PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENECE;ARE LAWYERS LIARS ?

My nephew in JSS One was asked what he want to become in future and he simply answered, Lawyer and I asked, why do you want to become a lawyer and he simply answered, I know how to convince people to my side even when am lying they always believe me.

I laughed uncontrollably, that who told that lawyers are liars, and I remembered one of my very good friends who will never call me by my name but refer to me as  ‘someone whose means of livelihood is lie’.

How true is this because that is the general belief about lawyers, but as a lawyer I will tell you this is far from the truth and discuss below one of many reasons why people believe lawyers are liars.

People wonder why a lawyer would know someone is an armed robber, rapist etc and still represent such person in court, the law states that nobody shall be condemned unheard, section 36(4) of the constitution FRN states that whenever any person is charged with a criminal offence, he shall unless the charge is withdrawn, be entitled to fair hearing in public within a reasonable time by a court or tribunal. What constitutes fair hearing starts from being represented by a counsel of his choice, so how do we achieve this except with the help of a lawyer. This concept is encapsulated in the Latin maxim Audi Altarem Partem (hear the other party)

Section 14(3)(c) of the Evidence Act places the burden of proof in a case within the knowledge of the accused person on him. What this simply says is that where the prosecution fails to prove the case against the accused then there is nothing the court can do, that is why our services are required.

 In Uso V. Commissioner of Police the supreme court held that it is the duty of the prosecution to prove the guilt of the accused person and not that of the judge, the judgment of the magistrate was set aside because the trial magistrate personally put questions to the accused in order to discredit his claim.

There is a presumption of innocence that every person charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed innocent until he is proved guilty, this was also stated in Section 36(5) Of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states that every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be presumed to be innocent until he is proved guilty. It is the duty of the prosecution who alleges that the accused person committed the offence to prove it beyond reasonable doubt.

Section 36(6)(c) of the constitution guarantees that every person charged with a criminal offence is entitled to defend himself or by legal practitioner of his choice. The criminal procedure act and criminal procedure code also states that when a person charged with capital offence that is not represented in court, it is the duty of the court to provide him with one. if this is not done and the accused is tried without being represented ,the decision of such court shall be set aside.

The above stated provision of the criminal procedure act cannot be waived, so what happens to an accused person, will he be left in custody untried. The constitution also states that an accused person should be tried within a reasonable time

A lawyer has an ethical duty to represent his client to the fullest extent of law and a lawyer is expected to explore every possibility, options and avenue of inquiry to defend his client no matter how grievous the case may be, telling a lawyer not to represent an armed robber is as good as telling a medical doctor not to treat a pregnant prostitute living with HIV/AIDS ,what of the innocent child she is carrying.

Contact us for all your civil and criminal matters.

I want to believe that after reading this you now know why lawyers represent criminals in law courts.

Thank you.

Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB(hons)BL