Generally, a judge requires the use of experts in different fields whenever a question of law peculiar to that field arises because the judge is not required to possess knowledge of everything. For example, the court makes use of forensic consultants whenever the issue of statement of account arises in a customer's account. Also surveyor's are used to interprete survey plans etc.

Back to the issue on ground, the judge relies on the certificate issued by a medical doctor to ascertain whether or not an accused person is of unsound mind. The procedure when an accused is suspected to be of unsound mind is provided for in Section 223 of the Criminal Procedure Act thus:
“When a judge holding a trial or a magistrate holding a trial or an inquiry has reason to suspect that the accused is of unsound mind and consequently incapable of making his defence, the judge, jury or magistrate as the case may be, shall in the first instance investigate the fact of such unsoundness of mind.
Such investigation may be held in the absence of the accused person if the court is satisfied that owing to the state of the accused’s mind it would be in the interests of the safety of the accused or of other persons or in the interests of public decency that he should be absent, and the court may receive as evidence a certificate in writing signed by a medical officer to the effect that such accused person is in his opinion of unsound mind aAs regards whether a consultant would be required by the court, the Act in its interpretation section limits the medical officer to one attached to any asylum or any medical officer from whom a court requires an opinion. The issue involved is that I am not sure if a medical doctor attached to an asylum can ascertain whether those with learning disability are actually persons of unsound mind but that is where a good defence lawyer is needed. The act does not limit the medical drs to those attached to an asylum but also covers any medical officer from whom a court requires an opinion. It is therefore the responsibility of the defence counsel to prove to the judge that a special consultant is required to really prove that the accused is of unsound mind.
Also the word unsound mind was not specifically defined in the act therefore the act does not limit it to any specific ailment like insanity or what not.
nd incapable of making his defence .

The act did not specify or limit unsound mind to any ailment in particular so i believe the plea of insanity would avail both ailments. The onus lies on the lawyer involved in the case and the medical expert procured to prove to the judge that the accused was of unsound mind.

Sorry for the late response.
Firstly, let me start by quoting of section 28 of the Criminal Code Act which states thus:

“A person is not criminally responsible for an act or omission if at the time of doing the act or making the omission he is such a state of mental disease or natural mental infirmity as to deprive him of capacity to understand what he is doing, or of capacity to control his actions, or of capacity to know that he ought not to do the act or make the omission………”
The criminal jurisprudence in Nigeria covers the protection of person of unsound mind (insane) who commits an offence but two important factors must be put into consideration.
1. Whether he was insane at the time of committing the act.
2. If he was sane when the act was done and later became insane maybe during the time of custody or the pendency of the suit against him.
If it is proved that he was actually insane at the time the offence was committed, then the above cited section 28 of the criminal code act would avail him and he would be acquitted but that is not to say that he would be able to roam around the street a free man because he is still a threat to the society. What happens in this case is that the judge would order that he be kept in either a lunatic asylum or other suitable place of safe custody and the case reported to the Governor. Then whenever he is certified medically fit, the governor may then order his discharge.

However, if he was in the right frame of mind at the time of committing the offence and only lost his mind at a later date, he would still be committed to an asylum but when he is certified fit, he would then stand trial and face the consequence of his action.

Hello everyone

Log for yesterday

500 skips, 50 butt kicks(with 2kg weight on each hand), 20 jumping jacks, 50 shadow boxing with weights and 40 bicep curls

getting back gradually

I can not see Dr Ben's question oh.

Kindly refer me to the thread. cheers.

I really do not know why lawyers are not responding on this thread oh!. It is not against the ethics of our profession in any way. Oya lawyers come out of your closet and let us set this ball rolling . We no dey carry last oh

Hi everyone, trust all is good. Thanks for your kind wishes oh. It rily motivated me. Thank you hour-glass for asking after me. I am still here oh, a silent disciple though.

I am encountering one challenge and that is my siblings and parents are complaining that i must not go down again oh . My target was actually 62kg and i have barely 3kg to get there but mhen they don talk tire. The truth is that people get used to seeing you in a particular way and of course people do not like change. So many people(i inclusive) condemned Genevieve Nnaji when she lost weight saying she looked better with some flesh.

