MILLION NAIRA BRIBERY SCANDAL: IS ADENIJI JCA REALLY GUILTY OR JUST MESSED UP BY THE NJC?

When a young man sets out in employment in the Civil Service (Government employment) a popular prayer in Yoruba land for the employee is-



“Oko oba, ada oba
Ko ni sa e lese”



Literally this translates – “May you not be injured by the king’s (government) cutlass and hoes”
But factually it is a prayer against occurrence of mishaps and crisis in the civil service career.
That prayer, if ever said for D.A Adeniji, 72, a former Justice of the Court of Appeal and a South-Westerner from Ile-Ife the cradle of Yoruba civilization has not proved efficacious.
In year 2004, his long judicial career of 31 years starting from the Western State magistracy in 1973 ran into stormy waters and drowned, as he was dismissed from office by Olusegun Obasanjo, the then President of the Federal Republic, alongside one colleague of his Okwuchukwu Opene for corrupt enrichment.

Both judges were members of a three man Election Appeal Tribunal which sat in Enugu in that year and heard the Appeal of one One Senator Ugochukwu Uba against Honourable Nicholas Ukachukwu.
The third member of the Tribunal was K.B Akaahs J.C.A. He was the only one of the trio who left Enugu un-blemished and unscathed.
At the end of the hearing of the appeal which he lost, the respondent Nicholas Ukachukwu fired a petition against Justices Opene and Adeniji who found against him claiming that while Opene J.C.A received 15 million from his opponent, Justice Adeniji received 12 million naira. See cover story exhibit.
Upon receipt of the petition, the National Judicial Council, (NJC) set up a 3 man panel to investigate the case.


The Panelists were Justice Owolabi Kolawole, (now deceased) Justice Olakanmi and Justice Darazo. However some curious, disturbing facts attended the sitting of the NJC Panel and which facts appeared to have affected proper justice delivery in the case.
The first is that both Judges (Opene and Adeniji) accused of receiving bribes were tried together, even where the facts of the allegations clearly showed that they were allegedly bribed on different dates by different persons.

Secondly the Justice Kolawole Panel was epileptic in terms of membership participation in the hearing of the petition.
For example while the Chairman of the Panel was present when all the 14 witnesses in the matter gave their testimonies and cross-examined, while Justice Olakanmi was present for only 9 witnesses before he was removed from the panel. In Justice Darazo’s case, he was opportuned to be present for only three witnesses while Justice Gumi came on board to hear just one witness. The report of the panel was signed by Justices Kolawole, Darazo and Gumi


Thirdly proceedings in the matter suffered a near seven-month break (from April 17 2004 to November 3 2004 due to the serious illness of the Chairman of the Panel – Kolawole.

Final hearing in the matter took place on 4th November 2004 and the ruling was delivered on 17 November 2004. Thus only one panel member heard all the witnesses through while the others heard less than a quarter of the witnesses. It was clear then that Justice Darazo and Gumi relied on hear say evidence of the clearly unhealthy Justice Kolawole or documentary hear say evidence of the record of proceedings of the panel before they came on board to participate in the summing up and evaluation of the evidence before the panel.

Two weeks after delivering the ruling, the Chairman of the panel, obviously very sick still, died. Going through the record of proceedings of the Kolawole Panel and its subsequent findings as the Squib has done it is reasonable to believe that the epileptic membership of the panel as well as the prolonged adverse ill health of the now deceased Chairman of the Panel as well as the seven month hiatus in the proceedings gravely affected the correctness of the record and eventual findings of the Panel. See cover story exhibit for panel’s report.

A single important fact illustrates this point. In its official record, the Panel stated that one Okafor (PW4) gave evidence that he took one Barrister Joy Anyamene in his cab to where Justice Adeniji lived and witnessed how money said to be 12 million naira packed in 3 “Ghana-Must-Go” bags was taken in to him and that Justice Adeniji came out of the house to give him a gift of ten thousand naira. In its findings, the Kolawole Panel substantially found Adeniji J.C.A guilty of the allegation of receiving 12 million naira bribe, essentially on the strength of Okafor’s evidence. According to the Panel, that piece of evidence was damning but Adeniji J.C.A did not deem it necessary to even cross-examine the witness on the allegation.

