By Abu Arome, Legal Practitioner
There is a unique sense of injustice that comes when, in the process of standing for justice, you become a victim of the very system you swore to uphold. My recent journey as a legal practitioner representing my clients (non-Nigerians) in a land dispute has been nothing short of an odyssey, an emotionally tasking experience marked by systemic manipulation and the weaponization of government institutions.
This case began, as many civil matters do, with my clients approaching the courts in September 2024 to challenge an unlawful encroachment on their property. They did what any law-abiding citizen should do – seek redress through the judicial process. The defendant, in this case, a notorious land predator, responded not through legal filings or rational argument but by manipulating law enforcement agencies into launching criminal allegations aimed at intimidating, discrediting, and ultimately dispossessing my clients.
For over 13 years, no one ever accused my clients of forgery. That changed immediately after they dared to protect what was lawfully theirs. Suddenly, routine corporate resolutions signed by bona fide directors became “forgeries”. Legal documents submitted for legitimate filings, the kind of paperwork lawyers handle daily, are now treated as evidence of crime.
And here’s where it gets disturbing: I, too, have now been accused, for events allegedly committed in 2009 and 2013, years during which I was still a university student. Imagine that! The allegations are not only laughable but also demonstrative of a deeper, more systemic rot. The use of criminal justice tools as instruments of vendetta in what is fundamentally a civil dispute.
I have also seen criminal investigations launched into forgery allegations without even basic forensic procedures like collecting and comparing signature specimens.
I have seen directors whose appointments have never been contested being accused of falsifying documents they were authorized to sign.
I have seen how law enforcement officers, with little or no understanding of corporate governance or commercial law, pass sweeping judgments that affect people’s lives and livelihoods.
And worst of all, I have seen how society, our media, our public institutions, and even many of our colleagues accept these injustices without scrutiny. The narrative of law enforcement agencies is accepted as gospel. The press, hungry for scandal and funded by the highest bidder, publishes unverified allegations as if they were proven facts. And in the meantime, my client, their family, their staff, and even I must endure the suffocating weight of a criminal process that should never have been initiated.
This experience has opened my eyes to how fragile justice is when checks and balances are absent. At present, there is no independent mechanism for reviewing the fairness, legality, or objectivity of criminal investigations before charges are filed in court. Once an officer signs off on a charge sheet, regardless of how biased, incomplete, or manipulated the investigation is, the defendant is left to fight an uphill battle.
My Recommendations
The Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) should, by law, be required to review ALL criminal investigations before any trial is initiated. This would serve as a safeguard against politically or financially motivated prosecutions.
Our justice system cannot be great if the innocent must suffer to prove their innocence, or if lawyers are punished for standing on the side of truth. As a lawyer, I understand the importance of allowing the law to take its course. But I also understand the need for that course to be fair and balanced.
The fight for justice, in this case, is no longer just about land. It is about the soul of our legal system, about whether we still believe in law as a means of resolving disputes or whether we are content to let the powerful rule through fear and manipulation.
May truth prevail: May Nigeria be great again.
Abu Arome is a legal practitioner based in Abuja, Nigeria.
He authors the series, Obscure Legal Facts. He is an avid advocate of institutional reforms.
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