Exclusive Excerpts10: Law Personality Interview with Prof. Peter Umeadi, the APGA 2023 Presidential Aspirant contd as He reveals his impressions adjudicating cases with capital sanctions

How did you feel arriving at judgments in cases that had capital or the maximum price as sanctions?

Judges ought not have attachment to case before them other than doing their duty, which is applying the law to facts which in criminal matters have to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. “If conviction is to be, the prosecution must prove the case beyond reasonable doubt” Woolmington VDPP (1935) AC 462 per, Viscount Sankey. The parties have a right of appeal from the court below. Again it should not be the concern of the Judge what happens to the matter on appeal except to keep tab. All concern and industry should be invested during the trial to apply the rule of law. One of the aspects of the rule of law thrown up in Woolmington’s case is that the burden of proof never shifts in criminal cases but remain with the prosecution to prove beyond reasonable doubt, the guilt of the accused person. On the front page of Vanguard Newspaper of Tuesday November 24 2009 was the headline “Rule of law hinders ex-governors trial, say EFCC”. The story says “The EFCC has bemoaned the strict adoption of the rule of law mantra by the Federal Government, lamenting that former governors and other political –exposed person, were hiding under it to dodge trial” How untrue! The rationale to tread carefully in criminal trials have been espoused from a very long time. In 1748 Voltaire wrote of “the great principle that it is better to run the risk of sparing the guilty man than to condemn the innocent” At about the same time Blackstone noted approvingly “the law holds that it is better that ten guilty persons escape than one innocent suffer” See Article by Reiman and Haag on Cambridge Core on the subject. Elsewhere I put the issue thus inter alia “ I respectfully recommend that all the three arms of government in all tiers in Nigeria ought to go back and read Lakanmi’s case judgement. The EFCC, ICPC, Nigeria Police, the Presidential Advisory Committee against Corruption, the Nigerian Bar Association and indeed all personages in this hall ought to read this judgement again. It was about fighting corruption and the Supreme Court took sides with the rule of law which translate to justice according to law. The rule of law connotes observation of the rules. It could not function without civility. Law enforcement often get impatient and sometimes frustrated with what they term the slow pace of bringing justice against those who have been charged with crime. The hexameter first issued by an unknown poet, then quoted by Sextus Empiricus and then by Plutarch would suffice as follows “The millstones of the gods, grind late, but they grind fine” It does not call for any feelings because “punishment is an obligation to do justice”. See Reiman and Haag: Cambridge Core. (supra)