BY VICTOR NWAKASI

The last has not or cannot be heard of the Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference 2022 (NBA-AGC 2022) held 19-26 August, 2022 at Nigeria’s ever bustling and most beloved city of Lagos for so many reasons.

In every ramification and qualification, it was a legacy conference because legacies live beyond timelines. The highlights of the Conference have been captured and re-captured in discourses in several publications and blogs by distinguished lawyers, attendees and public commentators. Sadly, it became a conference that witnessed the infamous and widely condemned ‘bag riot’ by some colleagues on the basis of delay in the delivery of conference bags by the Planning Committee.

By sheer idea of concept, coincidence and providence, and depending on one’s appreciation of the scenarios, the happenstances at the Conference will characterize passionate and emotional discussions about the event in times to come. It was a conference of big ideas. Nonetheless, there were basic issues that caused major concerns for participants, such as parking spaces, inadequacy of toilet facilities especially at night events – which could be genuinely associated with construction of the a mammoth conference village. Then there is the issue of ‘conference bag riot’.

Nevertheless, I humbly wish to focus on the positives and will state that the immediate past NBA Administration led by Mr. Olumide Akpata – working through the Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) and chaired by the tireless, brilliant and strategic Tobenna Erojikwe – undertook the most audacious and innovative Conference that will be remembered for a long time and mainly for very good reasons.

In my opinion, it was an excellent conference by key indicators. First is Content Delivery covering key subject matters. This most important factor – which no-one including the past administration’s most revered critics has faulted – should be the biggest value created by the Association in terms of intellectual gifting to attendees. The content covered issues on State of the Nation, Practice Development, Well Being of Lawyers, Social and Networking Skills, and Public Interest Issues across plenary and breakout sessions.

The Conference scored strong points on inclusiveness for the Association’s special class of members – lawyers with disability. For the first time, a session was dedicated to lawyers with disabilities and was solely anchored by the forum. Recommendations from that session are already influencing NBA’s drive towards enhanced practice for its members with special needs. Then there was a novel introduction of female soccer competition as part of the social programmes at the conference. It attracted major attention in pre-conference preparations which resulted in pooling of a huge winning prize from different sponsors. As a social change idea, one can say, if female lawyers can play football, who would not. We cannot underestimate the impact of that competition on female football development in the country. There was also the running of an efficient crèche to cater for nursing mothers who participated in the Conference. No one was left out!

But it all began with adoption of the audacious theme: Bold Transitions. At the unveiling of the theme, I was inclined to qualify the two-word theme ‘Bold Transitions’ as too brief. I thought it was too brief to evoke the consciousness that lies beneath it. I thought it sounded too ‘foreign’ in our local parlance and probably disconnected from our usual style of ever voluble and full-sentence styled themes in the nature of ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’ – which is almost defying conventional solutions. But it proved a masterpiece. For as many as the speakers were, from the opening ceremony down to the last technical session, the theme and its philosophy resonated and connected all through.

The Keynote Speaker, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her famous address to the attendees and participants, re-echoed that justice is the foundation of peace, charging the citizenry to aspire and ignite change for greater good of the nation. The attendees and speakers – including five leading Nigerian political parties’ presidential candidates in the 2023 national elections – made references to the philosophy underlining the theme. The record of top presidential hopefuls’ attendance had never been witnessed even at national presidential debates before that event. The candidates’ participation brought enormous branding value that could translate to attitudinal change towards governance accountability. It was not necessarily a campaign outing. The event and the session reinforced NBA’s primary position or stake in civil society leadership in Nigeria. The Bar’s voice was loud and clear and its stand on charting the cause for a better Nigeria towered like both the immediate past NBA President Olumide Akpata and the incumbent Yakubu Maikyau, SAN who took over the mantle of leadership at the same conference.

Emanating from the conference, no one needs a further lecture to know and appreciate that our country, Nigeria can only change when we boldly engage in discourse on national issues that have been perennially undermined on crucibles of ethnic jingoism, lacklustre governance and leadership innovation, lack of access to or poor justice delivery, lawlessness and disorderliness, gender dis-empowerment, stunted economic development and all indices that promote personal, public liberty and egalitarianism. Nigeria is at a crossroad; from never before seen or experienced level of insecurity resulting in wanton death and destruction of properties to several other existential threats. The populace is left disgruntled and perplexed, and it was hoped that the Country would boldly transit from being an unsavoury society to a joyful and promising civic state. It was exciting to see every one agreeing that the Nigeria could not wait any longer for real change than now. No one can boldly say that Nigeria does not require a bold transition as a matter of urgency from being one of the worst countries to live in going by various global index reports, to one of the best places on earth by virtue of its human and material resource endowment. The optimism thus became the energy and impetus in the theme. Actions are borne out of innate beliefs and the NBA-AGC 2022 theme revived a national consciousness for change. That laid an example of how NBA can lead in thought development and engineer socio-philosophical interrogations. The theme captured the nation’s moment and that remains a legacy. Unfortunately, the conduct and procedure of the 2023 Federal and State Elections dashed the hopes of majority of Nigerians. We all witness the deluge of unfortunate and undesirable issues have become main outcomes of the election. While Nigerians hoped that Nigeria and its institutions would transit to real institutions that promote and protect democracy, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) fumbled with its greatest innovation in electoral procedure – the Bimodal Verification and Accreditation System (BVAS) and painfully Nigerians are saying that their votes did not count when it mattered most. How the institutional failure impacted on the entire process is now left for the Tribunal to determine. And it is not palatable that the unenviable duty is now on the Judiciary (a legal institution) to resolve outcomes of political rascality, civic disturbances and other institution’s incompetence. Nigeria is still transiting to what it should be but it is becoming too delayed and getting dangerous.

By the way, NBA-AGC 2022 reinforced the reality of NBA-AGC as the largest gathering of Lawyers anywhere in the world and this matters a lot. I remember that this very factual statement was enshrined in the consciousness of the NBA as regards the scope of its events and conferences during the tenure of Dr. Olisa Agbakoba SAN and Chief Lawal Rabana SAN as both the President and General Secretary of the NBA from 2006 to 2008. I remember that it was during the preparations for Ilorin AGC-2007 that the statement was coined and it has now gained deserved popularity. At the 2007 conference, the statement resonated in key note speeches as well as several technical presentations at that Conference and thereby ignited an indescribable feeling that somewhere in Africa, whenever the NBA gathers for its Annual Conference with lawyers from all over the world attending, the event becomes the largest gathering of lawyers anywhere in the world by sheer number of participants. This is a big deal for one of the leading Bar societies in the World. In fact, the International Bar Association (IBA) recognizes the influential participation of Nigerian Lawyers at its Annual Conferences for decades and their role in the workings of the Association and accords due respect to the Nigerian Bar. With over 13,000 lawyers converging in Lagos for a week, the AGC-2022 raised that ranking meritoriously, and that should be applauded. So when next members of NBA gather for the Annual General Conference, let us be conscious that we are participants and partakers in an epoch event that deserves the highest level of regard and conduct. We must bear in our consciousness the motivation that every conference is an agenda setting event for the Bar and the Bench as well as the society. The 2022 event gives credence to that reality and 2023 can be even better. Therefore, the ‘Discussions Must Continue’ until something changes!

In 2022, the Conference Venue was an audacious and innovative one. A lot of opinion have been offered on the suitability of the choice of venue. In spite of obvious hitches but I will state that the choice was pragmatic and innovative. Eko Atlantic City Project is one of the boldest and most critical real estate development in Nigeria and probably the whole of Africa at the last decade. Before our every eyes, a city literally emerged or is emerging from the shores of Atlantic Ocean with promises of world class infrastructure. Therefore, the choice of hosting the conference on any portion of the emerging paradise was a huge reputational bargain both for the NBA and the Host City of Lagos.

