FEATURE ARTICLE

Fr Pat Amobi ChukwumaWednesday, July 29, 2015
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ORDER IN COURT!

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he court is said to be the last hope of the common man. How truthful is this assertion? The magistrate presides over in the Magistrate Court while Judges preside over in the High Court, Appeal Court and Supreme Court. I have been in the Magistrate Court and High Court many times as Plaintiff or Defendant. I am yet to appear in the Appeal and Supreme Courts. Whenever I have any legal, moral or financial appeal to make, I shall proceed to the Appeal Court because appeal is appeal. On the other hand, if I become supreme in my life, I shall head to the Supreme Court. Time ticks.

I had a dramatic experience the first time I went to court. As soon as we sat down at the bench a loud knock was heard. The court clerk shouted, "Court!" We all stood erect like trees. Silence prevailed everywhere as if we were at the graveyard. I wanted to cough, but out of fear of breaking the silence I swallowed everything. However, I ended up sneezing. The magistrate threw a warning look at me as she bowed at us and we all sat down. I was waiting to be summoned to say the opening prayer because I was in my clerical attire. There was none. Instead the clerk called up case number one. I asked myself, "So prayers are not said in the court to start proceedings?" However, I made the Sign of the Cross and said some Ejaculatory Prayers silently. Immediately I remembered something I forgot to tell my lawyer. I proceeded to where he was sitting among the lawyers at the bar. To my greatest surprise, I received a great shock when the magistrate barked at me like a dog. She shouted, "Who is that unlearned man? Please get out of the bar!" I retorted, "What do you mean? Please do not insult me. I am not an illiterate. I studied Philosophy and Theology to Master's Degree." At this instance, my lawyer got up and intervened. Then I calmed down and took my seat behind the bar. I was happy within me for at least expressing my ego, even though I am not egocentric.

The court proceedings continued. The lawyers stood up lawfully one after the other to defend their clients. The Magistrate who came that day was a woman. She addressed one of the lawyers and he responded, "Yes Sir." From behind I raised my hand and shouted, "Point of correction!" The magistrate frowned at me and asked, "Who is that layman talking?" I answered her that I am not a layman but a cleric. I told the court, "A woman should be addressed 'Yes Madam" and not 'Yes Sir.' A woman should be addressed with the feminine gender while a man should be addressed with the masculine gender. Is there no English grammar and syntax in the court?" The people in the court laughed and the air was filled with noise. The court clerk shouted, "Order in court!" I was charged with court contempt. I quietly sat down with question marks all over my face.

As the court proceedings were going on, another lawyer stood up and addressed the magistrate as "Your worship." Again my head started scratching me and I nearly ran mad. Without raising my hand, I stood up and interrupted the court by saying, "Oh gentle men and women, this is an abomination. How can you worship a human being? You shall worship only the Lord your God." The magistrate stood up and pointed an accusing finger at me, saying, "Reverend Gentleman, I put it to you that you are a nuisance in this court." She ordered a police constable there to walk me out of the court at the cost of five thousand naira. I did not resist. I left with dignity. Reluctantly I paid the fine. I waited for another opportunity. At least I have taught the court some lessons. Have I not?

The next time I was in the High court. One of the lawyers accused the other of telling lies in court. The judge intervened and accused the learned gentleman of ungentlemanly behavior. He ordered the lawyer to retract his accusation because lawyers do not tell lies. Immediately he did so and apologized. The judge accepted his apology with warning. The lawyers in unison chorused, "As the Court pleases!"I was made to understand that lawyers do not tell lies, instead they state facts. But how truthful are the facts? My mind went back to my Logic class during the course of my philosophical studies. We made these premises and arrived at a conclusion: "All Lawyers are liars. Johnson is a lawyer. Therefore Johnson is a liar." I shook my head and soliloquized, "So our premises and conclusion were fallacious." Lawyers deal with facts. What happens if the facts are far away from the truth? No wonder a criminal caught in the very act of criminality may be discharged and acquitted while an innocent person may be found guilty of an offence he or she did not commit.

Surely God will set apart a special day lawyers, magistrates and judges would be judged after their demise. A lot of arguments will take place. God will sit as the Supreme Judge while the learned men will appear as defendants. On that day, truthfulness shall be taken into account. If God considers only facts, non repentant criminals will go into heaven while innocent souls will languish in hell.

All said and done, I admire the order in the court. Absolute silence and tranquility are maintained there. Hierarchy is highly adhered to, depending when one was called to bar. The Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) are 'archlawyers' just as we have archbishops. The lawyers respect each other, even though during court proceedings they lawfully attack each other with legal tools to win their cases. They appear as enemies in the court. Outside the court they shake hands in a friendly manner. Indeed I admire this gentlemanly behavior. If we all behave like this in our society, this world shall be peaceful.

I believe that lawyers do not pray for peace to reign. They pray for trouble to arise. As the court was over one day, one of the lawyers asked me why I, a priest, was in court that day. I told him that trouble brought me there. He laughed and emphasized that if there are no troubles, they lawyers would be jobless and hungry. Then I asked him, "Barrister, so you pray for trouble to exist here and there?" He responded, "Father, do we not pray in the Lord's Prayer 'Give us this day our daily bread'? We get our own daily bread when trouble arises. Please remember us lawyers in your daily prayer so that we may prosper." I promised him to pray for them but not for trouble to arise. If harmony, peace and tranquility exist now and then in our society, lawyers can find some other jobs to do. Laughter started killing two of us and the bystanders, until a heavy wind blew away the lawyer's wig. This made me to remark that the heavens have acknowledged that trouble should go to blazes.

I have an admonition to make. It is said that justice delayed is justice denied. Many cases in the Nigerian courts are outstanding for years now. Some cases are unjustly delayed. Some litigants die without getting justice. When they are dying, they sigh and sigh because they were denied justice. Going through the prisons we see that those awaiting trial languish for years without their cases being heard at all. Some who committed minor offences spend so many years in detention without hope. Innocent persons who were thrown into custody for no just cause decay inside the prison without trial. At times their case files disappear without trace. As there is order in court, I hereby appeal to our learned colleagues to dispense justice as soon as possible. Let them remember that we shall all give account of our profession to God on the Day of Judgment (Rom. 14:12). An old woman who was given a child to hold and she said that her teeth are not sharp, was she given the child to bite to death? I call on the learned magistrates and judges to dispense the cases at their tables as soon as possible.

Finally, I have observed that lawyers delight in adjournments so that their pockets may increase. Unnecessary adjournments do not bring order in the court. Often litigants come to court without their cases being heard on flimsy reasons. New dates are taken and the lawyers smile to banks. Some cases are adjourned for so long. There was an illiterate man who has been to court for so many years over a boiling case with his kindred. Each time he came to court he heard of adjournment. Within that period his wife gave birth to a set of male twins. On the naming ceremony, he gave one the name Adjournment and the other Enjoyment. Hence I appeal to the gentlemen of the Bar to allow Plaintiffs and Defendants experience enjoyment in adjournment, so that the order in court may be transparent.

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