Is There Truly Justice For The Common Man? by Apostle Femi Lazarus: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

Can a Common Man Get Justice?

The central question: do the provisions of the law feel accessible to the common man — not by paying bribes, not by knowing anybody, just by following the protocols of the law as stipulated? If the answer is yes, Nigeria is an ideal society. If the answer is no, it is not.

The lawyer's honest answer: the common man cannot really get justice. The law itself is good. The problem is the people who are supposed to enforce it.

How Close Is Anyone to Jail Without Knowing It?

Jail time is a decision away — both by one's own choices and by circumstance. Being present at a crime scene, being close to someone who committed a crime, being proximity-profiled by police — all of these can drag an innocent person into the system. In Nigeria, the practice is to arrest first and investigate later, packing everyone in before determining what happened. In western systems, investigations may run for twenty years before an arrest — by the time they come for someone, it is a done deal. This approach is not legally correct, but it is the practical reality.

Common Legal Traps Many Nigerians Don't Know About

• Tax Evasion — As individuals and business owners, Nigerians are required to do a self-assessment at the end of each financial year and file returns with the nearest Internal Revenue Service by March of the following year. Not doing so is a crime. For companies with gross annual turnover under 100 million naira, company income tax exemptions may apply, but VAT collection and remittance obligations remain. Running a business without collecting and remitting VAT on behalf of the government is illegal.
• Operating an Unregistered Business — Putting up banners or trading under a business name without proper registration is already against the law. These are revenue-generating requirements, and ignorance of the law is not an excuse.
• Defamation and False Allegations — Putting the word allegedly before a statement does not absolve anyone of liability for defamation. If one alleges what cannot be proven, and in doing so damages the reputation of another person in the eyes of the public, that is defamation — regardless of the qualifier. Fake anonymous pages posting such content can be traced down to a house location. Many people are taking such matters to court.
• Cyber Bullying — Using AI to modify someone's image and publish it, trolling online, making false and damaging statements — these are cyber bullying offenses covered under federal law. It changes how the reasonable man perceives a person in society, and the person can be prosecuted.

What Lawyers Actually Do — and What They Cannot Guarantee

A lawyer's role is not to lie for a client but to ensure the prosecution proves its case beyond reasonable doubt. Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. In court, both parties know the truth — it is the judge who is on trial, in the sense that they must navigate and discern.

In the court of justice, lawyers can take bribes — it happens. Rotten eggs exist in every profession. A client who notices their lawyer has had a private meeting with the opposing side and is now working against them has the right to withdraw their files and take the matter to a higher authority. There are platforms to report such misconduct.

Key advice: know your basic rights, be assertive, question things, and do not leave everything to a lawyer without staying conversant with what is happening in your case.

For high-value civil matters, some lawyers work on a contingency basis — a percentage of what is recovered if the case is won. This can provide access to legal representation even without upfront funds.

The Right to Remain Silent — and Why It Matters

The caution — that anything said can and will be used against a person — is very true. Even in court, oral statements made by a person can compound the prosecution's evidence. A careless admission like there was a time I felt like stabbing him provides ammunition for the prosecution. A lawyer's guidance at such sensitive moments — on what to say and what not to say — is invaluable.

The Hope of the Common Man

The honest assessment is sobering. Court cases in Nigeria are lengthy — whether civil or criminal. Many choose arbitration or mediation over litigation precisely because the court process is protracted. Multinational companies almost never agree to submit to Nigerian court jurisdiction; they insist on arbitration.

Mobilization fees, paper costs, and administrative expenses often fall on the complainant — not because the law requires it, but because the system in practice demands it. A person whose phone was stolen and tracked still needs money to get law enforcement to physically move. This is worrying.

Yet there is hope: for those without funds, some lawyers do pro bono work. Judges have been known to call for a lawyer to stand in for someone who cannot afford representation. Legal aid exists — indigent persons can be represented without charge. And when it becomes known that someone has a lawyer who knows their work, there is often a pushback in how the system treats that person.

The answer to what can the common man do is sobering but not hopeless: engage a lawyer wherever possible, know your basic rights, be assertive, and pray to walk into the hands of the good ones who are determined to do their job well.