In 2021, I released a little collection of short stories with the title, “The Law is an Ass.”

On the day we presented the book, a respected Senior Advocate of Nigeria, joked about the audacity of the title and the trouble I might have with judicial officers, consequently. We all laughed.

But he was right! Everywhere I go with the book since then, people are intrigued by the idea of the law being an ass. A lot of that fascination comes from misconceptions about the connotation of the word “ass” in the book’s context, though, but the title draws queries even from those who understand still wonder.

So, when people ask me, I explain that the expression refers to the rigid application of the letters of the law, devoid of emotions and sometimes, common sense!

Ass, in the circumstance, refers to the English colloquial name for a donkey, an animal with a reputation for unwavering obstinacy. The expression is believed to be much older than 1893, when Jonathan Swift used it in his book Oliver Twist; but most reference materials attribute its origin to that classic work.

A character in the novel, Mr Bumble, appears before a court, which suggests to him that: “the law supposes that your wife acts under your direction.” Bumble knows his wife to be domineering and way beyond control, and responds: “If the law supposes that the law is an ass, an idiot.” What this implies is that the law does not pander to human emotions; call it stupid, idiotic, or even dogmatic; the law is no respecter of persons, and whoever runs afoul of it pays the prices that it states.

Nigerians’ inability to grasp this reality is one fallout that I see from the recent conviction of former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu.

Since the story broke about one year ago until its determination last week, discussions in Nigeria have, in the main, been around the reputation of Mr Ekweremadu, the health status of the daughter, and whether any parents would have acted differently.

Without a doubt, the circumstances of the Ekweremadus’ conviction break the heart. I mean, every human being would do whatever they could to give a worthy life to their child. This is what the family tried to secure for their daughter, Sonia; unfortunately, they got their fingers burnt. Therefore, it is expected that human beings would empathise with the circumstances.

However, a society should have ethical thresholds that individuals should not cross. And whenever anyone crosses such borders, they should face the consequences prescribed by law, irrespective of status, position, or wealth. The only way a society can remain sane is by respecting and protecting the dignity of every human being, regardless of status, origin, or creed. It is incidentally, one thing that Nigeria lacks.

It is something that this country must learn from last week’s judgment, regardless of the pain and hurt that we feel on behalf of the original victim, David Nwamini, and the prominent politician’s family. Pathetic as it is, this story and the lessons are essential to Nigeria’s politico-legal situation.

Consider the speed with which the London Central Criminal Court dealt with the matte, for instance. The former deputy senate president and his wife were arrested in London on June 23, 2022. Less than 11 months later, the matter was determined! The ranking senator has been convicted and sentenced to a jail term.

One of the most noticeable things about the London case is that all the law enforcement and judicial officers involved maintained fidelity to upholding the law. This is clear from their understanding of the fact that truth is fundamental to the global concept of justice, and that justice for one is justice for all.

The London Metropolitan Police, which arrested the senator and his wife in June 2022, only took this step after receiving watertight evidence of the commission of the offence. Information released shortly after their arrest indicated that the police had been on the trail of the accused for over a month. They were charged to court immediately, and details of the trial have been made public thenceforth.

The usual order in Nigeria is the arrest of people, their presentation in court on some “holden” charge, and then, an endless investigation of the matter involving them. This twisted order of things is one reason for the non-diligent prosecution and sometimes, the loss of many cases involving high-profile people.

Not just that. Although the UK case involved celebrated and high-profile defendants and cross-jurisdictional issues, Ike and Beatrice Ekweremadu were represented by simple specialist lawyers. Were it the prosecution in Nigeria, there would have been an exhibition of senior advocates in unimaginable numbers. They would intimidate the court, exploit the loopholes in our criminal prosecution system, and give the impression that justice is a commodity traded to the advantage of the highest bidder.

In Nigeria, the trial of the powerful and their cohorts takes several years, such that the essence of the crimes committed, and the lessons society should learn are lost in the legal abracadabra that denies us the relevance of justice.

Here is a living example! Six months before Ike Ekweremadu’s arrest, a wealthy Nigerian Dr. Ramon Adedoyin, was charged to court alongside six others.  Adedoyin is proprietor of Hilton Royal Hotel, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

The prosecution is connected to the death of Timothy Adegoke, a Master of Business Administration student at the Obafemi Awolowo University, who was found dead after lodging in the hotel in November 2021. A lengthy trial has ensued in this case since January 2022.  As the matter unfolds, both parties continue to file multiple applications that prolong the matter. Most of the time, such applications come up because finding the truth and serving the ends of justice are not fundamental to police investigations in Nigeria. So, as cases proceed, loopholes that parties capitalise on emerge. This lack of diligence often provides exit opportunities for the defendants who may escape justice, even if guilty.

In Nigeria, justice respects status and personality. Investigators get persuaded or intimidated by the relevance of tribe or tongue, the depth of purses, the mode of worship, and the commanding position of those who maintain the reins of power at every material time. At all levels of investigation and prosecution, some law enforcement agents play games with justice leading Nigeria to this current situation where justice is crying for justice.

That a lot of those who lead the course of justice are not true to their calling and their country has also confused many citizens about the sanctity of the law. So, we play politics with the issues of ethics, and emotionalise on the altar of justice. We sacrifice the sanity of our society for the expediency of loyalty.

The law is unbiased- it is concerned only with jurisprudential matters of what’s right and wrong. That Ike and Beatrice have a duty to help Sonia to live is critical to their parental instincts and duty but then societies have a gatekeeper who maintains law and order and these gatekeepers, and the instruments of their operations are blind to our sentimental and emotional issues that are natural to human basic assumption. Society is imperilled. When the gatekeepers, judicial officials, police, lawyers etc see wealth, class, status, and tongues as it is in our country.

Here lies the foundation of our troubles.This is the reason Nigeria is where it is today. The high and powerful have appropriated the right of the average person to justice. How do they do that? By deploying the same resources, they pilfer from the people, they subjugate the same people. Since the erosion of access to justice, the people have taken the law into their own hands. This is the root of the social unrest that is clear in insurgencies, civil disobedience, crimes, deviance, and the desperate desire for money that has consumed our nation.

Even as Nigerians look forward to some soft landing for the Ekweremadus in their current predicament, we should not lose sight of the very important lesson that the law should be blind to status, creed, and tribe. Societies with aspirations for a better tomorrow and national sanity must wake up to these challenges in the interest of national order. It is the only way to a healthy society.