I actually insisted on exercising yesterday as i have done nothing for the past two weeks (due to fasting though) and i felt so horrible cos after a while exercising becomes fun. My mum came in and said (haba stop exercising) and i just shouted that she shuld leave me oh! who said exercising is just for the benefit of weightloss .

God go help us.

Hi everyone .
I feel happy posting now. I used to post here regularly at one point before i stopped because someone mentioned i was doing my body serious damage and when i asked for clarification i got no response.

Anyway, i religiously used to open this thread daily to get motivated by the super determined people here to work out and eat properly. I have gone from 73kg to 64.7 within a period of about 4 and 1/2 months of serious consistent work out and eating right. No thanks to crazy Jillian Michael 30 day shred, Taebo, zumba, Hip-Hop abs and my ever faithful skipping rope.

One of the most important things i learnt here is that weight loss should be a life style and not a short term goal and that is how it has been for me as i have no urge to eat junk again. I promised myself a cup of juice or drink during the festive season but as much as i tried, i had no desire to. I have always done 2 weeks dieting or crazy stuffs like that.

I am not done yet though. I still have 2.7 kg more to lose to get to my ideal weight of 62kg though i am now being forced to stop. Thanks to everyone including Hour-Glass, Modath, Mighty-love, RonkeBP, Agaba123, General Buhari and all the others( i can not remember all names). I don't know how you do this but you are all a source of encouragement.

Insult all you want as is the norm in nairaland but the truth hurts. So because you have an occassion in the village u should spend all ur cash and then suffer in January. I would have preffered if I hear that easterners face hardship in lag after using up all funds to return as the extra money for upkeep was used to pay the extra on the fare. How can you travel without a plan B? Why should you empty your bank account on a trip all in the name of celebration. What plans did they have for feeding throughout the month of january till salaries are paid or busineess resumes in earnest. That is how they keep on borrowing money throughout the month. I have seen so many situations of kids being kept back at home upon resumption because "daddy doesn't have money". This would teach people a good lesson they would never never learn. Some borrow to travel just to impress because they hear "Okey the big boy is returning from Germany" Arrant nonsense!. FYI the fare just doubled and not quadrupled. Again I ask what would have happened if while travelling at Onitsha the bus breaks down and you have to enter a new bus and pay afresh?

Anybody who does not have money to at least pay the extra money to go back to base lacks the principle of planning and should remain in the village to grow some sense!

I am sorry but I have no mercy for those stranded in their village now. Are they telling me that they used all their money to travel to the east for celebration? What if there was no issue of subsidy and while travelling the vehicle breaks down. Yes I am from the east but it makes no sense for igbos to always insist on travelling and at times even borrowing to waste money in the east because u can not travel without dashing out lump sums of money to visitors.

Bottom line, if u have made so much moni, travel and if not sit down at home.

How would they have paid their kids fees this january sef if they returned?

Exactly the reason why Gani refused all appointments given to him. Surely, people like Gani Fawehnmi are not born everyday.

Lawyers oh. It is one of the few professions that u can go out of your house pennyless and in one day legitimately make 5 million naira through the profession

Court of Appeal and their hold on technicalities eh pscheww smh

@Zaynee 63

Was your application brought on notice o ex-parte . Anyway Order discharged as the Applicant has no proof that he served the Respondent .

@ all
I have not been to court this week so no funny happening, just still stay tuned sha.

wow! we bless God for the awesome testimonies.

