A Lawyer Tried To Quote The Wrong Section In My Court And I Let Him Finish

This happened around 2019, a land matter was before oga judge. One young lawyer stood up, adjusted his wig, and began to cite a section that had been repealed since 2011. He spent eleven minutes building his whole argument on it.

The judge looked at me. I looked at the file. Nobody stopped him. When he finished, the judge asked him quietly, 'Counsel, when was that section repealed?' The man's face changed. He started stammering, said he would need to confer with his principal. The whole court was silent.

I felt sorry for him, I won't lie. But I also felt something else. This is why we read. This is why we check. The law does not care how confident your voice is if your citation is dead. I still see that young man around Ikeja sometimes, he's doing well now. But that day taught him something no textbook could.