Source: Daily Trust
The list keeps growing. And it does appear it will not decline anytime soon. Women of clout and candour are taking up every available space in Lagos State judiciary and they seem so restless about it. In this report, Daily Trust takes a look at how the Lagos State judiciary now wears feminine garb in a way that challenges status quo in other states of the federation.
When on August 20, 2014, Justice Ayotunde Phillips, the immediate past Chief Judge of Lagos State handed over power to her younger sister, Justice Funmilayo Atilade, who was then her second in command, the story that went viral was that a record had been set as siblings have exchanged batons of leadership in the Nigerian judiciary.
That truly was a record. But what perhaps many did not take cognizance of or decided to overlook was the fact that the Lagos State judiciary is one that is currently dominated by the women folk. And for record keepers, this is one development that should not necessarily be swept under the carpet.
Like any other stratum of society in Nigeria, the judiciary is also observed over the years, to have been patriarchal. Both the federal and state judiciaries have functioned largely under male dominance.
Historians are quick to note that not until the emergence of Justice Mariam Aloma Mukthar, the position of the Chief Justice of Nigeria had always been an exclusive position for male Supreme Court judges, who actually rose through the ranks.
Known for its pace-setting feats, however, the Lagos State judiciary which is also regarded as the oldest judiciary in Nigeria (its existence dates back to the period of the cession of Lagos to the British government when it was established and known as the colony province judiciary), gave the country its first female chief judge on April 12, 1995 when late Justice Rosaline Omotosho succeeded late Justice Ligali Ayorinde as number one judge in the state judiciary.
Omotosho's ascendance lasted for a year. It however took an interval of 13 years with seven chief judges before the emergence of another female chief judge, Justice Inumidun Enitan Akande, who came into office in September 2009. Akande passed the baton to another female Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Phillips in 2012 who in turn handed over to another female judge in August 2014, Justice Funmilayo Atilade.
Interestingly, both Phillips and Atilade are children of a late judge, Justice James Williams.
As it is, three female judges have led Lagos State judiciary consecutively in the last five years. More striking is the fact that it is most likely that anytime Justice Atilade will be bowing out of office, she will be passing the baton of leadership to the next most senior judge who is also a woman, Justice Opeyemi Olufunmilayo Oke.
Next in line to Oke is Justice Kazeem Olanrewaju Alogba who is the only male judge within the chain and he currently occupies third position on the ladder. Alogba also has several other female judges behind him as likely successors. These positions are however not sacrosanct to the seat of Chief Judge. A junior judge on the ladder might quit before rising to become chief judge if he or she clocks the retirement age of 65 before his or her turn to the seat.
The recent swearing-in of three new judges (two females, one male) by Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola brought the total number of High Court judges in the state to 57. Analysis of that figure shows that 40 out of that number are female judges while the remaining 17 judges are males. The list of judges published at the swearing-in ceremony of three new judges by Governor Fashola also established this fact.
At magistrate level, the story is nowhere different. Out of a total of 101 magistrates, 73 of them are females while the male magistrates are left with 28 slots to fill.
Similarly, of the 10 prominent administrative positions within the state judicial system, three are occupied by men while seven are controlled by women. Positions being occupied by men include those of the Deputy Chief Registrar (Administration) I, Deputy Chief Registrar (Legal) and Director of Finance and Administration. However, offices such as, the Chief Registrar, Deputy Chief Registrar (Administration) II, Deputy Chief Registrar (Legal) II, Deputy Chief Registrar (Special Duties) I, Deputy Chief Registrar (Special Duties)II, Head of Account and Head, Directorate of Library Services are all occupied by women.
Though government officials that were approached declined to comment on factors responsible for women's clear dominance of the state judicial system, some observers however attributed the development to declining interest among male legal practitioners to participate in the "civil-service-like" court activities which they consider not as "challenging and productive as legal representation of clients in courts."
"There is an age-long impression that the civil service is a soft-landing arena for women generally. It is one perception that had crept into the legal sector too and that is exactly what I think actually led to the upsurge on the number of female judicial staff. Of course you will agree with me that such cannot be said of those who chose to go into full legal practice as lawyers.
"The percentage of women lawyers is far less when compared with their male counterparts and that is because, many feel men are naturally rugged and can always engage in brainstorming, researches and most importantly are oratorily gifted in the courtrooms. These are key attributes needed of lawyers who will need to pick up cases and represent clients," an official in the State Ministry of Justice who will not like to be mentioned said.
This position is well shared by a legal practitioner and partner in Falana and Falana Chambers, Barrister Funmi Falana, who said to a certain extent, the number of women in magistracy had contributed so much to the large population of women in the judicial system.
"I want to attribute increasing number of women in the bench to increasing number of women in magistracy. Women at the bar prefer to go to magistracy, while the men often prefer legal practice. Most judges of High Courts are appointed from the magistracy where there are many women. Of course, there are those who are being appointed from the legal practice to the higher bench (high courts) but majority are selected from lower bench (magistracy) and that is where you have more women. So for me, I think that is the major factor behind the dominance of women on the bench," Falana said.
The women rights advocate was however quick to add that notwithstanding the rise in the number of female judges, that has not rubbed on positively on cases of rights abuses against women folk.
On the position that Lagos State appears to have the highest number of female judges, Falana said: "Of course, we all know that Lagos is an urban city whereby many women are educated, have exposure and are in the legal profession. But there are quite a number of other states where there are more women on the bench like Ondo. Of course, I agree that we have higher number in Lagos State and we cannot rule out the socio-economic location of the city from all these."
However, a lawyer and Executive Director of Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Dr Abiola Akiode, had a slightly different position as to factors responsible for increased women judges in Lagos. According to Akiode, outstanding performances as well as a deliberate policy of the state government to "genderise the judiciary" actually led to the upsurge.
"Factors responsible are many. But I will dwell on the major two. One, the women in Lagos judiciary are very tenacious and quite efficient. And that is well manifested in their judgments. Interestingly, the last three CJs are women and it is most likely that the next one is also going to be a woman. So, that shows that as a matter of choice women are taking active roles and positions in judiciary by the virtue of their education and exposure.
"Secondly, I am also aware of the political undertone. I know that as a matter of policy during the administration of Prof. Yemi Osinbajo as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice which was under former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Lagos State government as a matter of deliberate effort increased the number of women in judicial system. As at the time of Justice Inumidun Akande, women judges were still very few but government responded after lots of advocacy to the call for increase of women in all sectors and that was how many female judges also got into the system," Akiode said.
On the impact of the women judges, Akiode said they have been quite effective.
"The question that should naturally therefore come up is, has Lagos been better for it? And I would say yes. If you look at the development in Lagos judiciary where you have more female judges compared to other states where they are still few, you will see that Lagos now has people who transcribe for judges, cases are being filed through the electronic platform, and a whole lot of improvements.
"In fact, prior to the emergence of Akande, most of the judgments were often contested after they had been delivered but now, the populace can see that they hold up their ante. There have also been less corruption accusations against the judges, among others. So in a way, I will say genderising the justice system has actually helped the system in a way and I will encourage other states to also take into that because it has been a good model to key into," the WARDC executive director said.