Apart from aligned-branding and marketing associated with the space which was justified by the unalloyed support of the Government of Lagos State – the primary stakeholder in the development project over the years to the NBA – it should be noted that the NBA through the TCCP constructed an entire conference village albeit temporarily. Even in face of hitches typical of such innovative venture, it was justified in terms of access and became one stop event center for major part of the conference apart from side events privately organized by diverse groups. The effort would satisfactorily serve as an audacious and innovative example that huge infrastructural projects for meeting events can be undertaken on both temporary and permanent basis. Whether the choice of venue is at the confines of Eko Atlantic City in Lagos, Obudu Cattle Ranch, the green fields of Riyom near Jos in Plateau State or Beautiful hills of Mambilla Plateau in Taraba, or our sublime but eroding capital city of Abuja, we can innovatively prepare to host large gatherings. There is an economic value to such events.

Nigeria has the potential to benefit from Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) tourism which are usually undertaken by large groups, and planned in various ways. From exclusive hosting spaces to social activities, ‘meetings industry’ is a plus to several economies of the world. Kigali in Rwanda has become the newest kid on the block amongst African destinations. Nigeria should be gearing towards that direction with its diverse eco-geographical locations. The African Bar Association (AfBA) held an event end of last year in Lilongwe Malawi and Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) went to Addis Ababa in Ethiopia. While the size of these two events cannot be compared to NBA-AGC, the economic value of developing infrastructure for meetings and tourisms cannot be undermined.

I recall a former President of the NBA stating that apart from Lagos and Abuja which may even struggle to cope as host cities for NBA-AGC as number of attendees grow in leaps and bounds in succession, no other city can easily host the event due to lack of facilities. We need to think differently as AGC has become one of the major events in the nation’s social and legal calendar. Therefore the idea of setting up the AGC 2022 conference village from a zero ground into magnificent tents and marquees can only be fathomed by geniuses and I am sure that the idea has been planted within the consciousness of the Eko Atlantic City developers, event planners and general public. I am sure that the stay by over 13,000 lawyers and by extension involvement of over 50,000 persons in daily activities inside and outside of the conference area contributed immensely to the Lagos Economy.

I also consider the Conference Information Management Strategy for the AGC 2022, as top notch. The publication of Conferencepedia (the E-Book/Programme on the Conference) will make the AGC 2022 go down as the most well publicized Conference ever. The regular and simple communication made participation for those who were physically present very simple and easy. For virtual participants, the conferencepedia brought the event home by presenting a vivid imagination of the Conference as if it were in a ‘metaverse’.

As an aside, the communication strategy of the TCCP personally anchored by the Chairman Mr. Tobenna Erojikwe was exemplary. It was a demonstration of the character of the immediate past administration which viewed information and communication as critical tools in people and event management. From NBA Publicity Desk anchored by the stylish and suave Dr. Rapulu Nduka to the TCCP team, the participants were all carried along from beginning till the end of the Conference. May be if those who participated in the unfortunate incident of the ‘bag riot’ had tarried a bit, they would have found solace in the straightforward explanation given by the organizers on the reasons for the delay in the distribution of the bags and avoided the unfortunate incident.

THE BAG RIOT
The AGC 2022 Conference Bags was of such a very high quality to evoke emotions but there was absolutely no fault on the part of the organizers that every registered participant should receive the same quality of bags, the delay of which was adduced as the prompter of the riotous behaviour by some colleagues. The information was out there about the dire efforts of the past National Executives led by the President himself and the Planning Committee to resolve the logistics hitch resulting from altruistic rejection of some substandard units of the bags that were supplied, but impatience got the better part of our aggrieved colleagues leading to a reaction that left a sour taste on the event. And it won’t be forgotten as much as it was also a legacy of that conference. It was therefore a good step that the present administration under Mr. Y. C. Maikyau SAN set up the Olawale Fapohunda SAN Committee to investigate the cause of the unfortunate incident. The Committee presented its report at the Birnin Kebbi NEC Meeting in March 2023 where it highlighted all issues and made critical recommendations towards ensuring that the Bar learns from that sad experience. There could be sanctions for the disorderly behavior but not entirely because the NBA is looking for scapegoats but in form of a compliance-reminder that all members of Bar must strive to be of conduct fit and proper as legal practitioners and members of the noble profession.

It is heartwarming that the AGC Planning Committee of 2022 has largely fulfilled its vow that every conferee would receive their true entitlements in terms of conference bags which has been distributed even at personal costs. The assurance that no-one would be deprived of that entitlement is in itself re-assuring and that is what the NBA stands for. NBA may still reconsider the relevance and how to deal with the all-important item of conference bags that causes such logistical nightmare at Conferences. My years at Bar Conferences show that Nigerian lawyers love their conference bags, mostly regarded as iconic and memorable conference item. AGC 2022 delivered rare a design and utility thus those who could not get theirs on time, lost all comportment hence the crises that ensued. Even those who registered but did not attend have been assured that they would receive their bags. Quite a good ending for the bags distribution, I would say!

FROM THE INNOVATIVE TO THE SEAMLESS: THE DREAM CONTINUES
In my opinion, the last has not been heard of the audacious and innovative NBA-AGC 2022 notwithstanding the very few short-comings which are lessons in their own right. The Tobenna Erojikwe Committee has been dissolved honourably and a new Committee inaugurated for the 2023 Conference in Abuja. It would be a conference worth expecting for several reasons; The 2023 Planning Committee is being chaired by the former General Secretary of NBA, former Chairman of NBA Abuja Branch, the vibrant Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN; would be held in the nation’s sublime but eroding capital that needs some ‘ginger’ from a high-end professional cum social gathering; and is being designed by the Committee to be seamless.

As we continue the demonstration of true allegiance to one great and unified NBA, the idea and motivation upon which NBA’s AGCs are conceived, designed and delivered should continue to be of remarkable and positive scores, for all its impacts would always count for something. The society is changing and our undertakings as legal practitioners and members of NBA shall continue to evolve to match societal developments and expectations. To achieve this, we need leaders for all seasons who are bold, courageous and innovative to cause positive change for our members and the society at large.

VICTOR AKAZUE NWAKASI is a legal practitioner and member of NBA Lagos Branch

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By J. S. Okutepa SAN

There is no doubt that the Nigerian Constitution 1999 as Amended is supreme. That is why the Constitution itself proclaims its supremacy under Section 1(1) which read thus: “This Constitution is supreme and its provisions shall have binding force on all authorities and persons throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

No one is exempted from the binding force of the Constitution. All institutions and persons derive their legitimacy from the Constitution. Nigerian political class and politicians are bound by the Constitution.

Apart from the supremacy of the Constitution, the Constitution states that the government of Nigeria at all levels shall be by democratic means. That is what we have agreed to be the mode of choosing our leaders and governments at all levels.

Section 1(2) of the Constitution provides that “The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any persons or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except by the provisions of this Constitution.”

Section 14 (1) of the Constitution emphasizes that the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a State based on the principles of democracy and social justice and section 14 (2) (a) of the Constitution boldly declares that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through the Constitution derives all its powers and authority.

The Constitution further emphasizes in sections 14(2)(b) and (c) that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government and the participation of the people in their government shall be ensured.

The said Constitution guaranteed freedom to Nigerians to make choices and to express themselves without being threatened with penal sanctions and that is under Section 17 (1) where it was stated that the State social order is founded on ideals of Freedom, Equality, and Justice.

The right of Nigerians to express their views on any issue including blatant violation of the constitution in our democratic journey is a fundamental right. No Nigerian who sees or perceives perversion of our constitution should be threatened with the offence of treason or treasonable felony.

Section 39 (1) of the Constitution is clear. It provides that “Every person shall be entitled to freedom of expression, including the freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart ideas and information without interference.