The truth however was that this “damning evidence” was never given by Okafor against Justice Adeniji but against Justice Opene! The Squib confirmed this truth when it went through the Final Written Addresses of the Counsel for the Petitioner one Ikechukwu Ezechukwu Esq.

The address at page 3 thereof clearly stated that PW4 (Okafor) in company of a Joy Anyamene a lady lawyer, took bags loaded with money in his car, to a house where Justice Opene was and that the Judge (Opene) gave him N10,000:00! In fact in Nicholas Ukachuwu petition the petitioner did not alleged that Justice Adeniji received any money from Joy Anyamene or that same was witnessed by PW4 Okafor.

In fact Justice Adeniji raised this point in his suit FHC/ABJ/CS/2005 ADENIJI Vs AG FEDERATION & OR and the point was not denied or challenged by the defendants. The trial Judge in that matter B.F.M Nyako, now recently recommended for elevation to the Court of Appeal, noted this in her judgement of 15/6/07.



“Another issue that arose from the proceedings is that some of the evidence or testimonies given against Opene J.C.A were attributed to the Plaintiff.


This was not challenged by the Defendants. It will thus be accepted as admitted. I have not had the opportunity to see the records of the deliberations of the National Judicial Council and how and what it used to come to its conclusion even where the wrong evidence was attributed to the Plaintiff and it is so expunged. This does not vitiate the proceedings of the National Judicial Council but part of the Panel’s proceedings (Please See Case Law page).



Much to Justice Adeniji shock and dismay, he lost his case before Nyako J at the Federal High Court Abuja and has now proceeded to the Court of Appeal.
In 2008 the now bitter and frustrated Justice Adeniji wrote to the police on the matter, asking and indeed encouraging the police to investigate Honourable Nicols Ukachukwu allegation of collection of twelve million naira allegation against him but that move has also drawn a blank. See cover story exhibit.



The police appeared not too eager to carry out the request. No report of their investigation has ever been made despite constant pressure from Justice Adeniji.
However it was not as if no evidence at all was given against Justice Adeniji before the Kolawole Panel. There was evidence from one Bonti Oniugbo who claimed he followed one Emeka Okeke who works for the family of Senator Uba (the appellant in the appeal before the Opene Panel) to Justice Adeniji at a guest house.



However the said Emeka Okeke was not produced before the Panel. Worse, Onuigbo said he was only told by Emeka that the money they allegedly carried was 12 million naira. Also he was not there when the said Okeke gave the money to Adeniji JCA or when the judge collected the money! Even the alleged place of the bribey was not right. The witness mentioned guest house but the judge never stayed in a guest house while in Enugu but rather was with Justice Fabiyi of the Court of Appeal Enugu. With him was also Akaahs JCA.



Unfortunately the Kolawole Panel held that Justice Adeniji received the 12 million naira bribe twice! The first from Emeka Okeke and secondly from Joy Anyamene! The same Anyamene who in truth had nothing to do with Justice Adeniji.



To back its findings the Kolawole Panel also relied on a Yoruba proverb Justice Akaahs said Justice Adeniji told him when the bribery scandal broke out on the pages of newspapers. The proverb goes thus: Eni to ba je ki won fi ori oun fo agbon ko ni ba won je n be. (He who allows his head to be used to break a coconut will not partake of the eating).
The panel however translated the proverb thus “Whoever allows coconut to be broken on his head will never live to eat from the coconut”. According to the panel the proverb means “anybody who discloses a plot hatched to do evil will not live to see the result of the evil”.



But this is a wrong interpretation of the proverb as anyone grounded in Yoruba language will testify. Rather the more truthful interpretation will read akin to this:-“He who allows himself to be used as solution to a dangerous and difficult problem, will not partake of the eventual benefits or rewards of the solution.”



