Press Releases

Fashola Unveils New Nigerian Monthly Law Report
"Let's go back to the basics to restore excellence", he says

May 13, 2010 - Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Thursday unveiled the new series of the Nigerian Monthly Law Report (NMLR) published by Optimum Law Publishers Limited saying for Nigeria to restore the excellence of the past in Law and other fields, she must go back to the basics.

Governor Fashola, who spoke at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island venue of the event said instead of agitating about how things went wrong in our nation, the best means to right the wrongs is to ask the founding fathers who are still living among us how they did it in the past.

"I believe that rather than continue to agitate about how things went wrong, the best way to achieve restoration is to ask the men and women who God has been so gracious to keep alive for us how they did it and then begin to bring life to their very great ideas", the Governor said.

Nigeria, the Governor said, has produced great things as a people and one of such great things is the Nigerian Monthly Law Report adding that those who were privileged to use it benefited greatly and are proud of that privilege.

"I believe that we have done so many great things in the past as a people. Ibadan and the Western Region produced an assemblage of the greatest legal minds and torch-bearers of Nigeria's civilization. We had a television station in that Region at the time when France did not have a television station. We had very eminent institutions of learning in that Region – Ibadan and Ife. We had very dynamic and proud public service in that Region", Governor Fashola said.

Commending Optimum Publishers Limited and the Publisher and Chairman, Editorial Board of the NMLR, Dr. Olawale Babalakin, for their resourcefulness in going "back to the basics" , Governor Fashola declared, "I think what Babalakin and Optimum Publishers have achieved today is to restore an excellent practice in a modern and contemporary manner using the experiences of the Founding Fathers".

He told the Publisher, "By the acquisition of these rights, you have become the torch bearer of a very illustrious legacy", adding, however, that the challenges of maintaining the legacy will be enormous.

In his address the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other offences Commission (ICPC), Hon. Justice Olayinka Ayoola noted that the resurrection of the law report he and some legal icons established over four decades ago was a glorious thing, adding that the publication must continue to report legal issues of the courts nationally, while maintaining standard of excellence.

Speaking on behalf of the Founding Editors, Justice Ayoola who said the occasion was a celebration of scholarship and the beginning of the process of reclaiming the Law profession, appealed to legal practitioners and other judicial workers to embrace the modern law report which he said could be compared to any law report published in any part of the world.

In his lecture at the occasion, the Guest Speaker, Professor Fidelis Oditah, commended the efforts of the Publisher in restoring the Nigerian Monthly Law Report saying since the Law affects every aspect of human life and commerce, it should be accessible to every individual.

According to Professor Oditah, "It is very important that the decisions handed down by the courts should be accessible to everyone, not just the lawyers", adding that this is why the recording and publishing of the court decisions are important.

"Every society benefits by having citizens who are well informed as their knowledge will be incomplete, imperfect and inadequate without the knowledge of the Law", he said adding that accessibility to the law would be more enhanced when the Law reports is digitalized and made available online.

Tracing the utility of law Reports in the development of Nigerian Law, Professor Oditah said in order to reduce editorial interference in the reporting of law, good court judgments must be written in simple correct English language adding that facts must be set out as concisely as possible while the legal issues must be identified.

Chairman of the occasion, Hon. Justice Mustapha Akanbi, commended the efforts of the publishers in their attempt to bring to the reading public a resuscitated and rebranded law report that can satisfy their yearnings.

Other legal luminaries who spoke at the occasion affirmed that improper law reports could lead the practitioners of the profession astray, adding that the need to reclaim the profession from incompetent hands informed the resuscitation.

Earlier, the publisher Dr. Olawale Babalakin said it was high time the practitioners and stakeholders got the legal profession back to its right track, adding that the pitfalls that could not be corrected during the military era in the country can easily be rectified now that the country has a democratic government.

He lamented the prevailing situation in the country that now puts the legal practitioners at a disadvantaged position, assuring that the publication of a good law report will correct the anomalies.

Also present at the event were former Attorney General of the Federation, Justice Richard Akinjide, Chief Mrs. Folake Sholanke (SAN), Chief Judge of Lagos State Justice Inumidun Akande, Justice Wale Babalakin, other justices (both serving and retired) of the High and Supreme Courts, members of the State Executive Council, other legal luminaries and top government functionaries.