Drama of MALICIOUS PROSECUTION
(Immediately the falsely imprisoned client exit the chambers, Barr. Ojulari continue the brainstorming task with his intern)
BARR. OJULARI: Our work is unpredictable, who would think that a client will show up today for legal counseling? Can we continue our brainstorming.
INTERN: I am ready sir.
BARR. OJULARI: Is Misdemeanor a bailable offence?
INTERN: Yes, a person who is alleged of a Misdemeanor shall be granted Bail by the court [1].
BARR. OJULARI: What of a person that is alleged of Felony?
INTERN: The condition of bail for a person alleged of Felony lies on the discretion of the court, the court may either grant it or not [2].
BARR. OJULARI: Is there any difference between Felony and Misdemeanor?
INTERN: The only difference I can notice is the punishment awarded to their offenders.
(A man enters without knocking the door)
THE MAN: Good afternoon, I need the service of a competent lawyer now (he said aggressively)
BARR. OJULARI: Could you please have your sit first?
(The man sits on a chair beside THE INTERN)
THE MAN: It seems you don’t know what I am here for, it was a friend that introduced your chambers to me, as you can see me now, I am mad! Only a lawyer can cure my madness.
BARR. OJULARI: Be calm sir! I assure you that you have gotten a lawyer and your problem is halve solved already. What would you like me to do for you sir?
THE MAN: I was embarrassed, I was insulted, I was put to shame, I am hapless, and I want my self esteem to be restored.
BARR. OJULARI: What really happened sir?
THE MAN: Imagine one small boy dragging a lady with me!
BARR. OJULARI: Upon all the ladies in this whole wide world, it is your own lady he wants to be dragging with you, that’s bad of him.
THE MAN: This lady eh! If you glance at her once, you will want to look her more. This lady is just as fresh as tomatoes.
BARR OJULARI : How will a sane person be dragging your wife with you?
THE MAN: No, she is not my wife. She is just a lady I like. I just want to be eating her work, Do you understand that barrister?
BARR OJULARI: Huh! If don’t gerrit, forget About it! (They both laugh out loudly)
THE MAN: I have interest in that lady and I want to be taking good care of her, but this guy called Mellow is blocking my way from this Lady, he is doing rubbish with that lady and this innocent lady has fell in love with him.
BARR. OJULARI: That boy called Mellow must be Stupid! How could he be dragging a lady with someone like you. What is even wrong with these small boys nowadays?
THE MAN: Help me o! There is no respect anymore. Nonsense!
BARR. OJULARI: What exactly do you want us to do to him?
THE MAN: Oga lawyer, I want you to help me send him to prison for a long time, so that before he finished his sentence, I would have had my way and do whatever I want with that lady.
BARR. OJULARI: How do you want us to send Mellow to prison sir?
THE MAN: That is your work na, I can just inform the police to arrest him charge him to court for a Felony like Robbery. I will say that I was robbed and he was one of the robbers.
BARR. OJULARI: Hmm! That will make him to be in prison for a quite long time, in fact, he may sent to prison for more than twenty years if he is found guilty of robbery [3].
THE MAN: My professional lawyer! I love you so much, you are too competent. I would have done whatever I want with that lady before that stupid boy return from his prison pilgrimage. Besides, who wants to be in the company of a prisoner?
BARR. OJULARI: But sir, if I may tell you the truth, this is what we call malicious prosecution in law.
THE MAN: What is malicious prosecution again?
BARR. OJULARI: If it is only the police that you instruct to arrest and detain him without reasonable cause like this, you may be liable for false imprisonment. [4]
THE MAN: Ah!
BARR. OJULARI: But now, you are talking about charging him to court for an offence that you also know that he did not commit because you have a grudge against him, this action of yours is called malicious prosecution.
THE MAN: Malicious what again?
BARR. OJULARI: Because now, if you succeed in this action, it means you have put the machinery of prosecution on motion, you want the result of your action to be in your favour, while you don’t have any probable or reasonable cause to prosecute this poor guy. You are also doing this as a result of malice that you have against him [5].
THE MAN: Ah!
BARR. OJULARI: If he should hire a lawyer to prove those things I have just mentioned concurrently, you may be penalised with up to #300,000 in damages, the damages awarded against you may even be increased up to one million naira if you appeal the judgement [6].
THE MAN: Toooor!
BARR. OJULARI: Accusing that boy falsely for an offence may cause a great injury to his reputation, deprivation of his personal liberty, he may also loose some money while defending the prosecution and all these will be used against you later.[6]
THE MAN: But you are also a radical lawyer too, you did not even take it easy with me, I have heard you, I won’t do any harm to Mellow anymore.
BARR. OJULARI: You too have a wife at home, and want to commit adultery, if you were found guilty of adultery in the northern part of Nigeria, you may be imprisoned for two years [7][8]. Though there is nothing like the offence of adultery in the southern Nigeria that we are. [9]
THE MAN: Thank God, I’m not in the Northern part of Nigeria.
BARR. OJULARI: You also know that you won’t like it to be done to your daughters or wife, why do you want to do it with other’s?
THE MAN: In fact, I repent. I will neither prosecute Mellow nor engage in adultery again. I am happy that I meet someone like you. Please manage the small amount in this envelop.
(THE MAN gives a brown envelope that contains thousands of Naira to Barr. OJULARI as his consultation fee and exit the office)
DIFFICULT WORDS:
Brainstorming: Group discussion to produce ideas or solve problems
Bail: The conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required
Bailable: Eligible for bail
Adultery: Sexual intercourse between a married person and someone other than that person’s current spouse or partner.
REFERENCES:
[1]. Section 158 Of The Administration Of Criminal Justice Act, 2015. Also Section 115 (3) Of Administration Of Criminal Justice (Repeal And Re-enactment) Law Of Lagos State, 2021
[2]. Section 162 Of The Administration Of Criminal Justice Act, 2015. Also Section 115 (2) Of Administration Of Criminal Justice (Repeal And Re-enactment) Law Of Lagos State, 2021
[3]. Section 402 Of The Criminal Code Act.
[4]. UAC (Nig.) Plc V. Sobodu (2007) LPELR-7740 (CA)
[5]. Balogun V. Amubikahun (1983) 3 NWLR (Pt. 107) 18
[6]. Unini Chioma, “Malicious Prosecution And The Right Available To The Injured Party”, On <Https://Thenigerialawyer.Com/Malicious-prosecution-and-the-right-available-to-the-injured-party/> Retrieved On 13/05/2022
[7]. Section 387 Of The Penal Code Act
[8]. Section 387 Of The Penal Code Act
[9]. Aoko V. Fagbemi (1961) 1 All NLR 400
Abdulrauf Abdullahi Adebayo is a Law Student, a Certified Teacher, a Content Creator, and a Dynamic Writer. He can be reached via +2349034904883 and [email protected]
