The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State, Lawal Pedro, and Senior Advocate of Nigeria Femi Falana have cautioned lawyers against helping clients to punish landlords. They gave this warning at the advocacy program themed “Building Collapse and Application of Punitive Laws in Lagos State” organized by the Building Collapse Prevention Guild, Ikeja Cell, and the Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja branch in Lagos State recently.

The Attorney-General of the state said that the issue of landlord and tenancy should not last more than 60 days in court. He explained that if the tenant is not paying rent within that span or leaving the house, going to court and having the matter end up staying in court for up to 5 years would discourage investments. The Nigerian Bar Association and the Ministry of Justice will collaborate to ensure that adequate laws are written out so that everyone is aware of what is required. The Ministry of Justice would also address self-help issues that people usually resort to in the recovery of rent, debt, and possession. The objective is to ensure that cases in the state won’t last more than 24 months in court.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria appealed to lawyers not to assist clients in punishing landlords. He shared an experience where a client who had not paid his rent for two years wanted to appeal a case that he had lost at the Magistrate court. The Senior Advocate of Nigeria warned lawyers to be careful not to be agents of impunity. He added that out of frustration, people go to the Ministry of Environment to complain that the building would collapse, and officials who wouldn’t do their investigation would put some notice there citing the building for demolition. However, the Commissioner for Physical Planning, Olatunji Odunlami, emphasized that negligence is the root cause of building collapse. He said that regulation is essential to prevent such incidents, and the failure of highly productive members has resulted in building collapse.