria is a democracy administered according to the Rule of Law. One of the components of the Rule of Law as propunded by A.V. Dicey is the existence of fundamental rights and that these will be adequately protected by the State. One of such fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 is the right to legal representation. Section 36(6)(c) of the Constitution invests in any person charged with the commission of a criminal offence the inalienable right to defend himself in person or by a legal practitioner of his choice. It must be stressed that this right is not subject to any exception or derogation under any law, not even under section 45 of the same Constitution.

Flowing from the above premise, every person arraigned before a Mobile Court for violation of any lockdown or social distancing rule under the Covid-19 Regulations or similar instruments is entitled to the services of a lawyer. The fact that the procedure before a Mobile Court is that of a summary trial does not detract from the mandatory constitutional requirement that such a trial must be fair. A trial cannot be fair unless a person accused is allowed to properly defend himself. Being a right enshrined in the Constitution, the entitlement to counsel in a criminal trial cannot be relegated or taken away by a law surbordinate to the Constitution itself.

Despite envisaging in section 45 that certain rights could be relegated to abeyance in a period of an emergency, the framers of the Constitution in their wisdom excluded the right to fair hearing (which includes the right to be represented by a lawyer) from such exception. Thus, as long as the various Mobile Courts set up to try offenders against the Quarantine Act or Covid-19 regulations or similar instruments exist, lawyers, both for the prosecution and defence, are essential to the proper functioning of these Courts.

It could be contended that the participation of defence lawyers in the proceedings of the Mobile Courts could delay or slow down the work of the mobile courts and the pace of progress made in the apprehension of violators of the Regulations, this is not the case given that there are several ways that a defence counsel can assist the Mobile Courts in speedy and just dispensation of justice without necessarily resorting to delay.

One of such methods is by invoking the plea bargain provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 or collaborate with the prosecutor to compound the offence in any other lawful manner. In addition, a defence counsel can help reduce the punishment of a defendant through his allocutus. In current times where most violations of lockdown regulations are induced by hardship and not willful disobedience, Justice can only be served where a Defendant is allowed reasonable opportunity to explore necesary constitutional safeguards.

Legal services and the legal profession are essential to the success of government’s fight against the spread of Covid-19. This is more apparent in view of the request to the Chief Justice of Nigeria by the President of the Federal Republic for commencement of speedy trial of pending criminal cases to enable decongestion of the various correctional centres across the country.

Human Rights Violations

Recent reports suggest that about 18 lives were lost through the brutality and recklessness of security operatives during the lockdown in the past one month. Such pathetic stories of killings of hapless citizens by security personnel could be averted. Since enforcement of lockdown is not a war, it should not be exclusively the business of uniformed persons. The designation of lawyers recommended by the Nigerian Bar Association as members of lockdown enforcement teams across the country would have been instrumental to ensuring the reduction of violations of human rights experienced so far.

Designating lawyers as essential workers and co-opting them into lockdown enforcement groups would go a long way in reducing incidents of human rights violations during the lockdown, thus salvaging the country’s already bad human rights image from further damage.

Economy

Given the fact that global economy is projected to nosedive post Covid-19 as now being evidenced in the crash of oil prices in the international market, Nigeria is not insulated from the looming global economic crisis. Given this sad reality, it has become imperative for government at all levels to harness all resources at their disposal towards managing the economic impact of Covid-19. The role of lawyers and courts in this regards cannot be downplayed.
It is common knowledge that the Federal Government has been recovering/repartrating huge amount of stolen funds from some foreign countries. Similarly, the Federal Government has in the past years recovered some illegally acquired government properties through the procedure of non-conviction based assets forfeiture. The proceeds of these exercises have helped to provide support for the country’s ailing economy.
The role of lawyers and courts in cushioning the impact of Covid-19 on the economy cannot in be downplayed. To this extent, lawyers and courts are indispensable at a period like this.

It is in the light of these circumstances that the new Post Covid-19 Justice Policy issued by the Hon. Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN which proposes an IT driven court system is commendable. Hon. Malami’s proactive disposition in this regards lends credence to the fact that courts and legal business must not, under any circumstance, be shut down given that the Rule of law cannot be extricated from a functional society.

Conclusion and Recommendation

The initiatives and efforts of the Federal Government so far in curbing the Covid-19 pandemic is commendable even though it is not yet uhuru.

Considering the fact that lawyers are crucial stakeholders in Government’s fight against Covid-19 and even more crucial in post Covid-19 stabilisation of the polity, it is humbly suggested that the Honourable Attorney of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN makes a case for the designation of lawyers as essential workers during the period of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Long live the legal profession.

Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Vincent Adodo, Esq.
Legal Practitioner