Previous administrations didn’t debar my SAN conferment – Kwara DPP

Barrister Jimoh Adebimpe Mumini recently made history as the first Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) of Kwara State to be conferred with the prestigious title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) last week. In this interview with ACTING EDITOR, MUMINI ABDULKAREEM, the legal luminary who is nicknamed Jagaban for his prosecutorial prowess talks about the feat and its implication for Kwara Judiciary among other issues. Excerpts:
Why has it taken so long before your historical conferment as a Senior Advocate in Kwara State by the Legal Practitioners Privilege Committee (LPPC)?
Well, as a state counsel, you have a lot of options and alternatives open to you professionally. One can decide to be a judge from the system or as well choose other avenues like senior advocates. Now lot of judges have been appointed from State counsel but it has never happened that a state counsel decides to pursue the senior advocates direction in the history of the state which is the most challenging in the legal profession, there is no doubt about that. The procedures involve are very tedious and except one is a diehard man like some of us can be, in fact it is a very long chain that nobody ever wishes to cross. From my inception as a state counsel in 1992, I always value litigation. I have had occasions were the government has offered me appointment to be a judge that it was time for me to move to the bench. But I have always told them that I prefer being a senior advocate than a judge. Not because I do not like the executive order or the paraphernalia of office of the Judge, but because I believe that my ability, strength, power and endowment are very well in the advocacy and I will always look for and valued it so much. Since then, I prayed to God to make me one. As at the time applied for SAN, I have been overqualified and I had more than enough of the requirements to be but I was just working. People who knows me well knows that I cannot be described with laziness and Almighty Allah has give me so much strength to work that only Him alone should be praised for that.
But why has it taken so long for you to be conferred?
Two things. You see, as a state counsel, you don’t…or let me say one of the things that enables the cause is to have reference point. People you want to make out to. But in my case, I don’t have anybody in the state or any former civil servant I can look up to who can jeer me. And that is why I will remain a point of reference for young lawyers who are just coming because I have added another alternative they never thought could happen to their career. It took me long because there was nobody to articulate my thoughts in terms of referencing, there was just nobody there. We have had a lot of Attorney Generals here who had come and gone and we diligently served them to become senior advocates and today in their respective fields, they can attest to my testimony that we did a lot for them here in the ministry to get them there. Today we’re drawing another line of history which is to say a state counsel can get to the pinnacle of the profession even in his professional career. From the twelve of us appointed by the government in 1992, only three of us are left in the system now and two of them are already permanent secretaries. People believe that as a state counsel, once you enter the service, you retire and go and that is the end but that is not the way things are. This feat as made people, my younger ones to now believe that if I can do it then they can do it too, that is exactly what I have created, they don’t need to go to private chambers or any other place before they become one and today we’re happy that God has made it.
Holistically, how do you look at the impact of this feat on the Kwara State Ministry of Justice?
I must tell you this, there is no doubt about the fact the quality of the services of the ministry has improved a lot. We’ll not be doing justice if we do not appreciate the fact that we have an administration in the state currently that has equally encouraged us to go to all length because we have a Commander-in-Chief who is ever willing to pull us along and he has given us sufficient… you can go on your initiative, he isn’t bothered, once your initiative is in the realm of what the policy of the state is, you’re on your own. There is no unnecessary interference and that is exactly why people like us can rise in the system. You see when you have a system where people are allowed their personal initiative to move ahead, the AG is doing well in this direction too and we all operate like colleagues here which make our job much easier. That is fundamental to realize this objective
Is it that the previous administrations have been a clog in the wheel of the progress for you to achieve this?
No, you see, it’s all about the direction of the ability… or I will say it is the personal initiative of the counsel. No previous administration had debarred us from pursuing our goal. All of them has given us their encouragement one way or the other but the peculiarity of this situation is that we operate like colleagues here now, that is the thing. So if you have an idea or initiative, it is for you to just go ahead and you can attribute that to a long chain of service we have had here. so no administration has ever stopped us from achieving the best.
You’re the longest serving DPP in Nigeria…?
Yes you’re right and I have been since 2004. My colleagues call me DPP of DPPs all over the Federation.
You have attended lots of conferences and seminars before and have come across other DPPS, have discuss or compare notes with some of them that have attained the position of SAN before, why has it not happened here before?
