Dear JUSUN: Remember King Pyrrhus of Epirus.

According to an ancient Malayalam proverb _”Eliye pedichu illam chudaruthu”_ meaning _"Don't burn your house to smoke out a rat”_

As the nation burns there is a need to dispassionately reevaluate the propriety of the JUSUN shutdown. The victory JUSUN seeks is under threat by greater considerations. A victory at all cost now, may mean a loss for the Country.

A Pyrrhic victory is a victory that is not worth winning because so much is lost to achieve it. It is a victory that inflicts such a devastating toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat. 

The phrase is named after King Pyrrhus of Epirus whose story serves as a lesson to everyone throughout history.

Pyrrhus was a Greek King who ruled about two hundred years before the birth of Christ. He was a great General and tactician loved by his people and feared by his opponents. Pyrrhus lived life to the fullest. He was even married 5 times. He was a charismatic and brilliant leader who enjoyed the company of intellectuals.

Among other noble qualities, King Pyrrhus inspired and encouraged his men on the battlefield, he would often fight with them in the thickest of the action.

King Pyrrhus is regarded as one of the greatest commanders the world has ever seen.

The historian Plutarch wrote that Pyrrhus came second only to Alexander the Great. It is therefore ironic that Pyrrhus is remembered today more as a symbol of failure than for all his military successes which included regaining the throne of Epirus after he was deposed, forging alliances with powerful rulers like Ptolemy 1 (later Pharaoh of Egypt), creating an empire greater than his forbears could have dreamt of. He even became the King of Macedonia.

Pyrrhus' two most significant victories against the Romans: one at Heraclea, where he was significantly outnumbered, and another at Ausculum were feats of Pyrrhus’ superior military ability. These victories however came at a very steep price because Pyrrhus lost most of his most loyal and skilled fighters. In the end, the victory was as costly as a defeat.

In response to congratulations for his victory over the Romans after the battle at Ausculum, Pyrrhus remarked

_"Ne ego si iterum eodem modo vicero, sine ullo milite Epirum revertar."_ Rendered by Plutarch as

_”If we are victorious in one more battle with the Romans, we shall be utterly ruined"_

When Pyrrhus returned from Sicily, the Romans had regrouped and he found himself facing a superior Roman army under Manius Curius Dentatus.

In 272 BC, a few years later, King Pyrrhus was unceremoniously killed in a street fight with a soldier. He was hit on the head by a roof tile thrown by the soldier’s mother.

As we proceed into the 4th week of the JUSUN shutdown in support of financial autonomy or autotomy, all indices show that this protracted shutdown of the halls of justice may yield a *Jusunic victory*.

This will be the case if the Courts remain shut down.

In this battle for autonomy, JUSUN has violated a cardinal rule of engagement; that the weak and the vulnerable must be protected at all cost.

In other words, as the faceoff with the Executive draws on with no real end in sight, the helpless masses and everyday people are the true casualties. What use is a judiciary devoid of public confidence?

Now is the time for JUSUN to return to the drawing board and re-strategize because the industrial action is a win-win for judicial staff and the Executive- the Judiciary staff get a paid vacation while the Executive gets a blank check to act without the interference of the judiciary.

Without the Judiciary, Governors have become Executive Administrators. JUSUN should learn from Pyrrhus, the sanctity of your population is equally and even more important than the battle at the battlefront.

Many argue that JUSUN as an association is only fighting for the interests of its members which merely coincides with the issue of judicial finance. An examination of their antecedents should bear this out.

What has JUSUN done to address the problem of corruption in the judiciary? What has JUSUN done to address unethical conduct of its members? Our brethren in JUSUN should tell us, financial autonomy will make the court staff and bailiffs resume at 8 am? Or whether the Judiciary will return to its old ways of delay and deferment of justice. After this paid vacation, will the Bench still proceed on its usual vacation? Will the judiciary finally protect the interests of the common man or will the courts continue to grant long detention orders against Nigerians on the strength of ex-parte applications by the Police, EFCC, ICPC, DSS and other ‘acronymus’ agencies?

Another voiceless casualty of the JUSUN shutdown is public confidence in the judiciary. Never in the history of this country has the public confidence and trust in the judiciary been at an all-time low. Isn't it a sign of the failure of the judiciary that Nigerians have been able to survive for almost a month without the judiciary? How are disputes being resolved?

In the book of Luke 14: 28-31, Jesus captured the lessons from Pyrrhus perfectly when He asked

_"Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it? Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This man could not finish what he started to build. Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand?"_

The principle espoused above was as true 2000 years ago as it is today. As Lawyers, we communicate through the hierarchy of principles because we are creatures of precedent.

My simple advice to JUSUN and those of us egging them on is: Remember King Pyrrhus of Epirus.

- By LegalistIQ.

legalistiq@gmail.com

BABA IJESHA AND THE POSITION OF THE LAW.

People have to know the law. They have to understand it for what it is. Law and justice are roller plates of the same chain. While they may sometimes be inadequate or even depart from the truth due to technicalities or burden of proof, they are the golden threads that sustain a less problematic society. 