Mine goes thus, the scripture said that "when the Lord turned the captivity of zion, ". This was the word the Lord gave me a few years back. I had a problem in university and graduated with a 3rd class. Also, the humilation then in school was too much that it could fill a note book. I felt it was all over for me as an aspiring lawyer and went through a lot. For me to get admision into the law school is was another story. While there, i felt demoralized because for lawyers you know how law school is. People carry over their over sabi attitude into the system and those that made good grades in the uni carry an over confident attitude. I read, studied and trusted God for a fresh start. During the exams eh, i made lots of terrible mistakes and all i did was to thank God, and offer praises and hold unto His promises. When the result came out, i was really scared but a friend called me thinking i had seen my result and started telling me abt how people we expected to do well made bad grades. i simply told her that i cannot talk since i havent seen mine. Then she told me that "haba, u made a 2:1 na and i screamed" If u know law school well, u would appreciate God with me. Many people who made 1st class and 2:1 in uni made pass and a 1st class student in uni even failed. People were shocked, they could not believe. I got a good firm to do my NYSC and i was retained and trust me u cannot count the 1st-7 highest paying law firms without calling my present firm. I have taken the c.v of some of my mates who had 2:1 both ways to submit but i never looked for a job. I am in awe of God and thankful to Him because He is the one who raiseth the poor out of the dung and causeth him to ride above the high places. I know He has only started with me.

@Aro_007,

Sorry for the loss of your friend's spouse. From your post, it seems the man died in an accident on his way to an official assignment which means the family deserves compensation since the death occured in the course of business.

Firstly, is the man a Nigerian? if he is then the company would not be liable for transporting the body out of the country but if he is an expatriate who was broought down to work in Nigeria then the company should be fully responsible in ensuring his body gets back to his country and is buried there.

I hope she has documents to prove that she is the lawful wife of the deceased and a proof that the man was also a staff of the company. If she does, then you need to hire the services of a lawyer who would first write to the company seeking an explanation as to the cause of the man's death and going further to place all the necessary demands. In the letter, the lawyer should stipulate a time within which a response must be gotten from the company. If the company responds, then all well and good but if they fail, a reminder is sent to them with a possible threat of a law suit.

Thanks to the last amendment of the constitution, the National Industrial court is now a superior court of record and they deal with issues concerning empolyer/employee relationship.

Good luck!

@Revomind,
Firstly, I say a very big congratulations on your success at the bar finals. That exam eh! I wonder why your set call to bar is so far away, the anxiety would be something else I know .

Now to the issues that you raised, the challenges that we face as lawyers is not peculiar to our profession. It can be found in every field of play, so I feel we should always make the best out of every situation.

I agree with you that some lawyers actually earn meager salaries that are nothing to write home about. That is actually the immediate cause of the great influx of sound and brilliant lawyers into other sectors of the economy. What a colossal waste I must say!

However, we cannot keep flogging the dead horse over this issue but rather maintenance of focus and vision is key. We must be proactive and not just sit down and whine and complain as many lawyers are wont to do. I have met young lawyers who exude so much courage and determination making a lot of money in PRACTICE and they really inspire me.

If we know that we have a vision and passion for practice, then we would slug it out to the very end and not be bothered by the temporal “enjoyment” that is obtainable outside practice and this is with due respect to lawyers who are doing well in different sectors and areas because we have different purposes in life.

However, money should NEVER be the factor or reason for running away from practice because after some years when we get all the money we want and are financially stable, only one thing would count and that is “fulfillment”. At this point so many of them want to come back to practice but they are way out of touch with the system.

No wonder I heard a senior lawyer complain the other day that we(practice) are losing so many sound young lawyers to companies and different organizations and that from his set, the SANS now were not the most brilliant lawyers in his class because those ones are gone.
If money is really a problem then you can decide to do what a friend did. He is a very brilliant lawyer and was working in a good firm but due to cash restraint, he had to go take up employment in a bank but he still held unto his vision. While at the bank, he saved some cash and after some years went to do his masters in the US and was offered immediate employment by one of the biggest firms in existence now. But how many really do come back?
To all those lawyers who insist on paying badly, una do well oh!

@Wallie
I do not think that the law is partial to the poor at all. The issue in question is not the amount stolen nor the offence committed but is the fact that you threatened or rather caused bodily harm on a person in the process. If you decide not to be armed while stealing 5,000 or 50,000,000 then that is another ball game entirely but someone who stole N1 and was armed is worse than the one that stole N1billion and was un armed.

What constitutes arm(s)?