For me, anyone who supports the perversion or violation of the Nigerian constitution in the Nigerian democratic journey for pure partisan selfish consideration is engaging in treason and treasonable felony.

Nigerian political class who hires thugs, or who aided and abetted the truncation of the will of the people should be those to be arrested, prosecuted, and jailed for treason and not those who voice out their feelings about the obvious perversion of the Constitution of Nigeria through electoral malfeasance.

Those who have refused to follow due process or allow the will and choices of the people to prevail before, and during elections in their quest for leadership positions are those who are engaging in treason and treasonable felony.

Democracy is about free choices and not coercion or force. Let us be truthful to ourselves. Most Nigerian politicians have no regard for the Nigerian constitution. They have no regard for the sovereignty of the people. That is why we see imposition during party primaries. We see thuggery and thugs during elections. What about vote buying? These are real acts of treason against the Nigerian constitution.
6th April, 2023.

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A Bar Leader and human rights lawyer, Mr. Marvin Ibem has sent a Save-Our-Soul message over herder killings in Umogidi Entekpa Ward of Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.

In a press statement made available to CITY LAWYER, the former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch Publicity Secretary said that “This attack is carefully orchestrated and constitutes an existential threat to my people. It is a strategy by the attackers to take over our ancestral home by strangers but we will never succumb.”

CITY LAWYER recalls that Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has been lamenting herder attacks in some parts of the state.

Below is the full text of the statement.

PRESS RELEASE ON THE KILLINGS OF THE PEOPLE OF UMOGIDI ENTEKPA WARD OF OTUKPO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE BY HERDERS.

Gentlemen of the press,

It is a sad day for me and my entire community of Umogidi, Entekpa Ward of Adoka district of Otukpo Local Government Area, Benue State which was invaded by herders yesterday the 5th day of April, 2023 wherein many people were killed.

In recent time, the herders took over the farmlands of my people and uprooted Yams, Cassava and other produce to feed their Cattles. This made the helpless villagers to abandon their ancestral farmlands for the safety of their lives.

Events however, took a different dimension yesterday the 5th April, 2023 as the killers invaded my village and killed innocent villagers and farmers unprovoked.

The last count of the victims were more than 47 bodies and more bodies are being recovered as at press time.

It is a disaster and personal loss to me as most of the victims are either related to me or are well known to me.

This carnage is under reported and I will like to use this medium to call on all relevant authorities to act fast and save my people.

We are a peaceful and law abiding people and will not contemplate taking laws into our hands.

This attack is carefully orchestrated and constitutes an existential threat to my people. It is a strategy by the attackers to take over our ancestral home by strangers but we will never succumb.

As we mourn the departed in our community, we call for the support of all well meaning Nigerians in prayers for the repose of their souls.

Signed:

Marvin Ibem, Esq .
Publicity Secretary,
Nigerian Bar Association, Ikeja Branch 2020-2022

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Embattled senior lawyer on the Ibom Air flight who vowed that Senator Bola Tinubu would not be sworn as president will today know whether he would breathe an air of freedom away from prison custody.

Mr. Obiajulu Uja had allegedly disrupted an Abuja to Lagos flight when he stood up to state that Tinubu would never be sworn-in as President on May 29. Uja was evacuated from the plane by airport security personnel.

He was arraigned at the Zuba Magistrates’ Court in Abuja and charged with “public nuisance, resistance to a lawful arrest, threatening violence and conduct likely to cause a breach of peace contrary to sections 396, 267,188,172 and 144 of the Penal Code Law.”

His lawyer, Mr. Ejike Ugwu said that “He was arraigned at the Zuba Magistrates’ Court after they (police) deceived us – because yesterday he was taken to Muhammadu Buhari Police Hospital, Area 11 Abuja.”

Ugwu insists that Uja is mentally challenged, adding that the hospital did not have a psychiatrist or psychologist to evaluate and certify him fit for criminal trial.

“While we were there, it was around 3 pm they told us that they wanted to arraign him in Zuba Magistrates’ Court. We reminded the court that the same police invited the doctor to examine him, and the same police instead of waiting for the doctors to examine him hurriedly charged him to court.

“Even with the test we did, we spent almost N40,000 at the Police clinic, all the tests they conducted we abandoned all of them; they have not prescribed any medicine.

“The way the police are handling it is as if they have an interest in the matter because you took somebody to a police clinic, you are coming to court to tell the court you want the person to be remanded in prison because you want to continue the investigation.

“Until now we do not know the result of the test that was conducted in the hospital because they hurriedly took him away from the hospital.”

A CITY LAWYER investigative report showed that Uja is a senior lawyer enrolled with the Supreme Court of Nigeria as a Solicitor and Advocate. A search on the Nigerian Bar Association portal also shows that the senior lawyer is a member of the lawyers’ body.

Uja is a Director in F. O. Education Services Limited located at Shalom Plaza, Gudu District, Abuja. The company deals in “General Contract and Merchandise.” He is also a Trustee Secretary in Angels Base Prophetic & Deliverance Ministry, a FESTAC, Lagos based church.

Meanwhile, Ugwu had decried his then planned arraignment, saying that he was not in a good mental state to withstand criminal trial. Ugwu told a national newspaper that Uja was a former bank worker in Lagos, adding that he had been in Abuja for a few weeks.

His words: “The man (Uja) worked with Zenith Bank until he developed some health issues. Some days ago, Riz Continental Hotel, Abuja, chased him away from the hotel because of his mental instability.”

According to Ugwu, Uja bought three tickets on Friday for Lagos State, noting that on getting to the airport, he had issues with almost all the airlines before he eventually boarded Ibom Air.

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Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN has slashed the fees payable by young lawyers to attend the forthcoming Annual General Conference (AGC).

A statement made available to CITY LAWYER indicated that “lawyers between 1-5 years post-call who have met the criterion shall pay NGN 7, 500 (for early bird registration), NGN 20,000 (for regular registration) and NGN 40,000 (for late registration).”

The statement noted that “The NBA President has magnanimously extended this concession to cover Lawyers 6 – 10 years post call subject to NEC approval. Young lawyers are particularly encouraged to take advantage of the CLE training programmes, as this incentive may apply to the next AGC.”

Below is the full text of the statement.

UPDATE ON 2023 ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION: APPROVED SCHEDULE OF FEES

Distinguished Colleagues ,

As you may be aware, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has approved that the 2023 Annual General Conference (AGC) holds in Abuja from 25 August 2023 to 1 September 2023.

The registration portal shall be announced and made accessible in due course by the Annual General Conference Planning Committee (AGCPC). Meanwhile, the approved Conference Registration fees are as contained in this publication.

Per conference fee concessions made by the NBA President in his Inaugural Speech of 26 August 2022 (see pages 10-11 thereof), some of our colleagues are entitled to the following discounts:
A. Lawyers 1 – 5 years post-call will pay 50% of the approved Conference fee of N15,000 (early bird registration) for lawyers between 1-5 years post-call on condition that such members are in good financial standing and have recorded not less than 70% participation in the CLE programme of the NBA.

Thus, lawyers between 1-5 years post-call who have met the criterion shall pay NGN 7, 500 (for early bird registration), NGN 20,000 (for regular registration) and NGN 40,000 (for late registration).

Note: The NBA President has magnanimously extended this concession to cover Lawyers 6 – 10 years post call subject to NEC approval. Young lawyers are particularly encouraged to take advantage of the CLE training programmes, as this incentive may apply to the next AGC.

B. Colleagues who are physically challenged will be registered for the conference free of charge, subject to participation in not less than 70% of the CLE programmes.

C. Aged colleagues of 70 years and above will be registered for the AGC free of charge unless they choose to pay. This is in appreciation of their contribution to the legal profession/NBA and to continually tap from their wealth of experience.

For avoidance of doubt, the conference fees (reflecting the above discounts) are as attached.