Nigerians dissipate too much negative energy arguing or, using a better word, pontificating about law they know very little about. The law and the court which is the Temple of Justice are hardly platforms for preconceived notions about the outcome of any matter up for determination. The process is designed to attain justice on the merits of evidence available in each case. 

Those who have been to any court in Nigeria must have seen a statute called Lady Justice. Her right hand holds a sword and the left holds a scale. It epitomizes what constitute law and Justice. Law is made with no particular person in mind either for incriminatory or exculpatory considerations. Law respects no one (except you have immunity) and justice serves the purpose of righting wrongs no matter whose ox is gored. 

The statute you see in courts is blindfolded against partiality. She doesn’t see the status or wish to lend sympathy for the person facing a criminal offence before her. She is blindfolded so that she will be oblivious of unnecessary emotions and mind games in the process of dispensing justice. She will strike with the sword once guilt is pronounced. 

The scale in her hand is for weight and measure. The commodity placed on the scale is called EVIDENCE or PROOF. The scale must tip in a certain way to leave the symbol of justice without reasonable doubt about the guilt or culpability of a criminal. 

It’s always a difficult venture to dissect and determine a case before it is heard in court. In fact, the law is always on the side of an accused person from the onset. The accused is PRESUMED INNOCENT until his guilt is proved beyond reasonable doubt. That is why police may grant a suspect administrative bail pending further investigation or preparation of a charge in a court of law. Why keep a suspect in custody when it is presumed that he might not be guilty? It is better for 9 criminals to escape Justice than punishing a man who may turn out to be innocent. Bail is not absolution from guilt. It is just a process in furtherance of the concept of presumption of innocence. Courts too do grant bail except for capital offences which may still be bailable in cases of exceptional circumstances. For example, a dying or very ill accused person may be admitted to bail on medical grounds even though he’s facing a charge that is punishable by death. 

The emotional component of our hearts will say Baba Ijesha is as guilty as hell. For rape? No. There is no evidence of rape at all. For attempted rape? Possibly depending on what the CCTV captured. If he had set in motion actions that sufficiently suggest he would have had sexual intercourse with the girl in question, it is safe to slap a charge of attempted rape on him, particularly if he was touching the girl inappropriately and has himself demonstrated readiness for an intercourse. For indecent assault? Yes. 

INDECENT ASSAULT is defined as “rubbing against someone for sexual gratification or groping someone for sexual gratification or touching an individual on any part of their body in a sexual manner”. As long as there is no penetration of the V by the P, it is not rape. Rape is defined as “having unlawful carnal knowledge (sexual intercourse) of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear of harm, or by means of false act, or, in case of a married woman, by personating her husband” (Section 367 and Section 358 of the Criminal Code). 

Facts that we know so far suggest that the foster mother of the girl child was watching Baba Ijesha on CCTV touching the girl inappropriately. She and others watching with her in a neighbour’s house could not wait until Baba Ijesha completed his act of gross indulgence (if they had waited till he raped that girl, they would definitely become criminally negligent to protect a child from rape). So Baba Ijesha’s lewd act is indecent assault. If that is the position of the police, it is the correct position. Section 360 of the Criminal Code prescribes two years imprisonment for the offence of indecent assault. The position of the Child Rights Act is stricter. It prescribes 14 years imprisonment for any form of sexual exploitation of a child other than rape. 

I’ve read stuff suggesting Statute of Limitation has caught an earlier alleged unlawful act of Baba Ijesha on the girl when she was 7 years old. If a man has sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 13, the offence is defilement which is punishable by life imprisonment under Section 218 of the Criminal Code. Except Baba Ijesha makes a direct and voluntary confession that he defiled the girl back then or except the girl’s family kept forensic evidence of the defilement (doubtful if not impossible), the allegation will not stand. 

Criminal offences are not affected by limitation statutes in Nigeria. In countries where it applies, it applies mainly to minor offences. If crimes are statute-barred, people can commit serious offences, disappear till the limitations kicked in and then come back as free men. No! You can be tried for any offence if evidence is available that you committed it, the period notwithstanding. 

Nigerians should not get carried away by emotions that may flow from Baba Ijesha’s release on bail. He’s entitled. The important thing is that the case is not covered up. He should have his days in court and if found guilty, be punished. 

Another issue I’ll like to address is the evidence in the public space. Did Baba Ijesha confess? Yes. He confessed to molesting the girl. “What I did is bad...it’s very bad to molest her, I know”, he said at 3.41’ of the widely circulated video recording. That confession can be used to contradict him if he gave extra-judicial statement to the police denying the allegations. Was the confession made under duress? Hard to tell. Baba Ijesha did not bear any sign of beating but defence lawyers may point to his torn shirt to push a position that he must have been harassed prior to the video being recorded. 

Take home: Nigerians should stop fighting themselves over this issue. Baba Ijesha did a disgraceful and reprehensible act. He deserves all the opprobrium and outrage. He deserves a stiff punishment. But unlike us, law is patient and will act a mechanism for determining the case on the merits. 

Protect your children from predators. Pay more attention to their emotional well-being. Be a parent your child can open up to. The girl child is not the only one endangered. Boys too are molested

Anonymous.

Photo Credit: India Today Group Digital