A knife, a pen, a shard of glass or a gun?

Any injurious object that can cause bodily harm or death including gun, knife, cutlass etc.

Yes oh, once you are armed, the minimum sentence is DEATH. It does not matter if you did not even steal a dime. So if you commit any offence whether rape or anything crime at all, you would be sentenced to death. That is the law.

Yeah I know that I said this thread is for funny happenings but I just thought to share this. I feel so sad now .
A matter came up for judgment in court and it was a criminal case. As usual, the matter was called first and so we all heard the judge delivering the judgment.
The case had to do with a guy who killed his friend all because of a small amount of money to be shared . The judge found him guilty and sentenced him to death and at that moment, you need to have heard the sharp deep cry of his mother who was in court saying “mummy (the judge’s name) please, have mercy on me, pity my son, I am begging you” etc and she wailed uncontrollably while the orderlies in court tried to calm her . The judge could not stand it and rose immediately to go to her chambers and ordered that the registrars adjourn all the matters for the day.

Why do people get themselves involved in crime , why make your loved ones go through all the pain just because of plain foolishness and youthful exuberance. Why bend your head while in the dock while you raised it confidently high when committing the crime . Just why?
Right now, the poor mother would be subjected to great mental torture while the case goes on appeal. The woman would hold on to a tiny string of hope while expecting the lawyer to perform a miracle on appeal and if the appeal court agrees with the high court, then the journey to the Supreme Court starts and after that, it is all over. This is all so painful. I am so glad my firm dont do criminal cases because it is emotionally tasking and and heart wrenching all in one.

I have witnessed two boys sentenced to death just because they stole N5,000 and a small phone but they were unfortunately armed and that was their greatest undoing. You begin to wonder why they decided to throw away their whole life just because that paltry sum. Please people, let us all desist from crime because it is not worth it!

simply hilarious!

Some clients are way too difficult.

In a Lagos state high court, there was this very stern looking litigant who I am very sure was a school principal back in the days . She didn’t even send anybody at all neither was she deterred about the so called sanctity of the court room .

The judge had lots of cases and she being tired of sitting down and listening to proceedings, just walked straight to her lawyer who was at the bar and told him “Don’t you have work to do today? You are just sitting down here since morning instead of you to stand up and speak like a lawyer”. After saying that, she quickly stormed back to her seat and sat down. Surprisingly, the judge being very calm ignored her(boy! was she lucky) I cannot count how many judges would have dealt with her.

This lady was not done oh. When her case was finally called, she went and stood very close to her lawyer and watched him speak and do all them lawyer thingy. When the time came for the lawyer to take a date for adjournment, she just shouted “take an October date oh” but unluckily for her no October date was convenient and the case was adjourned till November. She then shouted at her lawyer (all in Yoruba oh) you want to sleep in court abi, is this your only case etc. she then walked out of the court angrily!

@4llerbuntu
That was very bad of that lawyer but funny nevertheless. Anyway, she has gotten away with that so let’s see the gimmick she would attempt next time.
Yemipretty
Na real remedify, he should go ahead and indemnify it too. Pscheww.
Ok, here goes another.
Why do some lawyers have a default “we have not been served” at the tip of their tongue?
A defendant counsel while addressing the court informed the judge that he was served with the motion of the claimant and needs time to file his counter-affidavit to same. The judge asked the Claimant’s counsel if that was the true position and he quickly being so absent minded (wonder what he was thinking of) just uttered “My lord we have not been served with the motion). The judge was shocked and had to ask if he expects to be served with the motion he filed. He quickly apologized to the judge that he was carried away. See tongue lashing eh!

I understand ur point perfectly. But i still do not see it as an invasion of privacy. If someone has to invade my privacy or go to any length to return my lost vital documents then i would thank the person whole heartedly and won't care if my name had to be screamed from the mountain top!

Sorry Siena but i do not agree with you. Yes his going to the police station or radio station to announce may be an alternative. However, forums like this have a wider coverage because somebody may be linked to the woman in question. Furthermore there is nothing derogatory being said about the woman but just that she misplaced her documents which he has found. If you misplace some vital documents ehn, you would not care but would pray to God for ANY avenue He can use for you to be able to get back those documents.

