Moved by his father’s detainment by the police for six months without trial, Patrick Dunkwu has worked towards improving transparency in the criminal justice system in Nigeria.  He is a JusticeMaker after being one of eight winners of the JusticeMakers competition and was a recipient of the 2008 fellowship.

Patrick Dunkwu and Fitzpatrick Maria form the JusticeMakers team in Lagos, Nigeria. Photos by John Densky. Text by Chelsea McConnell.

In breach of the Nigerian constitution, the police force is known to arrest criminal suspects without allowing them to notify their family or a lawyer.  Patrick documented cases of prisoners being held for years without trial.  The detainment of accused people is further facilitated by the Holding Charge system, which gives the police the power to detain suspects while they are searching for, and gathering evidence against them.

Using his JusticeMakers grant, Patrick has mobilised a network of legal aid lawyers and paralegals to visit prisons, courts and police stations.  By arming them with mobile telephones, Patrick has helped detainees receive legal representation as early as possible, as well as ensure that their families are notified upon arrest. In his latest report, Patrick praised the ‘tremendous support’ from the Nigerian Bar Association who helped make his project possible, by encouraging its members to work with him.

A view from a prison cell of young Nigerians playing football in the morning.

Patrick has visited over 20 police stations in Lagos to offer immediate legal support to arrested criminal defendants, filed cases in courts to enforce their fundamental rights, and successfully conducted a human rights and legal aid training programme for paralegals and his local community.  So far, Patrick has ensured the release of 38 criminal defendants from unlawful detention, which was made possible by the volunteers stationed at prisons.

Patrick’s main challenge was the hostility he received from police officers in the initial stages of his project.  Through holding a series of consultations and meetings with senior prison and police officials, Patrick was able to pave the way for collaboration.  From the meetings, he received written confirmation from senior officials directing junior police officers to allow him access to criminal defendants.

The courts in Lagos were more often than not without electricity. As a result the accused are shipped back to prison and must wait often months for the next appearance.

In the future Patrick hopes to replicate his project in other parts of the country. A number of local NGOs in Nigeria have extended invitations to him for help with the development of their legal aid programmes.

Incredibly, Patrick was also recently (in January 2010) invited to Ghana by a local NGO to train lawyers and paralegals to replicate his project there.  The Ghana based NGO read about Patrick’s project through the JusticeMakers website.  While in Ghana, Patrick successfully trained 18 lawyers and 12 paralegals on legal aid delivery strategies and the use of ICT to deliver legal aid to prisoners.

“My lawyer friends working in big corporate organisations and who earns fat salaries always tell me that they do not understand my passion for defending criminal defendants almost for no material gains when I did not go to law school free of charge.”  Explains Patrick in a recent report that does not do justice to the amount of compassion he has.  “I always refer them to the biblical saying, that man shall not live by bread alone.”

The Nigerian justice system, like much of the country’s infrastructure, is in a state of serious disrepair. Many of the courthouses serve as appropriate metaphors in their varying states of neglect.

Above: The degree of poverty the majority of the population live in is shocking. Affording a lawyer when in contest with the law is an unimaginable prospect.

In the time I was there the ratio of days where the courts actually functioned versus not was disproportionate to say the least. More often than not there was no electricity. When the electricity was available it was not uncommon for the judge to not show with little to no notice. Of the numerous times I visited the courts to witness the work of the JusticeMakers Team I believe only once was Patrick Dunkwu able to appear before a judge.

Above: 2008 JusticeMaker Fellow Patrick Dunkwu.

It is important to remember that in most criminal cases the defendants remain in custody when a judge fails to show or the electricity prevents the court from sitting. The tragic state of the judicial system is even more painful when one considers that over 70% of Nigerians live on less than $1 a day and over 90% live on less than $2. It is extremely difficult for most Nigerians to come up with the resources to operate in a system deeply rooted in bribery and extortion.

One of the things that stood out so strongly during my time with Patrick and the JusticeMakers team is how dedicated these folks are despite what amounts to direct danger.

The hearing of Patrick’s first criminal defendant was held on the 15th of May. The defendant, who was been accused of stealing a mobile phone handset, had previously been released on bail. At the hearing he was acquitted of all charges and completely discharged from jail thanks to the efforts of Patrick and Mr. Felix Eghiase, another member of the Nigerian JusticeMakers team. They claimed that there was “no case” because of a lack of evidence before the court, and ultimately succeeded in setting the defendant free.

