Madam Carol Eno Effiong (85yrs): A Case of Justice
on its Ugly Head

Madam Carol Eno Effiong, is a widow and a retired
nurse. She packaged her little pension and gratuity
and partook in the bid for Festac 77 houses, through
the Federal Housing Authority and won. She was thus
allocated a five bedroom detached house in Festac.
She moved into that only house, as a retiree, with her
only daughter, also named Carol.

Just one day in 1996, Madam Effiong discovered that
her documents of title to the house were missing.
She searched for them to no avail, so she reported to
the FHA and also placed a Caveat in the Vanguard
newspapers. Unknown to Madam Effiong however,
her only daughter, Carol, had taken the documents
and sold the house, through a forged power of
attorney, to her accomplice.
The 'buyer' then approached the Magistrate Court,
Apapa, suing Madam Effiong through her fake
attorney, Carol, her daughter. 'Judgment' was
obtained against Madam Effiong and she was evicted
from the house, and thrown into the streets. Her daughter, Carol, disappeared into thin air. Madam Effiong started squatting in churches, having lost all
her life savings in the process.

Madam Effiong approached Chief Gani Fawehinmi,
SAN, as a dying widow, and a case was filed in the
High Court in 1997. I was assigned to handle the case.
Subsequently in year 2000, Chief Fawehinmi granted
approval for me to continue handling the case, after
I'd set up my own law firm.
We went through a rigorous and challenging trial,
given that Madam Effiong had already advanced in
age. In a well considered judgment delivered in 2009,
Hon Justice Candido Johnson found for Madam
Effiong, entered judgment in her favour and ordered
her to be restored into the property.
The 'buyer' (names withheld) promptly filed an
appeal against the judgment in July 2009, and
remained in the property. The appeal again traveled
a lengthy journey till 2017, when judgment was
eventually delivered, dismissing the appeal as totally
lacking in merit. The Court of Appeal affirmed the
judgment of the trial court and ordered that Madam
Effiong be restored into immediate possession. By
this time, Madam Effiong is now about 85 years of
age, struggling even to walk, having been squatting
and battling for life since 1997 when she was
fraudulently evicted, a widow, with no one else as her
family, for the past twenty years.

At the pain of issuing a curse, the justices of the
court of appeal berated the lawyers that stood for the
"buyer" in the High Court and in the Court of Appeal
and counseled against any further appeal to the
Supreme Court, in the name of God.
This is the sad state of legal practice in Nigeria, that
is calling for urgent transformation. It brings me to
tears every time I see Madam Effiong struggling to
walk. I will like to thank Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN,
even in death, for his magnanimity and caring heart.
My gratitude also goes to Mr Tayo Oyetibo, SAN, who
accepted to lead me in the appeal at no single cost to
Madam Effiong. I'm glad that she's alive to read the
judgment and reap the fruits of the long and slow
wheels of justice.
There are several other Madam Effiongs, spread
across Nigeria, who are being robbed of justice and
their rights in law. I have posted this case to urge our
leaders to do something urgently, about the decaying
state of facilities in the judiciary, appoint more
judges, build more court rooms and promulgatenew
rules that will ensure speedy dispensation of justice.

Dare To Struggle, Dare To Win
Ebun-olu Adegboruwa, Esq.,
Lekki, Lagos.
24/06/2017.

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