Our dates are sequential. i was born on the 7th, my sis 8th, my bro 9th and the second boy 10th. it is also Jan,feb,mar but one went to June

A lawyer filed a counter-affidavit to a motion for joinder. Upon discovery that some vital points were omitted went ahead to file another counter-affidavit with the aim of withdrawing the previous one at the hearing of the suit. At the date fixed for hearing, instead of withdrawing the previous counter-affidavit before the interested party moved their motion, she allowed allowed them to move the motion first. In her response to the motion she said thus:

Lawyer: we filed a counter-affidavit dated… and we seek to rely on the averments contained therein. Attached to the counter-affidavit is a written address dated… and we adopt same as our argument in opposition to the Applicant’s application(meanwhile she was adopting the counter-affidavit she planned to withdraw). As the judge was writing she turned around to say. My lord, we seek to withdraw our counter-affidavit dated…(the one she just adopted) and we seek to rely on the one dated…
Judge: Counsel that is not possible! It is too late! U shouldn’t have adopted what you intended to withdraw. I hereby join… as the 2nd Defendant in this suit.
Needless to say, that was her first appearance in court

Here is another one

This one actually happened to a friend of mine though she is now a law guru. She was just recently called to bar and her wig was stll all shiny. You know what I mean . She was asked by her boss to appear in court and move a motion and she practiced hard all night and was determined to pull it through successfully the next day at court . This is what happened.

Judge: hmm new wig!(obviously seeing her new wig) you are welcome to the bar.
Lawyer: thank you my lord. I am… appearing for the…. My lord, we have a motion for… and we are ready to move subject to your lordships convenience.

Defendant’s counsel : my lord, though the Claimant has a motion, we have filed a P.O challenging the court’s jurisdiction.

Lawyer: (she obviously not understanding what that meant went on to say) My lord, I am ready to move my motion.

Judge: Ehn counsel! Are you sure you are still able to move your motion (The judge was saying this considering the fact that the defendant had filed a P.O which is to be taken before her motion but my friend not understanding and in view of the judge earlier calling her a new wig went on to say)
Lawyer: my lord, I can move this motion, I am capable, I have been called to the Nigerian bar as a Barrister and solicitor of the Supreme court blab la bla.

Judge: Registrar give her a date!

Hey Lawyers, let us meet in here and discuss the various funny experiences we encounter on a daily basis in court. Abeg let us leave all the wahala and stress associated with the profession and have a good laugh in here.
Let me start!

Some lawyers ehn! This week before a Lagos state high court judge sitting at the commercial division a lady lawyer stood up and the following discussion ensued.

Lawyer girl- most respectfully my lord, I am……appearing for the…my lord, this matter was adjourned for report of service but unfortunately we have been unable to serve the process (the judge interjects)
Judge- Counsel which process were u unable to serve?
Counsel-she frantically searches the file and stupidly says “My lord I am not fully familiar with the facts of the case” .
Judge: “My ruling: suit adjourned till counsel is seized with the facts of the case”
What rubbish, how can a lawyer come to court to report service and say she is not seized with the facts of the case? Why then did u come to court? I wonder what she would go back to tell her boss in the office .

Actually I have witnessed this particular incident in court and when the judge asked for the process the counsel couldn’t serve she went ahead to say after searching her file that she seeks to rely on the court’s record. Imagine!

Hi. A colleague of mine resigned and is at present in the training sch in satelite town. She said sth like the training will be in three batches. She was contacted via email where she was sent her letter of employment which contained everything including the salary structure. So i guess others will be contacted soon cos the training is for a month.

Yesterdays Log
B- Bowl of okro soup(without oil) with two pieces of small turkey
L- Three spoons of rice with sauce(without oil too) and a small piece of chicken
D- One apple, two carrots and two tea spoons of rice

Water-3.5 litres

Exercise- One hour at the gym (thread mill, step mill etc), swimming for two hours and six hundred skips at night