I do not expect lawyers to play politics this way. Do not propagate falsehood against professional colleagues in the name of NBA politics. As against the false entry salary of 35K being touted around, I know as a fact that Corps members get far above 35K as allowance per month in Dele Adesina & Co. I worked for over six years in the Firm and I am in a position to state the true position. Young and discerning members of our Profession should not be misled!

Indeed, similar propaganda was used against Presidential candidates in the 2018 NBA Elections. Since this Exco assumed office, have they compelled law firms in Nigeria to pay what Paul Usoro SAN pays lawyers in his office? NO!
Will Olumide Akpata or Ajibade SAN compel law firms in Nigeria to pay what they pay their lawyers as salary? Or will they employ all junior lawyers in their Firms? How many young brilliant lawyers without connection can get employment in their Firms?

Think of someone who can create enabling environment for young lawyers to be gainfully employed. Dele Adesina was the head of the Secretariat of the NBA administration that performed creditably well in the history of NBA with legacies including but not limited to the creation of the Section of Business Law and Legal Practice and the only attempt at fixing remuneration for junior Lawyers in 2002 with a view to addressing the exploitation of junior members of the Bar at the time.

Lawyers deal with facts not fiction. I am compelled to respond to this falsehood as several unsuspecting young lawyers appear to believe this wicked and demeaning propaganda.

I am Olumide Olaiya Esq. and I just want lawyers to play politics with decency.

The news of the Police invasion of the office of the Women Aid Collective (WACOL) and the brutal assault on two of its female lawyers who are members of the Nigerian Bar Association is not only shocking and worrisome but clearly depicts impunity and abuse of power by Police officers of the Enugu Police Command. 

To learn that Ibangah Goodness Esq., one of our colleagues, was beaten to coma by the same Police officers who are charged to protect every Nigerian citizen is an affront to the rule of law and should hurt the senses of all well meaning Nigerians. 

Sadly, this unlawful act of Police brutality and assault on members of the Legal Profession is one too many and the Nigerian Bar Association must continually take pragmatic steps to put an end to the unlawful assault of its members by officers of the Nigerian Police. 

I commend the Nigerian Bar Association President, Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN and other members of the Nigerian Bar Association who have called for an investigation and resolution of the incident. I also condemn the actions of the Police officers who undertook this dastardly act. 

We must all work together to secure the future of the legal profession. 

The commissioning of another edifice for the Court of Appeal in Awka, Anambra State is yet another reason to commend my Lord, the President of the Court of Appeal, Honourable Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa.


Once again, I congratulate the Justices of the Court of Appeal, the entire Judiciary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President of Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Paul Usoro SAN, all the Branch Chairmen and members of the  Branches of the Nigerian Bar Association in Anambra State and the Government and people of Anambra State, on the commissioning of the Court of Appeal Complex of the Court of Appeal Division, Awka, Anambra State, today, February 5th, 2020.

This commissioning will aid the swift dispensation of justice and will certainly address the high number of appeals before my noble Lords at the Court of Appeal, Benin and the recently commissioned Asaba Division, thereby making justice more accesible to Nigerians. 


Once again, I congratulate my Lord, the President of the Court of Appeal, Honourable Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, and I hope and trust that the incoming President of the Court of Appeal will take the development further.

DELE ADESINA SAN, FCI. Arb

Let me congratulate my Lord, the President of the Court of Appeal, Honourable Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, the Justices of the Court of Appeal, the entire Judiciary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President of Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Paul Usoro SAN, all the Branch Chairmen and members of the nine Branches of the Nigerian Bar Association in Delta State and the Government and people of Delta State, on the commissioning of the Court of Appeal Complex of Court of Appeal Division, Asaba, Delta State, today, February 3rd, 2020.

This commissioning represents a great step forward in our administration of Justice. The positive impact of which can never be over emphasised. Apart from directly addressing the problem of delay and congestion at the Benin Division of the Court of Appeal, the sighting of the Asaba Division will not only reduce the cost of seeking justice but will also make it more assessable to the people.

I am particularly happy at this positive development in our Judiciary because just a few weeks ago in my interview published by ThisDay Newspaper I was making a case for why every State should have a Division of the Court of Appeal with a view to proactively and strategically address the issue of delay and congestion in our justice system, not knowing that some steps such as these are already being taken. Once again, I congratulate my Lord, the President of the Court of Appeal, Honourable Justice Zainab Adamu Bulkachuwa, and I hope and trust that the incoming President of the Court of Appeal will take the development further.

DELE ADESINA SAN, FCI. Arb*

Deacon Dele Adesina, SAN has urged the Federal Government to enhance police efficiency by providing  requisite security equipments and communication machinery to aid in detecting and combating crime.

Mr. Adesina, SAN made this statement via his social media handles while commenting on the abduction of Zainab Kishimi, a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, Jalingo Branch, Taraba State.

Mr Adesina said “the criminal abduction of Zainab Kishimi Esq., the Vice Chairman of NBA Jalingo Branch came as another rude shock. Information has it that Zainab was kidnapped right at her residence behind Central Bank Headquarters, Jalingo, Taraba State at around 8:00 pm on Thursday, the 30th of January, 2020.

This kidnap incident is one too many and I totally condemn it. The question is if one is not safe in his or her home which is his or her sanctuary, where else will one be safe. I urge the Police and other security agents to urgently rescue Zainab from her abductors, arrest the abductors and have them prosecuted accordingly.

I seize this opportunity to call on the government to provide requisite security equipments and communication machinery to the Police in order to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness, particularly in detecting and preventing criminal activities of this nature.

Mr. Adesina also prayed for the safe return of Zainab Kishimi Esq. to her home & family.