In the history of Nigeria, it is possible that we have a DPP that has attempted the feat but throughout the period under reference, I mean since 2004 till date, I have leave my mark in term of law and have had a lot of milestones. When you go through all the law reports, my name is always there, it’s just a click away. When a lawyer says he has left his imprint on the wall, the only reference is to go to the law reports and I have a lot of cases, both civil and criminal matters and even locus classicus in Nigerian civil and criminal proceedings. I’m not just an expert in criminal proceeding, I have handled a lot of civil matters up to the Supreme Court level and in fact I’ve had contest with the current Attorney-General of the state up to the Supreme Court. Before now, I have contested case with him in civil matters from the lower court to the Supreme Court. In the field of law my imprint is quite remarkable and I’m not a small weight in the profession and I must sincerely thank God for that. So even if you are a DPP and you have my longevity in service, you may not have my longevity in contribution to law that much is what I know in Nigeria. In the country today, I’m not boasting but I made bold to say that God has made me one of the most regular, consistent and referenced DPP in Nigeria.
Has the practice in Ilorin jurisdiction helped in the attainment of this feat?
Yes! And that is why I’m telling you that in Kwara generally, we have a tradition of excellence in legal practice which has really helped us a lot. You see in those days, let me tell you what use to happen, when lawyers come to the Ministry of Justice, they say nothing is being done here than just to collect salaries. That was what we met in practice when we came here. But today, things have changed, our lawyers are now one of the best in Nigeria and some of the best lawyers in Nigeria are now within the ministry of Justice that can compete with any other lawyer in any part of the world. That is the joy that we are absolutely happy about because the standard has improved in Ilorin. We have a lot of senior advocates in Ilorin and the big names in Nigeria today who are SANS are from Ilorin, talk of Olanipekun, Awomolo, Otaru, Adelodun and Yusuf Ali among others. These are people that have made names, they’re people we contest with in court, not just tutelage, we’ve had lots of contested cases with them. My very senior brother, Yusuf Ali used to pamper me in those days whenever we meet in court and today we are what we are because we’ve been consistent. There is nothing you want in the ministry of Justice that you can’t get, we have some of the best brains all over Nigeria in this ministry and that is the joy, it is no longer what it used to be in those days when the narrative of laziness was dominant.
Did you see this coming?
Of course I saw it coming I must tell you. About five six years ago, the former CJN, Justice Mahmood called me and said I should go and apply for SAN that I shall be given because I am qualified to have it. But I was still trying to play around and see how best I can articulate myself because it not easy to be a senior advocate. But I saw it coming a long time ago.
Do you see yourself going into private practice?
Of course, I will retire from the government service one day and I can’t go and stay at home when I leave government after 35 years. I have to go and start practice that is why I can’t retire; I’m not a judge (that will now be addressed) as retired Justice. I will be a retired active legal practitioner and I will ever be there.
You applied for the rank of SAN together with the AG you are serving under, are you in any way disturbed or conflicted that he is yet to make it?
It must bother me because the present AG is one of the best lawyers we have in Nigeria today, I must confess to you. He is revered a lot in legal practice and anybody that knows what law is knows that Barrister Jawondo remain one of the best lawyers in Nigeria. It’s a matter of law, you see at times in this competition, a lot of things happen and that is why I don’t have any… I know that he will soon have it because he remains himself and I have no cause to doubt his integrity and ability anywhere in this country. I’m sure he is going to have it very soon and I’m not bothered. My only burden is just that he should have it on time by the special grace of God.
Are you looking to relocate outside Ilorin to other jurisdictions considered more lucrative as some have done now that you have been conferred with the SAN title?
There’s no way I can relocate to anywhere, this is where Allah has blessed me and Ilorin remains my home. But you can’t blame those who relocate especially because its not as if Ilorin is their home originally but the blessings was gotten from here, so it was an extension of the blessing that made them relocate and I want to tell you even when they relocate, the foundation is still here and they still interact and do everything with us here. We still relates very well.
What is your message to colleagues and junior lawyers?
I wish them the best, every reasonable person will forever wish to reach the pinnacle of their profession. It gives one the satisfaction of the job that oh! I’m there today and the legacy which I want leave for them is that of hard work and dedication. They have learnt that from me and that is why most of them call me Jagaban because they know I lead them in doing the best for the State. They should continue in that aspect and respect and with time, they will get there.