However the Kolawole Panel held the proverb to mean that-Adeniji JCA was subtly threatening Akaahs JCA to “either fall in line or be eliminated”!
It is significant that the then Attorney-General of the Federation Chief Akin Olujimi SAN did not support the recommendation of the NJC that both Justices Opene and Adeniji be removed from office. He was however over-ruled by the president Olusegun Obasanjo.



Since their dismissal from office, Justice Adeniji has not kept mum on his fate. He has gone to court, to challenge his dismissal, and he is still there. He has challenged the police to investigate the allegation against him and prosecute him if found culpable but the police has done nothing.



Anyone who has interacted with Justice Adeniji since his dismissal in service 2004 will appreciate the bitter irony of his situation. Though found to be guilty of collecting no less than 24 or 27 million naira bribe in 2004 by the Kolawole panel, the judge has been existing largely on charity and goodwill of friends and sympathisers ever since. He could ill afford to pay for legal fees both before the Kolawole panel and the B.F.M Nyako court where his cases have been heard. In the Kolawole panel, he partially represented himself and at other times was represented by the chambers of Dodo S.A.N free of charge. Before Justice Nyako he was represented free by Chief Gboyega Awomolo S.A.N. At a point he could not afford the cost of air travel to attend his cases in Abuja and according to the judge, “Lawyer Femi Falana has been kind to me too, giving me some amount of money each time I saw him but at a point in time I had to tell Femi “stop giving me all this ten thousand naira, ten thousand naira what I want you to do for me is fight for me.”



This magazine believes that the struggle for justice should not be left alone for the tired, impoverished and sagging shoulders and coffers of the judge (Adeniji JCA). The many grievous lapses in the handling of this matter, must give concern to all those who believe that it is better for a thousand offenders to escape justice than for an innocent man to be unjustifiably punished.

The Squib calls on the NBA to rise up in defence of this judge. Judges no matter their height on the bench, are and will always be legal practitioners and so are always members of the bar too.

No organization or body can champion the redressing of Justice Adeniji’s plight better than the NBA. May God give our great association the courage to do the right in this matter.

FAKE LAWYER SURRENDERS TO NBA IKEJA

Saheed Tijani, a short, dark-skinned man of thirty-four years entered the Bar Centre (secretariat of the NBA Ikeja branch, Ikeja High Court) in the morning of Tuesday 9th of June 2009.

He was armed with two letters-one for the chairman of the branch, the other for the editor-in-chief of the Squib magazine. (Please see cover story exhibit).
The letters bore the same message of apparent but questionable repentance and penitence. A rather long letter it was, but the central thrust was an admission of guilt on the part of the author (Saheed Tijani) of wrongfully and illegally operating as a legal practitioner and letting his former employer down one Barrister Gbenga Akingbehin a.k.a “Idea.”

The Squib can authoritatively reveal however that the visit of Saheed Tijani, a former chamber clerk with Gbenga Akingbehin, to the secretariat of the Tigers was not activated by a contrite, smitten conscience but was a rather a stratagem at damage control.

A day before Tijani’s visit, a much alarmed Gbenga Akingbehin had come to the Tiger’s secretariat to intimate the leadership of the branch with a sad discovery he had just made about his former-clerk, Saheed Tijani.
According to Akingbehin, he terminated Tijani’s employment with him, four years ago in 2005, for “unsavory acts and behaviour”. This after eight years of master/servant relationship between the duo.
To keep body and soul together, Tijani was not averse to using the knowledge and skills he acquired in his long years of employment with Akingbehin, even if borders on illegality and plain criminality.
In 2008 a much surprised Akingbehin, learnt that Saheed Tijani was issuing quit notices to tenants facing eviction threats from their landlords. Instead of reporting the case to the police, a merciful Akingbehin called Saheed Tijani and confronted him with proofs of his criminal acts.
Tijani’s response was to admit guilt immediately and short of shedding tears, sailed to the ground in quick prostration to his former boss, prominsing never “to do such a thing again.”