Thank you and warm regards.

Akorede Habeeb Lawal
National Publicity Secretary

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Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) General Secretary, Mazi Afam Osigwe has successfully brokered peace among warring factions in the intractable face-off among NBA Nyanya/Karu Branch arrow-heads.

According to a communique made available to CITY LAWYER on the recent NBA-NEC Meeting in Birnin-Kebbi, the resolution of the longstanding crises has now set the stage for the branch to elect its leadership.

NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN had informed the meeting that “the leadership crisis rocking the newly created Nyanya/Karu Branch of the Association is also resolved following intervention facilitated by Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN.”

A leading lawyer and Bar Leader, Osigwe is also the Chairman of the Technical Committee on Conference Planning.

CITY LAWYER recalls that Nyanya/Karu Branch was created in June 2022 but has been embroiled in leadership crisis with two parallel factions claiming to be authentic.

According to the NBA Communique signed by Maikyau and NBA General Secretary, “Following the intervention of Osigwe SAN, the NBA President appointed a caretaker committee to oversee election for the Branch in June 2023.”

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CELEBRATING THE ELEVATION OF ASIWAJU ADEGBOYEGA SOLOMON AWOMOLO SAN, AS THE VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE BODY OF BENCHERS: A TRIBUTE BY CHIEF JOE-KYARI GADZAMA OFR, MFR, SAN (CHAIRMAN, BODY OF BENCHERS MENTORING COMMITTEE FOR YOUNG LAWYERS)

As I reflect on the appointment of my dear friend, elder brother Silk, Life Bencher, and esteemed colleague, Asiwaju Adegboyega Solomon Awomolo, as Vice Chairman of the Body of Benchers, I am filled with pride and admiration for his achievements in the legal profession. Our focal and professional bond, which began during our work on a political case in 1997 when he led me as a non-Silk at that time, has endured over the years, and I am delighted to celebrate this new milestone with him.

Asiwaju Awomolo’s vast knowledge and experience in the legal profession, as well as his remarkable contributions to the Nigerian Bar Association and the legal profession as a whole, have earned him this well-deserved professional recognition. In referring to him as the ‘Shonekan’ of the NBA, I acknowledge his status as a father and leader in the legal profession, a man of integrity, a great mentor, and an inspiration to many young lawyers.

Particularly, I can nostalgically recollect that Asiwaju Awomolo led other bar leaders to bring back the NBA to life after the 1992 PORT HARCOURT debacle which made the NBA comatose.

Beyond the courtroom, Asiwaju Awomolo’s commitment to public service, philanthropy, and community development is commendable. His efforts have transformed the lives of thousands of people, especially the less privileged, in his hometown of Igbajo, Osun State, and beyond. He has been an unwavering champion of social justice, human rights, and good governance, using his platform as a legal practitioner and community leader to speak truth to power and advance the cause of the oppressed and marginalized.

As the Vice Chairman of the Body of Benchers, Asiwaju Awomolo brings his exceptional qualities and vast experience to bear on the critical task of regulating legal practice in Nigeria. He will undoubtedly provide wise counsel and leadership to his colleagues, and help to ensure that the legal profession continues to uphold the highest standards of ethics, professionalism, and excellence.

On this occasion of his appointment as Vice Chairman of the Body of Benchers, I salute him, congratulate him, and wish him every success in his new role. May the Almighty continue to guide and bless him in all his endeavors. It is also on this pedestal that I urge everyone, either of the Bar or the Bench, to provide the needed support to Asiwaju Adegboyega Solomon Awomolo, SAN as he takes up his new role as Vice Chairman of the Body of Benchers. Your support is vital to his success, and I am confident that he will use this position to make important contributions to the legal profession.

May God, the Almighty, continue to bestow Solomonic wisdom on Solomon (Amen).

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ONLINE PETITION SURFACES

The Body of Benchers has again ‘stepped down’ the nomination of immediate past Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Mr. Olumide Akpata as its member, CITY LAWYER can authoritatively report.

Though the application by incumbent NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN came up for consideration at the benchers’ last quarterly meeting, the elite body resolved to ‘step down’ the application for the second time on the basis that NBA was indebted to it.

CITY LAWYER recalls that the application suffered a similar fate during the penultimate benchers’ meeting, with the body blaming it on the fact that Akpata’s curriculum vitae was not attached to the application. It was also hinted that lack of approval of the nomination by NBA’s National Executive Council (NEC) may prove a stumbling block.

While Maikyau has since secured NBA-NEC approval and submitted Akpata’s curriculum vitae to the Benchers Appointment Committee led by former Court of Appeal President, Justice Umaru Abdullahi, the benchers have again resolved to suspend consideration of the nomination until NBA fulfils its financial obligations to the body.

A source who is familiar with the matter told CITY LAWYER that Maikyau however countered the argument during the benchers’ last quarterly meeting.

He wondered why Akpata’s nomination was singled out for such ‘special treatment’ when two other NBA Representatives who were proposed at the same time had since been approved and resumed membership of the coveted body.

The benchers had earlier approved two other NBA nominees, Mr. Solomon Umoh SAN and Mr. Sule Usman Ogwu SAN. While Umoh is returning to the elite body, Ogwu joins the body as a new member. The duo were among the three names forwarded by NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN to the Body of Benchers for approval as NBA representatives.

Our source also stated that Maikyau queried why he was not contacted to redress any alleged indebtedness.

CITY LAWYER however learnt that the Body of Benchers Chairman, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN explained that the Secretary was unable to reach Maikyau, adding that communication on the matter would be delivered to NBA.

Some analysts however argue that Akpata’s chequered attempt to return to the elite body may not be unconnected with NBA’s bruising face-off with Olanipekun over alleged solicitation by a Partner in his leading law firm. Both Akpata and Maikyau NBA leaderships had stridently demanded Olanipekun’s recusal from the chairmanship post, even as NBA has dragged the alleged defaulter to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).

CITY LAWYER had in an exclusive report cited a complaint by former Minister of Energy and Petroleum ministries, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia SAN over an email from Ogunde, a Partner in Wole Olanipekun & Co, allegedly soliciting to take over a brief his law firm was handling for SAIPEM SPA. Following his demand for an apology, Wole Olanipekun & Co apologized for the debacle and disowned the Partner. NBA has since filed a petition against the embattled senior lawyer at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).

Meanwhile, one Mark Anthony has today commenced an online petition to compel the Body of Benchers to ratify Akpata’s nomination by the NBA.

In the petition sighted by CITY LAWYER, he stated that “Mr. Olumide Akpata is the immediate past president of the Nigerian Bar Association. He is a defender of human rights and a friend of the masses.

“During his tenure as NBA President, he stood against corruption and nepotism expecially (sic) the legal profession. This included calling out Mr. Olanipekun, SAN who is also the Chairman of the Body of Benchers, a body that calls Nigerian Lawyers to bar.

“In retaliation, Chief Olanipekun refused to approve Mr. Akpata’s nomination to the Body made by President Y.C Maikyau SAN.

“This petition is to enforce the recognition of those who will fight for the masses and the common man.

“Please add your voice and let’s make a statement!”

The petition has received about 30 signatories at press time.

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The Lagos High Court Sitting at the Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos has dismissed a “No case submission” filed by the suspended Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), Drambi Vandi, who allegedly killed a Lagos-based lawyer, Omobolanle Raheem on Christmas Day.

Justice Ibironke Harrison ordered the defendant to open his defence , holding that a ‘prima facie case” has been made against him.

The court also held that the prosecution led by the Attorney-General of Lagos, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo SAN had established sufficient oral and documentary evidence linking the defendant to the crime which require explanations from him.

The court said that the evidence of the defendant, being the only other eye-witness who was yet to testify before it about the incident, will shed light on what happened that day.

