The day I had to rule against my own uncle in court

This happened years ago when I was still a young magistrate in Ikeja. A landlord-tenant dispute came before me. Routine matter, tenant claiming his landlord locked him out illegally. I look at the case file and see the landlord's name. My mother's younger brother. My uncle.

The tenant was a small businessman with a shop in Oshodi. He had paid his rent but the receipt was missing. My uncle insisted he hadn't paid. The law on this is clear: if the tenant can show evidence of payment, the landlord cannot lock him out. But the man had no receipt. My uncle had all the documents. I could have ruled in his favour and nobody would have questioned it.

I didn't. I asked the tenant one question: do you have a witness? He said his neighbour saw him pay. I adjourned the case for that witness to appear. The neighbour came and confirmed the payment. I ruled in favour of the tenant. My uncle didn't speak to me for three years. At family gatherings, people would whisper. But the law is the law. If we bend it for family, we break it for everyone else.