Unfortunately after being let off the hook, Tijani did not dis-engage from his path of illegality.
In the first week of June 2009 Barrister Akingbehin received a visit from a lady colleague. The visitor brought out a letter entitled “RE-THREATENING TO LIFE, ASSULT, (SIC) INCESSANT NUISANCE” “The letter-head bore the legend-Gbenga Akingbehin & Co and was signed by Tijani Saheed Esq and also carried the stamp print of the purported Gbenga Akingbehin & Co legal firm.

“Is this letter from your chambers?” asked the lady lawyer. A few glances at the letter elicited a strong denial from Akingbehin.
In the said letter, Tijani, purporting to be a lawyer in the chambers of Gbenga Akingehin & Co (the letter has an address different from the true address of Akingbehin’s office) had written to one Mr. Olaleye claiming to be counsel to Olaleye’s tenant, one Mr. Ajobiewe
A much disturbed Akingbehin wasted no time in telling the lady lawyer that the letter was a forgery and that the author was not a lawyer but a former clerk of his.

On the 8th of June 2009 Akingbehin took two decisions-he sought the assistance of the NBA Ikeja branch and the Squib magazine to track down the fake lawyer (Tijani Saheed). And on the 10th of June 2009 he also fired a petition against Tijani Saheed to the commissioner of police, Lagos State (see cover story exhibit)

However a little bird, Biodun by name a well known “All purpose fellow” in and about Ikeja High Court, friendly disposed to Tijani Saheed and who incidentally is a pal to Akingbehin, tipped off Saheed about Akingbehin’s visit to the NBA and the Squib on the matter.

When Tijani Saheed came to the NBA Ikeja Secretariat on his-“Damage Control” expedition, he did not expect any tough times. He apparently thought his letter of reomorse written in the half-baked ingenuity of a man with an incomplete formal education and inadequate grasp of a graceful use of the English language backed with sober looks and verbal apologies would be enough to save him from trouble.

But how sorely mistaken! At first when he was taken up by Adesina Ogunlana the welfare Secretary of the Tiger Bar on the contents of his letter, he made the mistake of relaxing into a few smiles and laughter.
The smiles and laughs brought out the Tiger in the welfare officer, who offered the “medulla oblongata” of the fake lawyer some rapid smacks and ordered him to his knees.

When other Tiger branch leaders joined on in the interrogation, Saheed extended the dimension of his body from a mere keening position to a full fledged prostration. Now faced with a straight forward journey to the nearest police station, Saheed quickly dissolved into tears, whilst profusely begging the Tigers to spare him a stint in the Government House on the Kirikiri canal: Hear the crook:

“Please sirs, have mercy on me. I know I have wronged Barrister Akingbehin and the Nigerian Bar Association and you too sir, Mr. Ogunlana, the Squib. I know what I have done is bad and I have come to beg for forgiveness. But it is not that I am always writing letters like this. I only did this to help my friend, so that he will not be evicted untimely from his apartment.”

After about an hour in the grip of the Tigers, Biodun the friend of the fake lawyer brought along an elderly court lady registrar to join to beg for reprieve for Saheed.

In the meanwhile the Tigers have ordered Saheed to be reporting daily to the Bar Centre every day, until a final decision is taken on him. Barrister Akingbehin however is insisting on the rightful position to get Tijani Saheed eventually prosecuted.

NBA LAGOS BRANCH CHAIRMANSHIP TUSSLE: KOLADE IS IT?

