Right to fair hearing is a constitutional provision in s.36 of the constitution which it’s import is that every citizen despite the offense he’s been accused to have committed (be it civil or criminal) have the right of audience, right to be heard, right to share his or her own side of the story, right to defend himself in person or with the aid of a legal practitioner in the determination of his case.
The implication of this section is to protect citizens from other overzealous citizens including law enforcement agents who are always ready to take laws into their hands and dispense jungle justice to any and every accused person immediately without letting the law take its course and without proper investigation into the matter.
Most importantly, this section tries to discourage jungle justice and act as a reminder that there are always two sides to every story and every accused must be given the audience to share his or her own side of the story to avoid punishing an innocent man.
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Most times, people that get melted jungle justice end up being innocent but they were not given the opportunity to share their own side of the story before the get mobbed just like the case of the alleged kid kidnapper last week that was merciless brutalized by mobsters who turned out to be an innocent man. This has been the case where persons were set ablaze, brutalized and killed by mobs due another person raising an alarm and accusing them of committing one offense or the other in the public which turn out to be a false alarm.
Some excerpts of s.36 of the constitution which provides for right to fair hearing is reproduced below:
S.36(1) In the determination of his civil rights and obligations, including any question or determination by or against any government or authority, a person shall be entitled to a fair hearing within a reasonable time by a court or other tribunal established by law and constituted in such manner as to secure its independence and impartiality.
36(6) Every person who is charged with a criminal offence shall be entitled to-
a. be informed promptly in the language that he understands and in detail of the nature of the offence;
b. be given adequate time and facilities for the preparation of his defence;
c. defend himself in person or by legal practitioners of his own choice;
d. examine, in person or by his legal practitioners, the witnesses called by the prosecution before any court or tribunal and obtain the attendance and carry out the examination of witnesses to testify on his behalf before the court or tribunal on the same conditions as those applying to the witnesses called by the prosecution; and
e.have, without payment, the assistance of an interpreter if he cannot understand the language used at the trial of the offence.
The case that trended last week of a dispatch rider kidnapping a 10 months old kid is an eye opener why the need for the right to fair hearing and secondly, a reminder for the need why jungle justice should be made a serious offense with serious punishments for those who still engage in the act of jungle justice.
What the law provides is that when a person is being accused of any offense, especially criminal offense, he should be reported or handed over to the law enforcement agency who will then conduct a thorough investigation on the offense the person is accused of committing, if there is a prima facie case established after the investigation, the accused person will be charged to court. The court after hearing the matter will determine if the accused is guilty or not, if guilty the court in her wisdom will give the offender the punishment he or she deserves, but if the court after hearing the matter finds out that the accused person is innocent, the court will graciously allow the accused to go a free man.
This is why there should never be a room for jungle justice because there are avenues that have been laid down for seeking justices in the society and the public should never engage themselves doing the jobs of the judiciary because whenever they do, an innocent person gets killed and the society will turn into a jungle where a person can be killed or brutalized on a false alarm.
We all saw a video of the dispatch rider that was mobbed for being accused of kidnapping a 10 months old baby in the Sangotedo area of Lagos some days ago. The man who after investigation turned out to be innocent was never given a chance to explain his own side of story, he was mercilessly beaten, brutalized, called a kidnapper, recorded and trended online.
The Lagos state police command ordered for full investigation on the case and they found out that the man never kidnapped the young boy rather, according to the mother of the alleged kidnapped boy, the dispatch rider is a relative of the mother of the boy and the boy is very fond of the man, always wanting to go along with him all the time and with the mother’s permission the dispatch rider took the boy along to make some quick deliveries.
The Lagos State Police Command on Monday disclosed that a dispatch rider, who goes by the Williams Tadule, got the consent of one Lovina Biturs, the mother of the boy to take her 10-month-old baby away.
The story according to the mother is that the rider wanted to go pick up something in the neighbourhood and the baby’s uncontrollably cries won’t let his mother be, pacify the baby, his mother allowed him go with the rider,”
In the official statement made available to the public by the police, titled, ‘Child Found With Dispatch Rider Not Stolen’.
The statement read, that On 11th March, 2022, a video of a dispatch rider accused of concealing a suspected stolen child in a courier box went viral on the social media, causing apprehension.
“Although the incident was not reported at any police station, however, the Commissioner of Police, Abiodun Alabi, fdc, mnim, psc, directed that the incident should be investigated immediately.
“The child’s mother, Lovina Biturs, was contacted. It was then revealed that the child was actually taken away and put on the dispatch motorbike by the rider with the consent of his mother.
“According to the mother, the 10-month-old baby is fond of the rider who is a relative, a neighbour and was crying uncontrollably when he (rider) wanted to go pick up something in the neighbourhood. To pacify the baby, his mother allowed him go with the rider.
“Passersby who saw the child with the rider along Sangotedo area, Ajah on the said day, became suspicious and concluded that the child might have been stolen, raised the alarm which attracted a mob. The mob subsequently pounced on the rider, beating him without finding out the truth.
“The dispatch rider later identified as Williams Tadule, was said to have been rescued by the Chairman of the Sunview Estate, Sangotedo.
“The Commissioner of Police, therefore warns members of the public against any form of jungle justice as such uncivilized action has grave consequences.”