Building upon this success, yesterday Patrick reported that the team is well on their way to ensuring that the garage workers who were arrested in the case of the missing car are cleared of all charges. These men were arrested and charged with stealing a second-hand Toyota Camry from the garage where they worked. In the absence of any evidence against them, Patrick secured their release, however the police demanded that the accused report to the police station every day to continue the investigation. The accused appeared before the High Court of Lagos State where Patrick and Mr. Nwaka, another member of Patrick’s JusticeMakers team, applied for a leave of the court so that the defendants could enforce their fundamental human rights. They were granted leave, and the court officials were asked to give the police the opportunity to explain their reasons for the continued harassment of the defendants. The case has been adjourned until 2 June 2009. 

Patrick’s most recent case, concerning the theft of a car, has been drawn out for almost a year. In July of 2008, a man brought a Toyota Camry Car to a garage, where one of the mechanics had offered to sell it for him. This was not out of the ordinary; the garage frequently sold second hand cars and the mechanic had previously sold four cars for this particular client. Unfortunately, while the car was on display for sale the garage was broken into and the car was stolen. Upon finding the car missing, the mechanic contacted the nearest police station.

The police then made a series of arrests around the crime; the first man to be accused was Mr. Arinze who had visited the garage a handful of times and had expressed interest in purchasing the second-hand car. He had called the garage the same day the car was stolen to inform the mechanic that he would be coming to purchase the car the following day. Mr. Arinze was released from custody upon making a statement to the police. The police then arrested all the mechanics, panel beater and technicians that were working at the garage at the time and detained them for four days; from the 19th to the 23rd of December, 2008. They were reportedly released after making a statement to the Police, however they claim that the police extorted money from them in exchange for their release.

In March 2009, the case was transferred to Alagbon Police Station, where the police immediately arrested five suspects (shown in the above photo). Following a call from one of Patrick’s paralegals, Patrick and Ms. Shobowale – a member of Patrick’s legal team – went to the Police station and affected their release. However, the police say their release is contingent upon them reporting to the station every day. They say this is necessary for them to continue with the investigation. Patrick believes that this is a breach of their right to personal liberty, and he promptly filed an application for the enforcement of the detainees’ fundamental human rights at the High Court, presided over by Honorable Justice Onyeabo. He has asked the court to prohibit the police from demanding that they report to the station on a daily basis and threatening them with further arrest. The date of the hearing has been booked for the 7th of April, 2009 so stay tuned!

On Friday, 27^th of January, Patrick secured the release of a couple who had been threatened and arrested by the police on false-allegations of assault.

Acting as an agent to his landlord, one of the accused had issued statutory quit notices to a tenant who had failed to pay her rent for over three years. He also gave evidence against her in court, and she was ordered to vacate the apartment.

Following a court order, the tenant and her son assaulted the couple, and in an act of vandalism, did extensive damage to their car. The couple reported the matter to the police and the tenant was invited in for questioning but subsequently released on bail. Once released, she went directly to her brother - a very senior police officer - who exerted his influence to have the case transferred to a different police station. When the couple were invited in for questioning at the new station, they were promptly arrested and detained for alleged assault. 

Patrick received a call from Ms. Kopindi Kanebi, a paralegal stationed at the court, and was able to affect their release. Unfortunately, the couple has continued to be threatened by the police. Patrick has therefore filed the case before the High Court of Lagos State, in the hope that the Court will make an order that the arrest and continuing threat of arrest of the couple constitutes a violation of their fundamental human rights, as provided for in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

The Registrar of the High Court has agreed to give a date for the hearing – the JusticeMakers team will keep readers updated as soon as we get word from Lagos!

JusticeMakers is delighted to announce that yesterday Patrick’s team reported the release of their first criminal defendant. The defendant was brought to the Lagos Magistrate Court on allegation of theft – he reportedly had stolen a mobile-phone handset from a shop. The defendant admitted visiting the shop but denied stealing the phone. Despite of the fact that he pleaded innocent and there was no evidence linking him to the theft, the police arrested the defendant and searched his house. No phone was found, but the police still would not drop the charges.

Shehu Olakunle, a member of Patrick’s paralegal team, was stationed at Ikeja High Court saw the suspect in handcuffs being escorted into the building. Mr. Olakunle inquired as to his offence, and promptly contacted Mr. Fidelis Eghiase, one of their legal aid lawyers. Mr.Eghiase immediately informed the court that he would be defending the suspect, and that there was no evidence upon which the court could try him. Thanks to the readiness of Patrick’s team, the suspect was released on bail. His hearing is on the 5^th of March of this year. Had the Nigerian JusticeMakers not acted, the accused would have joined the thousands of other Nigerians who, wrongly-accused, are languishing in prison awaiting trail. The JusticeMakers team offers its congratulations to all those involved in this success!