Miss Eyewuene Murphy-Akpieyi is a law graduate of the University of Lagos (UNILAG). She recalls how much her mum, a two-time election petition tribunal judge, influenced her decision to study law. She also tells JOSEPH JIBUEZE about her NGO, which focuses on educating the public on their rights.
For every young lawyer, a first appearance before a judge is always a source of anxiety. It was no different for Miss Eyewuene Murphy-Akpieyi.
Despite growing up and observing her mum practising law, and even accompanying her to court, she still felt a bit jittery.
She was supposed to be led by a senior, but for some reason, the counsel did not turn up. When the case was called, Murphy-Akpieyi had to speak.
She recalls the moment: “As a new wig, I appeared first before Justice Abdulazeez Anka of the Federal High Court in Lagos. I was to appear with a lawyer from the Ministry of Defence. But I was left a bit nervous when the counsel didn’t come to court and I had to handle the case alone. It was a bit nerve-racking.”
Murphy-Akpieyi said her mum, who was a former company secretary with an airline, was one of her role models and influenced her decision to study law.
“My mum started as a company lawyer at an airline and rose to the position of Company Secretary/Legal Adviser. She later left for full-time legal practice.
“When I was younger, I followed her to court, especially the High Court, Ikeja. So, from an early stage, I knew how courts functioned and looked like. I knew court processes, filing etc.
“So, when I got to university, things that intrigued my peers didn’t surprise because I was used to it.”
From her observations, litigation is one of the most tasking aspects of being a lawyer.
“I grew up knowing litigation isn’t so rosy. It’s a bit stressful. I also knew how company lawyers function from her days as company secretary,” she said.
Murphy-Akpieyi also learnt from observing her mum serve as an election petition tribunal judge on temporary basis.
“My mum served as an election petition tribunal judge twice in Delta State, which was very exciting for the family. That also widened my exposure to the various areas of law and what you can do with an LL.B,” she said.
On how she ended up studying law, she said the profession found her.
“I didn’t choose it, it found me. I wanted to study law and economics or finance, but double degrees aren’t possible in Nigeria so I chose law. I still intend to qualify as an accountant,” she said.
Murphy-Akpieyi is behind the Legal Awareness Nigeria (LAN), a not for profit group focused on rights education.
According to her, the NGO teaches vulnerable communities about their legal rights.
“A lot of people don’t even know that bail is free but pay police for bail. We just started and we have big dreams. It’s amazing how a lot of Nigerians are legal illiterates; it’s only if they are in trouble that many bother to know about the law.
“But we don’t deal with rich people; we concern ourselves with vulnerable people, who have little or no access to the justice system.
“We want to create a system whereby we train young people on the legal angle to the social issues facing them and at the same time train paralegals in communities who would stand as lawyers or legally informed people to help the communities in different ways.
“We also do a bit of community outreach and development and we have been working with the Takwa bay and Makoko communities,” she said.
If she were not a lawyer, Murphy-Akpieyi said she would have ended up as a business strategist/consultant, a movie producer/writer or diplomat.
Her dream is to a judge at a federal court or international court and that is where she sees herself in the next decade.
Before then, she must surmount the challenges young lawyers face.
“One major challenge young lawyers face is access to good firms to learn and grow after law school. A lot of people would argue and say there are lots of firms, but how many of them have well experienced seniors to help the juniors grow? Or how many of them have good briefs?” she said.
Murphy-Akpieyi would like to see an end to factors which contribute to delays in justice delivery.
“If I had the power, I’d end the unnecessary court bureaucracy that just wastes time. I went to the Federal High Court to do a search and obtain certified true copy of some documents. It took almost one hour for the person in charge to simply sign.
“Also, if I could, I would make law a second degree like it is done in America. This way, people can ensure that studying law is really what they want to do and can have a backup degree in case along the line they fall out of interest,” she said.
Who are her mentors? “I don’t have mentors. But I admire people like Prof. Akin Oyebode for his work in the area of public international law and Prof Bankole Sodipo for his work and expertise in intellectual property.
“I am looking to specialise in an area of law and be known in that field; I think that’s one thing missing in our jurisdiction. We don’t have a lot of experts in specialised fields of law,” she said.
Murphy-Akpieyi, an alumni of the YALI Regional Leadership Centre, spoke on what drives her.
“My passion is driven by the urge and need to improve things because things can improve. I’m trying to live the purpose God sent me to achieve on earth.
“God is justice himself, and I want to use my legal background to ensure we all have access to justice somehow.”
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