According to the judge, “The prosecution has established a prima facie case requiring some explanation by the defendant. The court isn’t looking at the credibility of the prosecution witnesses at this stage. The court will not delve into the substantive case right now. The only real issue now is whether a prima facie case has been made by the prosecution, and not whether it has proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.”

The court noted that some of the witnesses had testified that they saw the defendant shoot the deceased on Christmas Day, and that the defendant’s rifle was short of two ammunitions upon his arrest for the shooting.

In his application on the No Case Submission, Vandi asked the court to dismiss the suit and discharge him, claiming that he has no case to answer.

In his argument, his defence counsel, Mr. Adetokunbo Odutola told the court to note among other things that none of the eyewitnesses saw the defendant shoot the lawyer. He added that the ballistic report on the gun allegedly fired expressly stated that the bullet cannot be linked with any of the firearms recovered from the police officers at the scene.

Based on what he described as the “inconsistency and contradictions of the prosecution witnesses “from top to bottom,” Odutola urged the court to quash the charge against the Defendant and discharge him accordingly as the prosecution had failed in its attempt to make a prima facie case against him.

Onigbanjo had however countered, urging the court to order the defendant to open his defence. He insisted that the prosecution had successfully made its case against the police officer.

Before the prosecution closed its case on February 15, it had called eleven witnesses which included police officers, the husband and sister of the deceased, the ballistician and a pathologist, Dr. Oluwaseun Williams.

CHANNELS TV reports that in his reaction to the ruling, one of the defence counsel, Gbenro Gbadamosi told the court that the defence team will review the ruling and decide on whether to appeal.

The Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins, however said that an interlocutory appeal of this nature will not stop the continuation of the trial in line with Section 273 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Laws of Lagos state. He applied for a date for further hearing. The case has been adjourned to May 16, 2023 for the defendant to open his defence.

On January 16, 2023, the prosecution arraigned ASP Vandi on a one-count charge of murder. The charge stated that he Vandi shot and killed the 41-year old pregnant property lawyer by shooting her in the chest, an offence contrary to Section 223 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

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NBA PRESIDENT, YC MAIKYAU, SAN, PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR NBAWF, AS PANELS EXPLORE THE ROLE OF TECH IN CREATING INCLUSION IN THE LAW SPACE AND THE BENEFITS OF INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION AMONG SISTER ASSOCIATIONS

The president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu C. Maikyau, SAN was a notable presence during the proceedings at the Annual General Conference of the NBA Women Forum in Abuja. He came to show solidarity and pledge support to the Forum.

Speaking at the occasion, Maikyau described the similarities between technology and the inherent creativity and adaptability of the female character, and went on to list a number of remarkable female scientific pioneers who impacted the world, thanks to their knowledge and innovative spirit.

Speaking to reporters shortly afterward, the NBA President expressed optimism about the future prospects of the NBAWF – which, he promised, would be actualized with the active support of the parent Association. He praised the resilience and dynamism of its leadership under Mrs. Chinyere Okorocha and her predecessor, Prof. Oluyemisi Bamgbose, SAN, thanking them for the wisdom and skill with which they guided the Forum after its revival.

Maikyau’s encouraging words came in the midst of two panel discussions on inclusion and collaboration. In the third discussion of the day, which was moderated by Mrs. Inemesit Dike, founder and CEO at the The Legal Concierge (Inemesit Dike & Co.), the discussants sought, among other things, to explore the potential of technology to bring about policies that impact the inclusion of women, and how women can drive the use of tech to achieve that laudable purpose.

On Mrs. Dike’s panel was a lone male, in the person of Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, Senior Partner at Law Forte; Hajiya Asia Ahmed el-Rufai, a foremost disability and inclusion advocate who is also the wife of the Governor of Kaduna State; Ngozi Aderibigbe, a Partner at the Law Firm of Jackson, Etti & Edu; and Dr. Aderemi Omotubora, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Lagos.

In her opening shot, Mrs. Aderibigbe, described women and tech as a natural combo, given that women are far more adaptable to new situations and new technologies than their male counterparts. She however said the picture was different when it came to female lawyers. Like the institute they belong to, they are, on average, slow to embrace new technologies. Another problem, she added, was poverty; many female lawyers simply lacks the means to purchase relevant but high-end technological devices. Aderibigbe also advised law firms to cultivate the use of Cloud solutions in storing sensitive documents. She also urged her colleagues to embrace proficiency in coding and other tech skills, describing them as ‘life skills’ in the global economy, in much the same way as literacy and numeracy were in the last century. One low-hanging fruit, she said, would be to showcase one’s abilities on LinkedIn in the quest for visibility and patronage.

Senior Advocate, Mazi Osigwe expressed bemusement at the general apprehension among lawyers with the coming of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the idea that it might be taking jobs away from human lawyers. While not altogether unfounded, the learned silk said, that fear can be dispelled by a higher level of understanding on the part of lawyers with greater insight into the lawyer’s true role in his immediate environment. AI and similar or coming technologies, he said, can be a great complement to the lawyer with superior skills – noting that AI is, after all, made by man.

Also speaking Dr. Omotubora of UNILAG dwelt on intellectual property and technology law, and its evolution in various jurisdictions across the globe. He called on authorities and the private sector to invest more in the technology sector and come up with policies that can bring about a change in the digital gap and greater inclusion.

Inclusion is one subject that is dear to the heart of Hajiya el-Rufai. She began her presentation by noting, sadly, the overall attitude of the Bar towards lawyers with Special Abilities (as she called them). But with the setting up of the NBA Committee on Lawyers with Disability, she is hopeful of a more positive engagement among differently-abled lawyers. Ironically, she said, it is actually tech that has shown itself as a remarkable enabler of inclusion – even when other tendencies in society and the law space tend towards excluding the physically-challenged. Hajiya el-Rufai called for a more intentional investment in user-friendly technology for people in that category.

Summing up, the moderator, Mrs. Dike urged lawyers, law firms and Bar organisations to extend advanced (and continuing) legal education into tech, and called on governments at all levels to help those who are helping others to live meaningful lives and do meaningful work – in law and other areas of endeavour.

The final panel session of the day examined the current state of collaboration between the NBA Women Forum and sister organisations around the world. Moderated by Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, Partner at the Africa Law Practice (ALP), the panel was made up representatives of various law associations dedicated to the empowerment of female lawyers – Sheryl Galler, Chairperson of the New York State Bar Women in Law Section; Ibukun Alabi, Chair, Business Network at BNLF; Cordelia Eke, who is currently a Director at the Rivers State Ministry of Justice; Amina S. Agbaje, the National President of the Nigeria branch of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA); and Mulikat Thomas, Chairperson of Programmes at the African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA).

Speaking on the topic of discussion, Galler asserted that her organization’s collaborations across the globe must be a mirror to its own overall objectives – with respect to pay disparities; inclusion and representation in leadership roles; the importance of training and capacity-building; and advocacy for legislation and deliberate policies towards enhancing the rights of women, children and natural environment.

On her part, Alabi saw the need for constant networking, on both bilateral and multilateral levels, which she said her organisation, BNLF, was committed to, as well as raising awareness on the need for women to affirm and promote one another for career and business opportunities.

In line with Alabi’s and Galler’s contributions, Eke, Agbaje and Thomas called on their female colleagues to promote greater cooperation among their respective organisations but among individual female lawyers, saying the ‘Pull Her Down’ syndrome was all too pervasive for comfort. They went on to enumerate their respective organisations’ efforts and programmes towards achieving global solidarity among female lawyers.

In the Q&A session that followed, the President of AWLA, Nigeria’s Mrs. Mandy Asagba, appealed for all female lawyers of African descent – whatever their professional affiliations may be – to come together and see themselves as one big family. Only by doing so, she said, can they hope to present a common front in the fight for gender equity.

