On December 6, 2017, a Judge of the
Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Buba stepped into his court room in Ikoyi,
Lagos. His court room was full to the brim. Justice Buba was scheduled to
deliver an important judgment in a matter that has caused so much trouble in
the Nigerian creative industry.
Justice Buba did not deliver the judgment. A visibly angry Buba said that the evening before, he received a petition against him from a party in the case, obviously trying to intimidate him. He announced that ‘come rain, come sunshine’ he would deliver the judgment on December 14.
Justice Buba did not deliver the judgment. A visibly angry Buba said that the evening before, he received a petition against him from a party in the case, obviously trying to intimidate him. He announced that ‘come rain, come sunshine’ he would deliver the judgment on December 14.
Lo and behold, on December 14,
Justice Ibrahim Buba still did not deliver the judgment. He said that the case
file had been taken from him and he had no choice but to adjourn the matter
till further notice!
The key question Justice Buba was
scheduled to answer in his judgment is this: Under Nigerian law, is the
syndicate, Musical Copyright Society Nigeria (MCSN) truly an approved
collecting society and authorized to collect money on behalf of innocent
Nigerian musicians? Somebody did not want that question answered hence the
muscling of Justice Ibrahim Buba.
You may wonder why this is important.
The MCSN cabal, together with its henchman, one Mayowa Ayilaran and six of
MCSN’s officials are facing seven different criminal cases before different
judges of the Federal High Court. Each of the cases was filed by the Nigerian
Copyright Commission (NCC), an agency of the Federal Government.
How did this bizarre tale take this
crazy turn? Early in 2017, the Attorney-General of the Federation &
Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, in a strange letter, directed the NCC
to approve MCSN as a collecting society to collect copyright royalties for the
Nigerian music industry. At the NCC, they were mystified by what Mr. Malami, a
lawyer, was asking them to do. The NCC replied Mr. Malami giving him several
reasons clearly showing that what he was asking the commission to do is
dangerous and unlawful.
The NCC objections did not stop the
AGF. In a strongly worded letter dated 22nd March, 2017, Mr. Malami ordered the
NCC, despite the strong protestations, not only to immediately license MCSN,
but to withdraw every case filed by the commission against MCSN including the
seven criminal cases at the Federal High Court before Justice Mojisola
Olateregun Ishola, Justice Babatunde Kwewumi and Justice Abdulazeez Anka.
Any ‘baby lawyer’ will tell you that
the AGF has the power to file a ‘Nolle Prosequi’ to stop any case. In this
case, the AGF did not file a ‘Nolle’. He ordered the NCC to abruptly withdraw
the cases, referring to the powers he thinks he has under Section 50 of the
Copyright Act to give directives to the NCC. The only problem is that the law
in Section 51 expressly vests the power to give directives to the NCC in “the
minister charged with the responsibility for culture” and not the AGF.
On learning about this strange
development, I sought to see the AGF because I knew that his directives would
set the music industry on fire. I am very familiar with the Copyright Act; I
served in the committee that drafted the Act. I am familiar with the Copyright
Commission; I was twice on the board of the commission. I know the Nigerian
music industry from several directions.
I met with the AGF in his Abuja
office on April 6, 2017. After our discussions including documents I gave to
him, Mr. Malami said that he did not quite understand the issues but had acted
out of persistent pressure from his S.A. (Media), one Salihu Othman Isa. He
also told me that he was alarmed at some point with the unending pressure of
Isa and that he had asked Isa what his interest was in the matter. I believed
Mr. Malami.
To cut a long story short, I asked
the AGF what he was going to do about the matter since he had become better
informed. He looked at me, eye ball to eye ball, and said, “give me seven
days”. Seven days passed and nothing happened. Another seven days went by and I
placed a call to the AGF and there was no answer. I sent him a text and there
was no reply. I followed up with an e-mail which received no acknowledgement.
It became clear to me that I had been sold a dummy. Mr. Malami all the time
knew what he was doing!
At COSON of which I am chairman, we
addressed a press conference on the issue. Thereafter, I was sent a battery of
very vile text messages by one Sylvester, a very senior aide to Mr. Malami
calling me names in gutter language totally unbecoming of a senior government
official. This was followed by mails threatening me with court action.
When it became obvious that despite
his promise, the AGF would never address the problem, we took the issues to the
Federal High Court for a resolution. Justice Ibrahim Buba before whom the case
is, is being harassed, intimidated and blackmailed. He is being forcefully
prevented from delivering judgment in the matter. I thought that I would never
see this kind of day in my fatherland when the rule of law is so violently
assaulted. The courts were supposed to be the last refuge of the common man. I
am startled by the precedent being set: a judge being arm-twisted so that he
does not deliver judgment in a case as he deems fit. Absolutely crazy!
I have no idea what decision Justice
Buba would have come to. What I know is that all the parties have a right to go
to the Court of Appeal if any of us is dissatisfied with the judgment. At the
same time that Justice Buba is being harassed, a strange coup was hatched to
quickly get rid of me at COSON followed by so much falsehood being peddled
around which they think will destroy my integrity. You think it is a
coincidence? Forget it! They are all being cooked in the same kitchen. Somebody
is afraid of the judgment of Justice Ibrahim Buba.
I have followed the matter of
Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pensions
Reform. I followed the testimony of the Head of Service of the Federation,
Winifred Oyo-Ita at the House of Representatives Enquiry. Everything she said is
familiar. There is a pattern. We know about Malami and Maina and we now know
about Malami and MCSN. How many others in this MMM Plus scheme don’t we know
about? It is clear that we have a Chief Law Officer who erroneously thinks that
he is the law. He should be told that he is not.
I am asking all the judges in the
Nigerian legal system to insist that the case file in Suit No
FHC/L/CS/1259/2017 be returned to Justice Ibrahim Buba so that he can deliver
judgment in the case as he deems fit. Tell me, if they are allowed to get away
with this, what will they not do next? With a bible in my hand, I swore to
defend the rights of the Nigerian creative community. Nobody, no matter how
powerful he thinks he is, will stop me from doing that.
By the way, if something funny
happens to me in the coming days, Nigerians ought to know in which kitchen it
was cooked.
See you next week.
