Zita OfforPresident of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau, SAN, has announced his decision to boycott the call to bar ceremony scheduled for December 6 and 7, 2022.
In a seven-paragraph memo personally signed by the NBA President, he specifically said his reason for not attending the call to bar ceremony is based on the insistence of the Chairman, Body of Benchers (BoB), Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, to preside over the ceremony.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelAccording to Maikyau, Olanipekun ought to have recused himself from the Chairmanship position five months ago when the former NBA President, Olumide Akpata, requested him to do so following a case of professional misconduct perpetrated by a lawyer in his chambers.
A partner in Olanipekun’s law firm, Ms Adekunbi Ogunde, who was said to have sent a mail to an international oil firm, Saipem Oil Ltd, and solicitated the company’s brief in a matter against the Rivers State Government which unknown to her had been settled out of court.
While solicitating the brief which was related to a $130 million case at the Rivers State High Court brought by the Rivers State government, Ogunde had allegedly painted a bad picture of another law firm, Ajumogobia & Co, which handled the case, as one with less influence and professional clout.
The action was considered a breach of some rules of professional conduct by members of the bar, warranting disciplinary procedure to be instituted against her to address the matter.
Akpata had on July 22, 2022, written to the BoB chairman requesting him to step down from his office to enable the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) determine the matter.
The current NBA president who took over the reigns of office during the bar’s Annual General Conference held in August this year, said the BoB chairman had refused to acknowledge the request to step down.
He added that he wrote a letter to Olanipekun on December 4, and requested him to recuse himself from presiding over the Call to Bar Ceremony but nothing was done about it by the chairman and the Body of Benchers during their meeting on Monday, December 5.
He said: “At the meeting of the BoB held on 5 December 2022, I drew the attention of the Chairman to my letter and called for deliberations on same since it directly impacts on the propriety of the Chairman presiding over the Call to Bar ceremony, but this was not done nor were the hard copies of the letter distributed to the Benchers. The meeting of the BoB was adjourned to January 2023, on a date to be fixed by the Chairman,” the Maikyau stated.
NBA president said that on the basis of the apparent insistence of the BoB chairman to remain in the office and also preside over the call to bar event, he has decided not to attend.
“In the circumstances therefore, having regard to my firm persuasion that the matters raised in my letter should have led the BoB to ask the Chairman to recuse himself in the interest of safeguarding the integrity of the Legal Profession, I am in good conscience unable to attend and participate in the Call to Bar Ceremony.
“The NBA under my leadership cannot be part of the ceremony superintended by the current Chairman of the BoB for all the reasons stated in my letter under reference. To do so will be to endorse, celebrate or condone a practice that I consider unwholesome and unprofessional, by virtue of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007.
“The NBA under my leadership remains committed to the protection of the integrity of the Bench and the Bar and will not shirk that responsibility.”
He said his reason for writing a letter to the BoB to attend to the matter was based on his “conviction on the need to salvage the image, reputation, and integrity of the legal profession in Nigeria, which has been negatively impacted by the email by Adekunbi Ogunde, a Partner in the Law Firm of the Chairman of the BoB.”
He congratulated the new lawyers to be called to bar for their achievements and prayed God to preserve them to make positive contributions to building the legal profession in Nigeria.
“The NBA remains committed to the protection of our legal space and shall spare no effort to stop any external incursions or actions among members that can destroy our dear profession of law.
“Be assured of our support and preparedness to provide sincere mentorship to you through colleagues who have distinguished themselves in various fields of legal practice and exhibited high regard for ethics and professionalism,” he told the new lawyers.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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