Torts and everyday people (Pt 2)
Immediately, a police van came and four policemen rushed out, “What is happening here, Where is the culprit? Miss Onome pointed at the man, her face was swollen from the punch and she was looking very tattered.
The head of the officers stated, “Do you have any body to call, you need to get your lawyer and any relative, you will follow us to the station for proper documentation as you have been accused of assault which is a criminal offence and other tortious liabilities”. The other three officers took him away in the van while one of the officers followed miss Onome in her SUV jeep, she was the Managing director of a very big company but her small stature had betrayed her again as this wasn’t the first time people would relate with her as a teenager where she was approaching 40.
With mouths open, People had already begun taking to their heels stylishly, only a few remained and broke into groups while onlookers watched from a distance. Some said to one another, “that serves him right”, another group said, “It’s good for somebody to be connected oh, nobody will infringe on your right at will”, some others added, “that is because she has the connections and know people in higher positions. What about people who face similar or worse situations on a daily basis but have no one to call or no body to stand for them?” While those at the distance said, “ He’s even fortunate. Some police officers won’t ask him to call anybody but would start dealing with him immediately before taking him to the station”.
Well, this is what you expect to see or hear in a typical Nigerian society. The law is there for our enjoyment and benefit but most people obviously or out of fear of being rebuked, shy away or sleep on their rights forgetting that Section 34 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, states that every Nigerian Citizen is entitled to respect for the dignity of his person.
Subsection (1) (a) states that no person shall be subject to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment.
From the stipulation of the constitution, ‘every Nigerian citizen’ did not exclude the females or the children, it said ‘Every Nigerian Citizen’, whether you are a man or woman, boy or girl and that it why we see a more pronounced interpretation of this section of the constitution in Section 42 (1) of the Constitution provides that :
A citizen of Nigeria of a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion shall not, by reason only that he is such a person:-
(a) be subjected either expressly by, or in the practical application of, any law in force in Nigeria or any executive or administrative action of the government, to disabilities or restrictions to which citizens of Nigeria of other communities, ethnic groups, places of origin, sex, religion or political opinions are not made subject.
With regards to creating legal relations, Sections 36(1) of the Constitution provides:
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.
Subsection 2 states further: Without prejudice to the foregoing provisions of this section, a law shall not be invalidated by reason only that it confers on any government or authority power to determine questions arising in the administration of a law that affects or may affect the civil rights and obligations of any person if such law –
(a) Provides for an opportunity for the persons whose rights and obligations may be affected to make representations to the administering authority before that authority makes the decision affecting that person.
A summary on the Law of Torts
Torts are civil wrongs recognized by law as grounds for a lawsuit. See the case of Smith v. United States, 507 U.S. 197 (1993).
These wrongs result in an injury or harm constituting the basis for a claim by the injured party. While some torts are also crimes punishable with imprisonment, the primary aim of tort law is to provide relief for the damages incurred and deter others from committing the same harms. The injured person may sue for an injunction to prevent the continuation of the tortious conduct or for monetary damages.
Among the types of damages the injured party may recover are: loss of earnings capacity, pain and suffering, and reasonable medical expenses. They include both present and future expected losses.
There are numerous specific torts including trespass, assault, battery, negligence, products liability, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Torts fall into three general categories:
Intentional torts (e.g., intentionally hitting a person),negligent torts (e.g., causing an accident by failing to obey traffic rules); and strict liability torts (e.g., liability for making and selling defective products – See Products Liability).
Intentional torts are those wrongs which the defendant knew or should have known would occur through their actions or inactions. Negligent torts occur when the defendant’s actions were unreasonably unsafe. Strict liability wrongs do not depend on the degree of carefulness by the defendant, but are established when a particular action causes damage.
There are also separate areas of tort law including nuisance, defamation, invasion of privacy, and a category of economic torts.
The bottom line is this, every Nigerian should be enlightened on their fundamental human rights and should make it a point of duty to have a personal lawyer in order to educate them, give legal advice and also enable them exercise their rights to create legal relations as provided by the constitution. With that first step taken, there would be room for justice to prevail and sanity restored in not just the society but the country and the world at large.
JUDITH AMARACHI UGOH