The proceedings came to a close with a vote of thanks, which was given by Mohammed Adama, Senior Legal Officer at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) who doubles as an NBAWF Council Member and Chair of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) for this year’s Conference.

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Embattled passenger on the Ibom Air flight who vowed that Senator Bola Tinubu would not be sworn in is a senior lawyer, CITY LAWYER can authoritatively report.

The Police authority has announced that he would be arraigned in court tomorrow on charges bordering on criminal intimidation and public disturbance.

CITY LAWYER investigation shows that Mr. Obiajulu Hansel Uja was admitted to the Nigerian Bar, having successfully passed his Nigerian Bar Examination in July 2000 with a Second Class (Lower Division) grade. He is about 23 years at the Bar.

In a trending video obtained by CITY LAWYER, Uja was seen being restrained and evacuated from the Abuja-Lagos flight by no less than six airport security officers. He was heard shouting, “Obidients, you’re here. They are doing this to me. Obidients, you’re here, I am naked. Obidients you’re here, I am going naked.” The 6 pm flight was delayed for about one hour.

Uja is duly enrolled with the Supreme Court of Nigeria as a Solicitor and Advocate, CITY LAWYER can report. A search on the Nigerian Bar Association portal also shows that the senior lawyer is a member of the lawyers’ body.

Uja is a Director in F. O. Education Services Limited located at Shalom Plaza, Gudu District, Abuja. The company deals in “General Contract and Merchandise.” He is also a Trustee Secretary in Angels Base Prophetic & Deliverance Ministry, a FESTAC, Lagos based church.

Meanwhile, Uja’s lawyer has decried his planned arraignment, saying that he is not in a good mental state to withstand criminal trial. Ugwu told a national newspaper that Uja was a former bank worker in Lagos, adding that he had been in Abuja for a few weeks.

His words: “The man (Uja) worked with Zenith Bank until he developed some health issues. Some days ago, Riz Continental Hotel, Abuja, chased him away from the hotel because of his mental instability.”

According to Ugwu, Uja bought three tickets on Friday for Lagos State, noting that on getting to the airport, he had issues with almost all the airlines before he eventually boarded Ibom Air.

Ugwu, who visited the senior lawyer at the Nigeria Police Airport Command where he was held, said that when he queried him, “He told us that he wanted to market his products and that he was just trying to get the attention of the passengers when he raised the issue of Asiwaju will not be sworn in.

“If you go through his social media, you will understand that he is not even a member of the Obedient movement. But the long and short of it is that the man is mentally unstable. After he was arrested and the DPO saw reports in the media, the DPO confided in me that the man is not a normal person.

“It’s just the system; I told the DPO that you do not even need a medical certificate from the family but as an investigator, employ the services of a psychiatrist to confirm the mental stability of the man. But as I speak with you, I left the police station around 5 pm and we have not seen the DPO today in the station. I told the DPO that this man needs medical attention immediately before the whole system will collapse.

“He has a kidney problem; if you see his legs you will see how swollen they are. You can only investigate someone that is alive.”

According to PUNCH newspaper, the Assistant Secretary General of Aviation Round Table, Olumide Ohunayo, said: “The man doesn’t appear okay. I mean he started misbehaving from the check-in counter, so they ought to have alerted the crew that an agitated person was going on board; he even didn’t appear okay when he was asked to leave the aircraft. However, we need to be careful of copycats.”

The Investigating Police Officer, Benson Okoh, also said: “He’s with us, I was trying to confirm to the PPRO. However, he’ll be charged to court on Monday for criminal intimidation and inciting public disturbance.”

Tweeting @PIDOMNIGERIA, one “99% OPPRESSED” wrote: “Barrister Obiajulu Hansel Uja is a mentally unstable man. Whoever that used him for this, took advantage of a man battling mental health challenges. He was sacked by @ZenithBank on the 7th of March 2023, without pay, over his unruly behaviour, & prolonged mental health challenge

“He is well read, with lots of degrees. He was employed by @ZenithBank in 2004, where he rose to the position of Deputy manager, & Head of Loan Documentation Unit, at the bank’s legal department. His mental health issues started in 2018, but unknown. He suddenly became unruly.

“Fighting and shouting at every staff member, including his superiors. He was subsequently transferred to a local branch of zenith bank, at Okota, in Lagos state, when his character became unbearable. His mental health challenge became worse in 2019, & he was eventually flown out, to the United Kingdom, UK for treatment. But all the treatments given to him over there didn’t work, as his mental health issues, became worst.

“He was returned back to Nigeria, and was taken to Enugu state, for traditional treatment with local herbalist (sic). He was there until 2022, when zenith bank stopped paying him salary. So since then, he has been facing financial challenges, even while still receiving treatment.

“He stays somewhere around Festac, in Lagos state. Upon his acclaimed recovery & return to work, @ZenithBank issued him a sack letter, without pay. Security agents can verify every of the claims I made here.

“He is not a member of LP, neither is he a member of the Obidient movement. But he shouts at anyone, and talks like lunatic. His medical records are there to verify, if he is mentally stable. His work records with zenith bank for almost 20 years, is there to verify.

“If he didn’t act alone, whoever that used him, took advantage of a mentally unstable man. He is out of work, broke, & could be desperate.”

CITY LAWYER could not independently confirm the tweets at press time.

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ARREST OF EZE IGBO OF AJAO: DISCRIMINATORY AND A SLAP ON THE FACE OF THE RULE OF LAW, BY CHIEF MALCOLM EMOKINIOVO OMIRHOBO

During the just concluded Nigerian elections the Igbos in Lagos State were threatened, intimidated, harassed, embarrassed, coerced and disenfranchised by their Yoruba host while the Nigerian state, the Department of State Services (DSS), police and military boots on ground looked the other way.

First was an audio tape of the Baale of Gbaara in Eti-Osa threatening Igbos who say they will not vote APC in the coming election. In Aguda there was a video of a thug threatening Igbos in a polling booth to vote for APC or go home . A woman suspected to be an Igbo woman was stabbed in the face in Surulere .

The Oro rite was performed throughout Lagos during the elections to threaten the Igbos not to vote by many Obas and Baales . The MC Oluomo video threatening the Igbos not come out to vote if they are not voting for APC was taken as a joke by the police.

During the Gubernatorial and State House of Assembly election the Igbos were attacked and prevented from voting by Yoruba thugs and miscreants throughout Lagos state. To crown it all were the xenophobic and inflammatory statements made by Femi Fani-Kayode and Bayo Onanuga made against the Igbos.

In all these incidents and many more the DSS and police did not invite, arrest, interrogate or prosecute any of these persons in the face of overwhelming evidence.

After the elections the face-off between the Yorubas and Igbos continued as Igbos are being attacked by some Yoruba constantly and their property destroyed without any consequences.

The failure of the DSS and police to protect the life and property of Igbos in Lagos State led Fredrick Nwajagu, the Eze Igbo of Ajao Estate, Lagos, to on Friday, 31/3/2023 via a video that went viral announce his intention to invite members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) to Lagos to secure the life and property of the Igbos .

Barely 24 hours after Nwajagu video was released, with speed of lightening at about 1:00 am on Saturday 1/4/2023 a combined team of police and DSS raided and arrested Nwajagu, the Eze Igbo of Ajao Estate and took him into the custody of DSS for just for making a joke like MC Oluomo.

The DSS and the police should be ashamed of themselves for failing to prevent the ongoing face-off between the Yorubas and Igbos in Lagos State that is now taking a xenophobic turn.

From the foregoing, I dare say that the arrest of Nwajagu is discriminatory and a slap on the face of the rule of law. The DSS and the police cannot pick and choose who to arrest for breaking the law because all Nigerians are equal before the law – and no Nigerian is above the law.

