In a recent gathering of legal minds and professionals in Lagos, a resounding warning echoed through the halls of justice. The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State, Lawal Pedro, and the distinguished Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, joined forces to issue a stern caution to lawyers: cease aiding clients in punishing landlords.
The occasion that set the stage for this admonition was an advocacy program titled “Building Collapse and Application of Punitive Laws in Lagos State,” orchestrated by the Building Collapse Prevention Guild, Ikeja Cell, and held in Lagos State. Both legal luminaries stressed the urgency of curtailing protracted legal battles between landlords and tenants, emphasizing that these disputes should ideally be resolved within 60 days in court.
Lawal Pedro went on to lament the detrimental impact of prolonged litigation on the investment climate, citing instances where tenants’ rent issues lingered in court for as long as five years. He posed a crucial question, “How do we want to encourage investments when disputes drag on endlessly?”
To remedy this situation, the Nigerian Bar Association and the Ministry of Justice pledged their collaboration to streamline legal procedures, making them more transparent and accessible to all parties. Additionally, they committed to addressing building collapse issues and curbing the rampant practice of self-help in rent recovery and debt collection, all in the name of the sluggish justice system. Their shared ambition? Ensuring that cases in Lagos State would not languish in court for more than 24 months, with full cooperation from the judiciary.
Femi Falana, the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, issued a heartfelt appeal to his fellow lawyers to exercise caution and ethics in their profession. He recounted an incident where a client sought his assistance to appeal a court decision despite not having paid rent for two years, with full awareness that the case would drag on. In light of this, Falana emphasized the need for legal practitioners to avoid becoming agents of impunity and urged them to act in the interest of justice.
In Lagos, driven by frustration, tenants resort to reporting their landlords’ properties to the Ministry of Environment, initiating a chain reaction that often results in notices of demolition and tenants being forced to vacate. Falana’s message was clear: lawyers should not be complicit in such practices. He underscored the importance of obtaining approvals from the Ministry of Physical Planning before any alterations or actions are taken on properties, ensuring community safety.
Olatunji Odunlami, the Commissioner for Physical Planning also shared his perspective. He pinpointed negligence as the root cause of building collapses and emphasized the significance of robust regulations in preventing such disasters. With a nod to the intricate planning and building laws in Nigeria, he urged that the focus should shift from punishment to stringent procedures designed to safeguard structures and lives.
In this symposium of legal minds, the resounding message was clear: it’s time to shift the legal landscape towards efficiency, justice, and the protection of the rights and responsibilities of both landlords and tenants, ensuring a brighter and safer future for Lagos and its inhabitants.