All other things being equal, a new prime leader will emerge for the Nigerian Bar Association Lagos Branch, come July 13 2009. The incumbent chairman is Erasmus Bola, Baderinwa. Four persons, all male, are in a contest to succeed Baderinwa in office. They are Chijioke Okoli (called 1988) Adegboyega Kolade (called 1991) Onakoya Adedayo (called 1985) and Taiwo Taiwo (called 1986). Of course only one of the four, aspirants will gain the much coveted seat of Premier Bar Chairman. The big question is “who?”
This write-up is an attempt to answer the question. The effort included speaking to various and diverse informed sources in the Lagos bar and the Candidates themselves (except Dayo Onakoya Esq, who on for different occasions did not pick up our calls on Saturday 6th June 2009).
As at press time it would appear, that the least acceptable candidate to electors is Dayo Onakoya. This has nothing to do with his credibility as a competent hand or the fact at his integrity (paradoxically he seems the one with the highest integrity quotient).
The problem with Onakoya’s candidacy is a striking lack of visibility on the field – most Lagos lawyers especially the younger ones (10 years and below post call) did not know him.
The reason for the lack of visibility stems
(a) from the personality profile of the Candidate, a strong willed but quiet, self effacing I-mind-my-own-business type of individual
(b) from the fact that Onakoya’s intention to run for chairmanship was fairly recent, limiting the fuller extension of necessary contacts.
Nonetheless, Onakoya has one formidable asset, he is the candidate of an established Yoruba caucus of conservative leaders and elders of the branch which include some former Chairmen of the branch like Akin Akinbote and Foluso Fayokun.
This caucus is well known and influential especially among the older members of the branch, who if they rev their political engine well may give Onakoya a powerful upward swing into the post of chairman.
As elections go, Taiwo Taiwo a former Secretary and 2nd Vice Chairman of the Lagos Bar ordinarily should have more than a fair chance of success in the contest.
For one, he is well known in the Lagos Bar, and quite an amiable gentleman who distributes salutations to people with ease. Tall, dark almost always dapper in appearance, Taiwo had always nursed the ambition of becoming the Chairman of his branch, for some time now and so created no doubt at all in that direction.
There are a number of factors however working against Taiwo’s success in the election. The first is that, the sheer fact of being married to a Judge of the Lagos State High Court, who is a former Chief Registrar of the Court, has rather unfairly cast Taiwo in the mould of a “pro-authority” person who would compromise the interests of the Bar with the Bench if he becomes the chairman on the altar of matrimony.
The second point is the lack of a strong political caucus to stand on. The Akinbote/Fayokun caucus (“Afenifere”) are not in favour of Taiwo’s bid and he has no good hope in the direction of the “Mixed Ethnic Caucus, (mainly Igbo & Yoruba practitioners) comprising of Lagos Bar figures like Kunle Uthman, Seth Amafuli who, also like the Afenifere would not want to trust Taiwo with power, constantly alleging him of incompetence when he was Secretary of the Lagos under Akinbote some four years ago. However the Squib has it on good authority that Baderinwa the incumbent chairman has thrown his support, albeit secretly for Taiwo Taiwo and that certainly is a big boost. The out-going chairman is building a new caucus round himself different from the caucus that brought him to power. It is reasonable in the circumstances then that the voting strategies that helped Baderinwa would be deployed in favour of Taiwo. Since generally the power and influence of incumbency is weighty, it may be rash to completely rule Taiwo out from contention – more so as his naturally amiable disposition will be of help in garnering votes to him and help douse the suspicion of him becoming a sell-out to the judicial authorities once in power.