Why will the DSS and police refuse to arrest Yorubas that break the law but are quick to raid and arrest an Igbo for committing a similar offence like his Yoruba compatriots? This act of the DSS and the police is unhealthy to our corporate existence as a country. Or are they saying the Yorubas are superior to the Igbos? For the records, all ethnic nationalities in Nigeria are equal before the eyes of the law.

The DSS and police must take Nwajagu video as a joke and release him forthwith.

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• IGP ASSURES OF RELEASE

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the arrest of three lawyers who were working on a petition for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the just concluded gubernatorial election in Rivers State.

In a statement made available to CITY LAWYER and personally signed by NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN, the lawyers’ body described the news of the arrest of the lawyers as “rather unfortunate and disturbing.”

According to him, “The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) strongly condemns such unwarranted harassment of lawyers in the lawful performance of their professional duties to their clients. Situations where the instrumentality of the police is apparently being used to harass and intimidate lawyers, is a direct affront to the rule of law and a threat to our democracy; it is an invitation to anarchy and chaos, as people would rather resort to self-help than approach the civil and constitutional means provided for the resolution of disputes.”

Noting that he had spoken with the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Usman Alkali Baba and the Commissioner of Police in Rivers State on the matter, Maikyau stated that “I have been assured of the release of our colleagues.”

He stated that “We shall also take up the matter to ensure that any person(s) including police officers, who may be found complicit in the events leading to the arrest of our colleagues, is sanctioned for any possible abuse of office.”

CITY LAWYER had reported the arrest of the APC legal team while working on a petition on the recent elections in the state.

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There are strong indications that police operatives attached to Hypercity Supermarket Police Station at Ogbunabali, Port Harcourt have whisked away a team of lawyers working to beat deadline in filing election petitions on the just concluded Governorship and State Assembly Elections in Rivers State.

In a “Distress Alert” obtained by CITY LAWYER, it was alleged that the operatives swooped on the lawyers while they were preparing to file election petitions on behalf of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and some of its candidates to challenge the outcome of the elections.

The Save Our Soul message posted by a ranking Senior Advocate of Nigeria who confirmed its veracity to CITY LAWYER reads: “DISTRESS ALERT: NIGERIA POLICE ARRESTS LAWYERS PREPARING ELECTION PETITIONS FOR ALL PROGRESSIVES CONGRESS CANDIDATES IN PORT HARCOURT

“Early this morning the 1/4/2023 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force unlawfully and illegally arrested lawyers and support staff of Tuduru Ede SAN &Co who were preparing Election Petitions for APC candidates who INEC claimed lost the elections of 18th March 2023 to the Rivers State House of Assembly.

“The arrests were made at Bayview Hotel along Tombia Road,GRA Phase 2, Port Harcourt.

“The lawyers owing to tight timelines to file petitions quartered in the hotel to meet filing periods of 21 days.

“They only had FORMs EC8As and related FORMs issued by INEC and committed no offences for accepting and working their briefs.

“Their clients who are APC and APC candidates have right of access to the Tribunal which the Police in collaboration with PDP are aggressively trying to obstruct by arresting and humiliating lawyers.

“The arrested lawyers include Aondo Jerry,Dr Nelson U.Sobere and Odum C. Eyiba.

“They are currently held at Hypercity Supermarket Police Station at Ogbunabali, Port Harcourt without access to them even upon several efforts of their principal Tuduru Ede SAN and other APC chieftains.

The Nigerian Police Force is yet to respond to the allegation at press time.

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It was a heated debate yesterday as the elite Body of Benchers threw out a formal nomination by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to appoint foremost lawyer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN as its Vice Chairman.

CITY LAWYER had in an exclusive report noted that the NBA National Executive Council (NBA-NEC) had at its last quarterly meeting in Birnin-Kebbi shunned Awomolo and resolved to back respected senior lawyer, Mrs. Funke Adekoya SAN as its choice for the top post.

The position of Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Body of Benchers rotates between members of the Bar and Bench. Awomolo takes over from retired Supreme Court jurist, Justice Mary Odili who replaced foremost lawyer, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN after a turbulent one-year reign as the Chairman of the august body.

Multiple sources told CITY LAWYER that though NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN presented his letter stating the position of the NBA on the matter, this was flatly rejected by the benchers.

Aside from reeling out Awomolo’s contributions to the legal profession and especially in resuscitating the NBA after the 1992 Port Harcourt debacle, Olanipekun noted that the body has well settled procedure for appointing its leadership.

CITY LAWYER gathered that aside from a prominent human rights activist and at least two other Bar Leaders who spoke against the nomination, only former NBA Enugu Branch Chairman, Chief L. M. E. Ezeofor backed Maikyau in his spirited battle to push through the NBA-NEC resolution.

It was gathered that the benchers insisted that such positions are filled strictly on the basis of tradition and that only the most senior active member from the Bar would ascend to the post, adding that it was not in the place of the Bar to dictate how the body would choose its leadership.

While some members argued that NBA does not equate to the “Bar,” CITY LAWYER recalls that the immediate past NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata nominated Olanipekun for endorsement during a plenary meeting of the Body of Benchers.

A source argued that aside from the fact that Awomolo is not the most senior Life Bencher from the Bar, Late Chief Idowu Sofola SAN among others allegedly did not follow the seniority precedent prior to appointment to the leadership of the body. He argued that “Awomolo does not represent the Bar,” adding that “His antecedents are clear for all to see.”

CITY LAWYER gathered that as the debate on the issued lingered, and reminiscent of the “off the mic” debacle at the National Assembly hearing, a leading jurist was overhead during the hybrid meeting telling Olanipekun that “You must learn to exhibit dictatorial tendencies.”

Regarded as one of the foremost lawyers in Nigeria, Olanipekun has been engaged in a fierce and bruising face-off with the NBA leadership over a controversial letter by his partner, Ms. Adekunbi Ogunde bordering on alleged solicitation.

CITY LAWYER had in an exclusive report cited a complaint by former Minister of Energy and Petroleum ministries, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia SAN over an email from Ogunde, a Partner in Wole Olanipekun & Co, allegedly soliciting to take over a brief his law firm was handling for SAIPEM SPA. Following his demand for an apology, Wole Olanipekun & Co apologized for the debacle and disowned the Partner. NBA has since filed a petition against the embattled senior lawyer at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).

It was unclear at press time how the NBA will respond to the rejection of its nomination.

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Application for award of the coveted rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) for the 2023 award cycle ends today.

CITY LAWYER recalls that the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) had early January announced commencement of the application process.

In a public notice signed by its Secretary and Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Hajo Sarki Bello, the committee noted that “All applications together with their mandatory or supporting documents must be submitted online at www.lppconline.com before 12:00 noon on the 31st March, 2023 whilst the flash drives referred to in clause 25 above must be delivered to the LPPC Secretariat before 4:00pm on the 3rd April, 2023.”

There are strong indications that the committee may have extended the deadline for online submission from 12 noon to midnight of today, especially as indicated by the counter on its website.

Below is the full text of the notice.

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: 2023 AWARD OF THE RANK OF SENIOR ADVOCATE OF NIGERIA

By the combined provisions of Section 5(2) of the Legal Practitioners Act, Cap L11 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and Regulation 10 (1) (4) of the Guidelines for the Conferment of the Rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria 2022 (“the Guidelines), the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (the LPPC” or “the Committee”) hereby makes a formal call for applications preparatory to the award of the rank for the year 2023 Commencing with this year’s exercise, applications shall only be made online and prospective applicants are directed to visit www.lppconline.com to make their applications.