Introduction
The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) entered into force in 1999 under the auspices of the African Union (AU). The ACRWC was promulgated upon the consideration of the consideration of the Declaration on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child, adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity, at its 16th Ordinary Session in Monrovia, Liberia from 17 to 20 July 1979, that recognized the exigency of taking appropriate measures to promote the rights and welfare of the African Child.  

It is worthy of note that the ACRWC further consolidated the central theme of the Charter of the Organization of African Unity centered around the promotion of human rights and that of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights which proclaims the egalitarian nature of humans and the dire need to protect their rights as enshrined in the African Charter on Human Rights, without any distinction as to race, ethnic group, color, sex, religion or other status.

Inherent Problems with the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
At this juncture it is important however that we avert our mind to the fact that, prior to the promulgation of the ACRWC, the CRC was already in existence supposedly covering the field on issues bordering on children’s rights. However, as encapsulated by Lee Muthoga, the idea to promulgate a separate ACRWC “originated from a desire to address certain peculiarly African problems”. 

This was coupled with the fact that the CRC was rife with certain inadequacies regarded as threefold; the underrepresentation of Africans during the drafting process of the CRC, omission of potentially divisive and emotive issues in the search of consensus between states from diverse backgrounds, insufficiency of specific provisions addressing certain aspects peculiar to Africa in a bid to reach a compromise among United Nations Member States. This was further bolstered by the school of thought which advocates for regional arrangements such as an African equivalent of the CRC; because each region, with its unique culture, traditions and history is best placed to handle and resolve its own human rights situations; as opposed to meddling in certain Eurocentric and more sophisticated rights in Europe (such as the right of children conceived through artificial insemination to know their origin) .  Some of the peculiarities of the African situation omitted from the Convention were; the situation of children living under apartheid, harmful traditional African practices such as female genital mutilation and circumcision, socioeconomic conditions such as illiteracy and low-levels of sanitary conditions with all their threats to survival, issue of child-soldiers and minimum age for conscription, position of children in prison and that of expectant mothers amongst many other issues. 

The ACRWC was thus promulgated with an aim of substantially addressing this issue. Hence, Frans Viljoen’s statement regarding the ACRWC being apace with African traditions and values and well-suited to its unique socioeconomic, political and cultural environments, yet still retaining its Universalist outlook is apt.

Afrocentric Innovations of the ACRWC
The provisions of the ACRWC clearly put primacy over African cultural practices.  In article 2(1) of the Charter, states are required to abolish customs and practices harmful to the welfare, normal growth and development of children. In article 21, reference is made to pertinent cultural practices that are prejudicial to the health or life of a child and those customs and practices that are discriminatory to the child on the grounds of sex or other status.  There is specific proscription of harmful practices such as child marriage and the betrothal of boys and girls through legislation specifying the minimum age of marriage to be 18 years and the compulsory registration of all marriages in an official registry.  It is of crucial importance to bear in mind the fact that this despite not making specific references, this provision also serves as a blanket provision for a host of other harmful traditional practices such as killing of twins, female genital mutilation and dietary taboos. It is imperative to note that this provision ought to be read with the guideline that the best interests of the child “shall be the primary consideration” , and not merely “a primary consideration as required by the CRC”.
Bearing in mind the fact that Africa has a number of conflict-torn zones, owing to incendiary interests, revolutions, overthrow of governments and children being at the center of these direct hostilities, a case in sight is Rwanda, there is a broader protection of children in armed-conflict under the ACRWC. There is an effective effort at stemming the phenomenon of child-soldiers, as no person under the age of 18 is allowed to be conscripted.  There are equally direct measures obliging states towards the protection of children in armed conflicts, taking cognizance of the African context rife with internal armed conflict, tension or strife . Flowing from this, the ACRWC explicitly recognizes internally displaced children as refugees.  

The kind of displacement is not restrictive as it could be political, from breakdown of socioeconomic order or however it is caused. In sync with the socioeconomic affairs at the time of promulgation, specific reference is made to special needs of children living under apartheid and areas subject to military destabilization by the apartheid system. 

The ACRWC in cognizance of current world realities realizes the need for partnerships for the realization of the protection of this right. Hence, duties are set out for not only states, but parents and children. Hence, it is no surprise that implementation for this Charter is stronger under the auspices of the African Committee. Further, in order to keep a pulse on the yearnings of right-holders, these efforts are strengthened by the explicit provision for dissemination of information on the rights of the African child. 

Conclusion
Without any gainsaying, the ACRWC covers the inherent lacunae in the global instrument; through specific provisions on socioeconomic crisis plaguing the region which gives it its unique African undertone; making it a more Afrocentric equivalent of CRC. It certainly succeeds in achieving a higher benchmark for child rights in Africa. There are even better efforts at implementation through the mechanism which makes room for individual complaints about violations of these rights to be filed. Certainly, it heralds an era of higher threshold for the protection of the rights of children in Africa, as Member States even have the volition to make written requests for the amendment or revision of the present Charter subject to an approval by a simple majority of the committee.

 – African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child, 1999 preamble.
 – SA Wako, “Towards an African Charter on the Rights of the Child (paper delivered at a workshop on the Draft Convention on the Rights of the Child, Nairobi,9-11 May 1968).
  – African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Children, article 21(1)
 – African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Children, article 21(2)
  – African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Children, article 4(1)
 – Convention on the Rights of the Child, article 3(1)
  – Convention on the Rights of the Child, article 38(2)
 – African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Children, article 22(3)
 –  African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Children, article 23(4)
 –  African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Children, article 26
  – African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Children, article 42(a)

The author is a fourth year law student at the University of Lagos. He is an avid researcher with  interests in crossroads between law, finance and technology.  In his spare time, he is the deputy editor-in-chief of the Unilag Law Review.