If anybody in the race has the greatest capacity of swinging a surprise win in the elections it will be Chijioke Okoli. Derided by opponents as a political upstart who is just getting known in the Lagos Bar, the self confident, intellectually aware Okoli, has perhaps, the most unique quality of the contestants- he is a masked radical with the potential of bringing fresh vision into the governance of NBA Lagos branch. Yet this quality is the light of the stolid conservatism of the Lagos Bar, may be a disadvantage-will the Lagos Bar readily vote for a social activist as their apex leader?
Okoli’s central political view is to turn the Lagos Bar from more inward and internal concerns to weighty issues and matters affecting the public.
Okoli’s ethnicity must be a factor in this election. The Lagos bar is a multi-ethnic branch with Yoruba and Igbos and other old Eastern Nigerians dominating. The Yorubas are not in a too large a majority.
In this circumstances, Okoli, the only non-Yoruba in the four-man race, stands at an advantage, if ethnicity becomes a consideration, more so it is now quite some while that a non Yoruba had attained the chairmanship of the branch. Yet this advantage is already turning into a disadvantage as some electors who are Yorubas have made up their minds not to vote for Okoli simply because according to them, he represents an Igbo agenda.
Another possible weakness of this candidate is that his record of service in the Lagos bar is not as lengthy like is opponents, particularly Gboyega Kolade and Taiwo O. Taiwo making him open to accusation of being inexperienced.
The last but certainly not the least of the candidates is Adegboyega Kolade. He is in fact from our findings, as at press time the one candidate likeliest to become the next chairman of the branch. Of all the contestants, he arguably has had the longest stint of service in the Lagos bar, having been in the past 1st Assistant Secretary, Assistant Financial Secretary, Financial Secretary, Treasurer and is presently the out-going 1st Vice-Chairman of the branch.
It is significant that in all the offices he has held, particularly in the two most sensitive, Financial Secretary and Treasurer, Kolade did not suffer any indictment.
The long years in office has given two advantages over most of his opponents-presence and visibility and secondly, the political knowledge of planning to winning elections.
If any of the contestants is guilty of dithering to run, that person is certainly not Kolade. He is facing the current campaign with the attitude of marathoner and not of a sprinter, unlike some of the other candidates.
This preparedness meant that he is the candidate who has campaigned the longest than the others and who has at the earliest opportunity taken the advantage of press publicity before the use of same was forbidden by the electoral committee of the Premier Bar.
From all indications Kolade’s programme of action (similar to Taiwo Taiwo’s) is essentially welfaristic in nature-increasing members attendance and participation in bat meetings and functions, improvement on the remunerations of younger legal practitioners, commitment to the building and completion of Lawyers Estate Project, achievement of a cordial bar and bench relationship and building of a bar centre etc.
Inspite of his long campaigns and network and visibility Kolade has no sure-fine guarranty of winning the election. He is not accepted in some quarters on account of a perception of him as relatively rustic, too strong-minded and out-spoken compared to the other candidates. Also in a bar with strong gerontocratic tendencies, Kolade’s eighteen years at the bar and coupled with the fact that he is merely in his mid-forties, may work against him in some other quarters, who may consider him too young to lead the Premier bar.
Thirdly whether like or not he will suffer vote-sharing with Dayo Onakoya and Taiwo O. Taiwo on account of their common Yoruba ethnicity and similarity in programmes of action. If the vote-sharing is on an even keel and Okoli can attain a comfortable majority of “Non-Yoruba votes” coupled with some Afenifere votes, he and not Kolade may well become the next chairman of the branch.
Our reading of the political ground suggests that the two leading candidates are either Kolade and Okoli or Kolade and Taiwo Taiwo, with Okoli always posing a big threat. As for Onakoya the fourth candidate who got on the nomination ticket at the very last minute, due to lack of ready sponsors, he must dramatically improve on his visibility and in good time too for him to have any real chance of winning the election.

