I join all well-meaning Nigerians to shower encomiums on Mr. Afolayan’s latest creative work-Citation. The movie has put sexual assault into proper perspective being one of the social ills in our society, by relating it with lascivious lecturers in our higher citadels of learning. Although, the film to my satisfaction promotes the speak up culture for rape (and sexual assault) victims, as a lawyer I wish to highlight two (2) crucial take home points on the law and its workings as follows;
- Course/wheel of Justice: Laws were made to regulate our conducts and impose sanctions for none compliance since according to Thomas Hobbes, the natural nature of man is nasty, brutish and short. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) being the mother of all laws in Section 36 provides that in the determination of anyone’s guilt for an offence, such person shall be presumed innocent and shall be entitled to fair hearing by a Court or other impartial tribunal. Furthermore, anyone who alleges that an offence has been committed is duty bound to lead cogent evidence to substantiate the allegation before a court/panel who will give judgment based on the evidence before it. In the end, it is the administration of these processes that gives justice to any particular case, hence, the wheel of justice. Contextually, it would be recalled that in the opening of the movie some students failed to allow the above highlighted course of justice take center stage, rather, acting on the fact that the Dr. Grillo was caught red-handed at Sunrise Guest House with Rachel, quickly assumed the duty of a court/tribunal/senate by voiding his presumption of innocence, determine his guilt and dished out punishment on him. This was a clear return to the Thomas Hobbes lawless state of things where jungle justice presided.
The consequences of administering jungle justice was equally highlighted in the movie with far reaching consequences on the students. The story would have been different if they toed Moremi’s honourable path and identified themselves as firsthand witnesses thereby consolidating the evidence of Rachel. However, mention must also be made about Rachel’s brave effort to insert her molester’s name during the phone call which could have been reproduced by the telecommunication provider to corroborate her allegation if she toed Moremi’s path. The take home point for all is to always toe the path of rule of law even if it seems slow or that heaven will fall. The jungle justice meted out to Dr. Grillo lasted few minutes with its obvious far reaching consequences as opposed to Moremi’s path which was slow (lasted over an hour) but delivered an acceptable outcome.
The approach taken by Moremi remains the only lawful channel to seek justice/punish these aggressors. The assuring quote “wheels of justice turn slowly, but grind exceedingly fine” credited to Sun Tzu, the great author of “The Art of War” is very apt at this juncture. The courts and other administrative panels are not merely cosmetic, they are there for you and me, to determine who is guilty or otherwise and to punish offenders as appropriate.
2. Burden of Proof: it is important we note that the judge of any given dispute is usually not a witness of the events culminating in the dispute. For instance, if there is a dispute in the family, the judge may be the father or mother who were at work during the fight/dispute. As a judge, the father/ mother would have to rely on the varying accounts given by the parties before arriving at a judgment. This is substantially the same for our Court system and quasi-judicial panels only that higher premium is place on judges impartially. Judges have to rely on the accounts/ narration given by the prosecutors’ witness (es) and the accused before believing the account that appears more convincing. In achieving this end, such court/tribunal use a tool called Burden of Proof to measure the truth or otherwise of any given fact. In understanding this, its core component is the concept of “He who assert, must prove” meaning that if you state any fact, you are duty bound to prove the existence of those facts, hence the Burden of Proof.
Contextually, Moremi dragged Professor N’ Dyare to the University Senate on his rape attempt. Although, the Senate are not witnesses to the events, they are enjoined to remain impartial throughout and necessarily she must discharge the burden of proving to the conviction of the Senate that truly Professor N’ Dyare attempted to rape her by adducing cogent evidence. Although, the fact that their communications were oral and private, none was over the phone and the act was spontaneous made it practically her words against his, it cannot excuse her from discharging the burden/duty which rest squarely on her shoulders to prove her allegation. The summary here is to highlight the importance of obtaining strong evidence against these Predators and to beam applauding lights on the solitary efforts of Moremi travelling thousands of miles to dig into Prof. N’ Dyare’s past through Mr. Cardoso. This effort punctured the lies of her molester, arrested his manipulations and maneuverings.
The take home point therefore is, as individuals before you make any criminal accusation or allegation against anyone, ask yourself, CAN I PROVE IT before a neutral Judge/Arbiter/Panel? If you can, gather the evidences and go for gold. If the answer is negative, please have a rethink.
PLEASE NOTE: Firstly, the above is not in any way promoting silence of victims, but an attempt to help the victim secure the justice they ultimately deserve in reality. Secondly, if the case was before a Court, it is the Prosecutor in conjunction with the victim that will coordinate the evidence gathering exercise. Thirdly it is not as easy as it seem.
Conclusively, I once again sincerely appreciate Mr. Kunle Afolayan for producing this movie at a time when sensitization of the public on these key issues remain abandoned. May I also use this opportunity to express gratitude to Kiki Mordi and her BBC crew on their concerted effort titled “Sex for Grade” on this same subject. Kiki demonstrated the indispensable need for cogent evidence gathering in nailing/prosecution of these predators. I will continue with the sensitization and remain hopeful that the societal ill would be reduced to its barest minimum. Also, we all must contribute our individual quotas in whatever way to tame these monsters. Let’s not just fold our hands and watch helplessly.
Mr. Kunle Afolayan had done his own bit. Kiki Mordi has done hers. This is my own little effort. What will be your own effort?
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