CRIMINAL LAW

Our forage into Criminal Law has seen us on both sides of the divide – as prosecutors and as defence attorney. Our attorneys were involved in famous fraud, corruption and financial crimes trials including F.R.N. v. Farouk M. Lawan, F.R.N. v. Dairo and F.R.N. v. Borishade. We have also handled several felony, manslaughter and murder trials some of which were defended pro bono.

Awo v. State [2013]

In the administration of criminal justice, it must always be borne in mind that “the two fold aim of criminal justice is that the guilty shall not escape justice or innocence suffer.” See Berger Vs. U.S. 295 U.S. 78 (1935) referred to in U.S. Vs. Nixon (U.S. President) 418 U.S. 683; Supreme Court 3090. OR put differently, by the spirit of the presumption of innocence guaranteed to an accused person under Section 36(5) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, the policy of our courts is that it would be better to discharge ten (10) criminals than to convict one (1) innocent person, by mistake or error of law. Hence, as eloquently admonished by the learned eminent jurist, Oputa, JSC., in Ukwunneyi V. The State (1989) 5 NWLR (pt. 114) 137 at 156, we must be reminded always that: “Human justice has to depend on evidence and inferences. Dealing with the irrevocable issues of life and death, she has to tread cautiously lest she sends an innocent man to an early and ignoble death. .Tom Shaibu Yakubu, JCA (of blessed memory)