HOW THE ETERNAL TRIAL OF SQUIB EDITOR FAILED TO START AGAIN

Honourable Justice Augustine Adetula Alabi, the out-going Chief Judge of Lagos State is not a happy man. The scalp of Adesina Ogunlana, publisher, and editor-in-chief of the Squib a law magazine infamously described by Alabi’s predecessor in office Ibitola Sotuminu C.J as an “obnoxious intrusive publication” is yet as it were, to fall into the basket.
Justice Alabi, whose tenure in office cannot go beyond August 8 2009, come what may, has a lot of unmasked bitterness for Ogunlana, an unrepentant practitioner of the no-holds-barred, fire brand activist journalism in his weekly magazine with special and disquietingly penetrative focus on the Lagos State Judiciary and the legal practice in Lagos State.
In private discussions with many lawyers, Alabi C.J has expressed his personal desire for the disbarment of Ogunlana from the legal profession; a situation he considered is taking too long a time to happen, in the light of the six year old petition of Honourable Justice Ibitola Sotuminu against Ogunlana to the Nigerian Bar Association (See Cover Story Exhibit)
At one of the programmes of the recent NBA Lagos branch Law Week, the Chief Judge lamented that “despite the fact that former Chief Judge Sotuminu wrote a petition against some people who have been writing all sorts of things against the judiciary, nothing has happened”
Even though the aggrieved Chief Judge did not mention names but his reference was not oblique – no other person or lawyer other than Ogunlana had the distinction of being petitioned against by the former Chief Judge of Lagos State, Sotuminu J. to the Nigerian Bar Association
However in truth, the Chief Judge lacks the locus to complain –neither he nor his affected predecessor, Sotuminu C.J who authored the petition against Ogunlana has shown any diligence in the prosecution of the matter.
None of the two has ever shown up at the sittings of the Disciplinary Committee of the Body of Benchers where the Nigerian Bar Association has since July 2003 referred the matter to for trial, whereas the alleged “defamer of some Lagos State judges” Adesina Ogunlana has always attended trial.
Sources close to the Lagos State Judiciary indicate that a combination of pride and fear factors have kept the two Chief Judges away from the “theatre of engagement”. Pride, for the duo considered it below their dignity to personally join issues with Ogunlana before the Disciplinary Committee (D.C) and fear, because of a well grounded anxiety not to face the fire of cross-examination of Ogunlana’s doughty and legendary principal Counsel – Chief G.O.K Ajayi S.A.N a veteran of uncountable classic legal battles including Shugaba V Minister of Internal Affairs, the General Zamani Lekwot case, Omoboriowo Vs Ajasin, Awolowo Vs Shagari, Abiola V FGN etc.
The latest hearing in the matter took place on the Tuesday 26th May 2009. As usual, Chief Judges Sotuminu and Alabi were conspicuously absent, but a proxy, Chief Magistrate E.O Ogundare, a Deputy Chief Registrar of the Lagos State High Court was around.
The time was about 11:10a.m to commence sitting when the D.C came out of their chambers at the Court of Appeal Headquarters, Abuja to commence sitting.
The presiding chairman was Mr. Justice Umaru Eri, the incumbent chairman of the National Judicial institute. Other D.C members were Hon. Justice Aishat Dahiru Chief Judge of Sokoto State, Hon. Justice Kulu Aliyu Chief Judge of Zamfara State, Chief Nwanodi SAN, Chief O.O Nwamu, Professor S.A Adesanya SAN, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN, and Chief Rafiu Lawal-Rabana SAN.
After the Committee members took their seats, the chairman opened the session by apologizing to Chief G.O.K Ajayi SAN and all other lawyers present for the failure of the D.C to sit at 10.00a.m as scheduled. Thereafter His Lordship expressed displeasure at the growing number of petitions against legal practitioners. Rounding up his “shape-up or-ship-out” speech Justice Eri warned and advised legal practitioners from desisting from unethical and unprofessional conduct and firmly expressed the readiness of the Body of Benchers to deal with the complaints and rid the legal profession of bad eggs.
Many lawyers in the audience, listening to the chairman, especially those with cases before the DC felt a chill run down their spines. One of such lawyers later confessed to the Squib that “while the chairman was talking, I thought I was facing a court-martial.”
The chill any frightened lawyer might have felt however lifted immediately when the commanding figure of Chief G.O.K Ajayi SAN the oldest and most senior practitioner stood up to give a reaction to the speech of the D.C chairman.
