RIGHT TO FAIR HEARING: AN INTRODUCTION

Hello friends! It’s been a while, I know. I apologize for keeping you waiting all these weeks. The twitter ban slowed things down for us. But we are back with our simple human right lessons for you to read and learn. Thank you for your patience.
This month, we are going to discuss the Right to Fair Hearing, and I will be doing a simple introduction here. My partners will bring you more interesting details in the following weeks. Stay tuned.

So, what is this fair hearing sef? Outside law, the word ‘fair’ simply means free from favoritism or bias or deception; in line with established standards or rules. Fair hearing simply means a judicial proceeding that is conducted in such a manner as to conform with fundamental concepts of justice and equality. In other words, due process of law should be followed: one should be given the opportunity to present evidence to support his or her case and to discover what evidence exists against him or her before an impartial tribunal. If a person is arrested, he or she should be promptly informed of the charge brought against him and be given a chance to defend himself.

Let’s see what the Constitution says about fair hearing. Section 36 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides as follows: 

(1) In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.  
(2) Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of this section, a law shall not be invalidated by reason only that it confers on any government or authority power to determine questions arising in the administration of a law that affects or may affect the civil rights and obligations of any person if such law-  
(a) provides for an opportunity for the person whose rights and obligations may be affected to make representations to the administering authority before that authority makes the decision affecting that person; and (b)contains no provision making the determination of the administering authority final and conclusive. 
(3) The proceedings of a court or the proceedings of any tribunal relating to the matters mentioned in subsection (1) of this section (including the announcement of the decisions of the court or tribunal) shall be held in public.  
(4) Whenever any person is charged with a criminal offence, he shall, unless the charge is withdrawn, be entitled to a fair hearing in public within a reasonable time by a court or tribunal.

It is terribly sad and shameful that the Nigerian police often charge suspects with serious offences just to have them detained, but take no step in charging them to court or prosecute the case. Many have been detained for years for offences they never committed while some have died in custody. 

Let’s look at the interesting facts of Alade v. the Federal Republic of Nigeria. On 9th March, 2003, Sikiru Alade was arrested in Lagos by a plain clothes police officer, who did not disclose his identity or the reason for the arrest. He was charged to the Magistrate Court on 15th May, 2003 under “holding charge”. In case you’re confused, holding charge is a process by which a suspect is brought before a Magistrate Court that lacks jurisdiction over the offence for which the suspect has been detained. You can guess what happened right? The Magistrate could not order his release, and had no option but to remand him in custody on the basis of holding charge, without determining whether there were sufficient grounds for his detention.

Alade was held in Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison in Apapa, Lagos, for more than 9 years WITHOUT BEING RETURNED TO COURT. 9 years of the man’s life, gone! On 18th September, 2012, following the judgment of the ECOWAS Court, he was released. 

Alade is not the only person who has suffered this predicament. Many have suffered, and many are still suffering the same, or worse. That is why we can never stop having these kinds of discussion. We will keep talking about it until things get better.

Next time, we will discuss fair hearing in more details. 

Comments

  1. LouisJuly 9, 2021 at 9:04 AM

    Another interesting article as always, unfortunately this right to fair hearing is never in full effect. But at least, one is learning.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

SOME COMMON TERMINOLOGIES IN HUMAN RIGHT

Before I tell you about the rights you are entitled to as a Nigerian citizen, it’s important that I explain some terms, to make sure you understand our subsequent discussions as we make progress. There are many terms in Human Rights Law, But I’ll explain just a few which are very common. However, do not hesitate to ask questions wherever you need clarifications.  HUMAN RIGHTS : Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms to which human beings are entitled; the rights people are entitled to simply because they are human beings, irrespective of their citizenship, nationality, race, ethnicity, language, sex or abilities. They ensure people can live freely in the society. They ensure that people are treated fairly and with dignity, not like slaves or animals. Just because you’re a human being, you’re entitled to these rights and they are inalienable; they cannot be taken away. INALIENABLE :  Simply put, it means something that cannot be taken away. Human rights cannot be taken ...
Read more

RIGHT TO LIFE IN NIGERIA; CAPITAL PUNISHMENT AND EUTHANASIA.

Nigeria is a state rich in human resources, cultural diversity, religious animosity, electoral violence, corruption and such other favourable wahalas which stand Nigeria out amongst the good Nations of this world. (Sarcasm intended). But perhaps one other area which Nigeria has really stepped up its game and is working overtime on, is improvement in the manner, and increase in the number of human rights abuses daily. After the now celebrated “Lekki shooting,” we can agree that Nigeria has done enough to deserve recognition as a top human right abusing state. Kudos to us on this. On the other hand, so many Nigerians are either misinformed or not informed at all about their rights. In comes theblogspotwithfifi to see if she can help us in this regard. (That is if Nigerians will even read). This week laidis, we are very briefly considering issues which reasonably emerge from a discussion on human rights. These include the burning issue of capital punishment and euthanasia. Ngwanu lets di...
Read more

Freedom of Thought, Conscience and Religion.

Image
Have you ever wondered whether the fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution apply to us at all as citizens of Nigeria, abi we are just walking around like zombies? I think about it a lot. Imagine the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; a very interesting concept, yet we cannot enjoy it. It’s either the government is clamping down on us, religious extremists think it’s their right to kill ‘infidels’, or trolls who have established their thrones on social media won’t let us be. What does this right entail? To what extent can you exercise it? Who are the violators and how do they go about their evil ways? The Constitution in section 38 (1) provides for secularity in Nigeria, guaranteeing the people’s right to religious freedom including freedom to change religion or belief and manifest and propagate one’s religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance. So this right is in two aspects: * The right to hold or change religious or other beliefs. Thi...
Read more