I have been viewing both foreign and domestic movies about court cases. Nollywood films are the funniest films that make me dislike court cases (Especially the Yoruba Nollywood movie).
They would show how justice was slain before a court case to frighten people away from court cases. The justice may occasionally be paid off to judge in their favour.
I watched a movie a few years back that was a hit at the time, and it mostly showed the corrupt structure of the court sector. It concerned a known armed robber who terrorized the neighbourhood and he always escaped whenever the police tried to get him.
As a result, he just allowed himself to be arrested by the police and he was charged in court.
He told the justice that he wouldn't stay long on the day of his trial and urged him to render the judgment quickly. The judge was shocked by what he said and later sentenced him to life imprisonment with hard labour. The thief simply chuckled and claimed that his sandals would serve justice rather than him.
As soon as he said that, the thief disappeared completely, and everyone in the court, including the judge, fled.
After watching a lot of movies and the stories of people that have attended court cases, I tend to think of court cases as odd situations even if I haven't been involved in one.
My Court Experience
A few years ago, my brother and I were relaxing in the living room after returning from the job site when a court representative arrived to deliver a letter informing us that my brother had been charged with a crime and was told to appear in court two days after the letter was given.
We both started laughing as we wondered who would have taken him to court because we did not drag anything with someone. It was just like a movie.
When we opened the letter, it became clear who had filed the lawsuit against us: a young lawyer who had purchased land from my brother two years before the court date. My brother assisted him with his land purchase; he is a surveyor and used to suggest to others lands that are free of problems.
My brother performed a land survey after the man purchased the property, and all necessary paperwork was given to him. The man was told at the time that he should build a fence, a corner piece, or a foundation on the site within a year, but he refused to carry out any work on the property.
After a year, he was asked to do any activity on the land, but he refused. The community's landowners urged everyone who bought land to be active on their lands because the area was developing quickly and they didn't want any land to be left behind.
Unfortunately for the man, the landowners resold the property to a different buyer and called him to inform him that he would be receiving another parcel of land. He called my brother, and he told the barrister that although he had tried his best, it was not his fault because he had been bothering him by trying to get the barrister to perform various tasks on the land, but he had refused.
The barrister replied angrily that he needed his money back and that he wouldn't accept any new land from them and that he would take them all to court.
My First Time In The Court
That's what led me to court. My brother and I went, and we hired a lawyer to represent us. On the first day of the trial, the justice didn't say much; instead, he simply instructed my brother to bring his witness and the landowners to the next court hearing.
My brother's hired counsel argued on his behalf that my brother wasn't the one who sold the land to the buyer directly; rather, he served as an intermediary between the seller and the buyer.
But even so, the judge gave my brother a bad judgment, ordering that the account he used to receive the land payment should be withheld and he should return the lawyer's documentation money within a month. If he fails to do so, the judge will seize his property, which is worth the exact amount of the land, and give it to the other party.
Additionally, he rendered a bad decision, advising the landowner to sell the property and return the man's money.
Everyone was shocked by the verdict including my brother's counsel.
We now believed that the lawyer might have gone to meet with the Justice to ask for assistance since they are both barristers.
Our hired barrister advised that we should appeal the judgment and we appealed. We were favoured at the court of appeal, The court of appeal favoured us in our appeal, and the justice instructed my brother and the landowners to set a date to refund the money. They both agreed, and everything was resolved.
But before the judgment at the appeal court, it was a difficult moment because my brother couldn't access his account right after the first verdict, because it was restricted and all the money inside it was withheld.
I learnt a lot from the experience, and ever since then, I have been cautious about how I interact with individuals and the account numbers I do share with them. I now understand the court's power might freeze someone's account in conjunction with the Economic and Financial Crime Commission. I hope we can all learn from this.
Thank You All For Reading