The Chief firmly expressed strong reservation about the chairman and implication the entire committee getting so affected about the increasing number of complainants against lawyers. In his words “it does not matter even if there are 10,000 petitions against legal practitioners, the fact remains that the Respondents are presumed innocent until allegations are proved. Your committee should therefore not give an impression that you are being influenced by the increasing numbers of petitions. It is not your business to be bothered about the number, you are to do justice”
In reaction to Chief Ajayi S.A.N, Justice Eri stated that the D.C agree with the Chief that lawyers are presumed innocent until their guilt is proved but the committee was only out to ensure that the type of good name the likes of Chief Ajayi had brought into the legal profession in Nigeria is not rubbished. The chairman assured all and sundry that the panel would be fair to lawyers brought before it.
The first matter treated pertained to the reading of a direction (equivalent of a court’s judgement) which went in favour of the respondent legal practitioner as he was absolved of all allegations brought against him which the D.C held not proved against him.
The next case was C.J Lagos Vs Adesina Ogunlana. Just then, a staff of the D.C brought the complaint to the Respondent, who was quick to note that it differed from the one, the prosecution in the matter, Mr. Dele Oye had served on him, through his counsel, Chief G.O.K Ajayi SAN in November 2008. (See Cover Story Exhibits’)
Chief G.O.K Ajayi SAN expectedly announced his appearance for the Respondent, Adesina Ogunlana Esq. With the silk were Adekunle Ojo Esq, Taiwo Adedeji Esq, and Tokunbo Phillips.
Mr. Dele Oye appeared for the Complainant (NBA) and with him were Linda Bala, the Legal Adviser of the NBA.
The first salvo was fired by Chief G.O.K Ajayi SAN who raised objection to Chief Lawal-Rabana S.A.N participation in the matter as an adjudicator on the ground that Lawal-Rabana has before the Nigerian Bar Association presently, a petition against the Respondent.
At this, Justice Eri, asked Chief Ajayi whether he was saying that Lawal-Rabana was the petitioner in the instant case.
Chief Ajayi replied in the negative but stressed that Lawal-Rabana (whom the respondent and his counsel were for the first time ever knowing to be a D.C member in Ogunlana’s matter) has a petition against Ogunlana.
At this point, one of the D.C members, the Honourable Chief Judge Sokoto State observed “He is raising the issue of bias”. The presiding chairman now asked the NBA prosecutor for his reaction. Oye said that Lawal-Rabana was not the secretary of the NBA when the petition against Ogunlana was written and that he had no hand at all in the treatment of the petition at the NBA.
After this, Oye raised objection to the presence of Adekunle Ojo Esq in the legal team of Adesina Ogunlana.
According to the learned prosecutor since the official complainant against Ogunlana was the Nigerian Bar Association and which association had briefed him to prosecute the matter and to whom he reports to, Ojo as the 2nd Vice-President of NBA cannot therefore represent Ogunlana.
In his reaction to Oye’s objection, Chief Ajayi SAN said that what the Committee should consider was whether Ojo’s appearance was likely to prejudice the committee, where the answer was ‘no’, then there should be nothing wrong with Ojo’s appearance.
But the prosecution continued to insist against Ojo’s appearance saying “the NBA must no be seen to be divided against itself” prompting Ojo, after consulting with Ajayi to withdraw his appearance for Ogunlana.
The D.C then rose to consider Chief Ajayi’s objection against Chief Lawal-Rabana, in chambers. About fifteen minutes later, the D.C reconvened but without Prof. S.A. Adesanya who was heard while leaving the premises of the Court of Appeal Abuja that “I can not be part of illegality”. In a terse ruling, Justice Eric over-ruled the objection of Chief Ajayi, stating that same lacked merit because there was no evidence before the D.C that Lawal-Rabana has any petition or complaint against the respondent before the NBA. Of course there is evidence that indeed Lawal-Rabana has a petition against the Squib editor but the evidence was not brought to Abuja before the panel on May 26th 2009 and could not have been brought since the respondent and his lawyer did not know that Lawal-Rabana was now a member of the D.C. In fact the incumbent General Secretary of the NBA Ibrahim Eddy Mark has issued a query to Ogunlana in respect of Lawal-Rabana complaints letter and has also a received a reply from Ogunlana. See cover Story exhibit.
The amended charge of 3 counts was now read to the respondent, who on that day looked more like bride-groom than a man facing the trial of his professional life Ogunlana pleaded thus “I am not liable, Sir”.
Chief Ajayi applied for adjournment in view of the amended charge which had just been served on the Respondent and the ruling of the D.C on Lawal-Rabana’s participation. Mr. Dele Oye having no objection to the request, the Committee adjourned to reconvene the next session. The date of the next hearing would be communicated later to the parties so ruled the presiding chairman.