DIRECTIVES TO PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS ON SUBMISSION OF THEIR RESPECTIVE APPLICATIONS

2.1 The application portal, www.lppconline.com will be open to the general public at 12:00 am on January 1st, 2023.

2.2 An applicant must pay a non-refundable processing fee of One Million Naira (N1,000. 000.00) only to any of the following accounts held in the name of the “Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (SAN)”:

Account Number:1014103141, at Zenith Bank PLC,

Account No. 0213662834 at GTBank PLC

2.3 Upon conclusion of payment, an applicant should upload a copy of the evidence of payment on the application portal. The appient will receive an email notification from the LPPC Secretariat confirming the applicant’s payment and clearing the applicant to proceed with the application process online

2.4 For any enquires/information, applicants should send All applicants (whether Advocates or Academica) an electronic mail to The Secretary, Legal Practitioners must upload clear and legible copies of all Privileges Committee via: mandatory or supporting documents that are required by the Guidelines for the purpose of their application on the application portal. Only clear copies of materials presented shall be considered/acceptable by the Secretariat in compliance with Regulation 9(2) of the Guidelines. In the case of Academic applicants who may wish to submit publications that are too voluminous to be conveniently scanned and uploaded, it shall be sufficient to scan and upload the title page of such publications, whilst submitting the hard copies along with the flashi drives referred to in clause 25 below.

2.5 After uploading copies of all mandatory or supporting documents online, applicants shall also submit five flash drives containing a copy of their completed application form (to be downloaded from the online portal) as well as copies of all the mandatory and supporting documents uploaded on the online platform to the LPPC Secretariat.

2.6 Any application together with supporting documents submitted in a manner contrary to the directives of the LPPC as enumerated above will be rejected by the Secretariat.

2.7 All applications together with their mandatory or supporting documents must be submitted online at www.lppconline.com before 12:00 noon on the 31st March, 2023 whilst the flash drives referred to in clause 25 above must be delivered to the LPPC Secretariat before 4:00pm on the 3rd April, 2023.

2.8 Any submission made after the deadlines stipulated in clause 2.7 above shall be treated as a non-submission.

Hajo Sarki Bello, Esq.

Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court/Secretary Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee

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Top Lagos lawyer, Mr. Emuobonuvie Majemite has joined the race for the post of Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch.

The branch is regarded as the foremost of NBA branches, moreso as it has the largest number of voters in any NBA election cycle.

Reputed as one of the leading practitioners of his generation, CITY LAWYER gathered that Majemite picked up his nomination form for the position yesterday.

A Partner at the foremost law firm of PUNUKA Attorneys and Solicitors, Majemite is a 2022 Legal 500 “Recommended Lawyer in Dispute Resolution.”

He has served the “Premier Bar,” as NBA Lagos Branch is fondly called, in various capacities. He is currently the Alternate Chairman of the Membership and Data Management Committee.

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It was a lively scene at the foyer of the Federal High Court in Abuja, as the cream of Nigeria’s female legal sorority – on both the Bar and the Bench – converged at that esteemed location on the evening of Wednesday the 29th of March, 2023 for a welcome cocktail to mark the beginning of the 3rd Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Women Forum (NBAWF). As in previous editions, the NBAWF Conference is also a commemoration of this year’s International Women’s Day, which explored the theme, ‘TECH HER IN: INNOVATING FOR GENDER EQUITY’.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has appointed no less than nine Senior Advocates of Nigeria to defend its conduct of the 2023 presidential election, CITY LAWYER can authoritatively report.

The team is to be led by former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Mr. Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud (SAN). Other members of the team are Stephen Adehi (SAN), Oluwakemi Pinheiro (SAN), Miannaya Essien (SAN) and Abdullahi Aliyu (SAN).

CITY LAWYER gathered from a member of the legal team that four Senior Advocates of Nigeria who are staff of INEC’s Legal Department are also members of the legal team alongside Messrs Garba Hassan and Musa Attah and Ms. Patricia Obi.

It is recalled that INEC had on March 1, 2023 declared Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as the winner of the February 25, 2023 presidential election.

INEC declared that Tinubu polled a total of 8,794,726 votes and also scored over 25 per cent of the votes cast in 30 states while Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) polled 6,984,520 votes to place second. According to INEC, the candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi came third in the election with a total of 6,101,533 votes while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the NNPP came fourth with 1,496,687 votes.

However, Atiku and Obi have challenged INEC’s declaration of Tinubu as the winner of the presidential election, filing petitions at the Presidential Elections Tribunal.

The election was criticized by many observers as having been fraught with some irregularities.

Obi in his petition claimed that Tinubu “was not duly elected by the majority of the lawful votes cast at the time of the election.”

The former Governor of Anambra State further stated there was rigging in 11 states, adding that he would demonstrate this in the declaration of results based on the uploaded results.

The petition reads: “The petitioners shall show that in the computation and declaration of the result of the election, based on the updated results, the votes recorded for the second respondent (Tinubu) did not comply with the legitimate process for the computation of the result and disfavoured the petitioners in the following states: Rivers, Lagos, Taraba, Benue, Adamawa, Imo, Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Plateau and other states of the federation.”

Obi and LP said INEC violated its own regulations when it announced the result despite the fact that at the time of the announcement, the totality of the polling unit results had yet to be fully scanned, uploaded and transmitted electronically as required by the Electoral Act.

Among other prayers, the petitioners urged the tribunal to “determine that, at the time of the presidential election held on February 25, 2023, the second and third respondents (Tinubu and Shettima) were not qualified to contest the election.

“That it be determined that all the votes recorded for the second respondent in the election are wasted votes, owing to the non-qualification of the second and third respondents.

“That it is determined that on the basis of the remaining votes (after discountenancing the votes credited to the second respondent) the first petitioner (Obi) scored a majority of the lawful votes cast at the election and had not less than 25 per cent of the votes cast in each of at least two-thirds of the states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja and satisfied the constitutional requirements to be declared the winner of the February 25, 2023, presidential election.

“That it be determined that the second respondent (Tinubu), having failed to score one-quarter of the votes cast at the presidential election in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, was not entitled to be declared and returned as the winner of the presidential election held on February 25, 2023.”

The petitioners are also asking the tribunal for an order cancelling the election and compelling INEC to conduct a fresh election in which Tinubu, Shettima and APC shall not participate.

But Tinubu’s camp insist that he won the election fairly.

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Barring any unforeseen hitches, respected Bar Leader and former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) First Vice President, Mrs. Funke Adekoya SAN will tomorrow be endorsed as the Vice Chairman of the elite Body of Benchers.

CITY LAWYER can authoritatively report that the NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN has written to the Body of Benchers informing it of the nomination of Adekoya by NBA as its preferred candidate for the post of Vice Chairman. This is a fallout of the NBA National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held last week in Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State.

The quarterly meeting of the benchers which is scheduled to hold tomorrow at its headquarters in Abuja will also witness a change of baton between the outgoing Chairman of the body, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN and current Vice Chairman, retired Justice Mary Ukaego Odili.

The nomination of Adekoya, a Life Bencher, may have put spanner in the works for a bloc within the body which is allegedly pushing the candidacy of prominent Bar Leader, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo SAN. Awomolo is reputed as the most active surviving Life Bencher.

CITY LAWYER gathered from an impeccable source that Olanipekun may have tacitly mooted Awomolo’s candidacy when he suggested during plenary that the post of Vice Chairman is traditionally reserved for the ‘oldest surviving Life Bencher.’

However, the former NBA President, who is widely regarded as the go-to lawyer in election petition matters, has been engaged in a fierce dog-fight with the NBA leadership over a controversial letter by his partner, Ms Adekunbi Ogunde bordering on alleged solicitation.

Sources who are familiar with the matter told CITY LAWYER that key stakeholders within the Bar felt that Awomolo had not sufficiently defended the interests of the Bar at the Body of Benchers to earn the confidence and support of the NBA leadership and members.

CITY LAWYER had in an exclusive report cited a complaint by former Minister of Energy and Petroleum ministries, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia SAN over an email from Ogunde, a Partner in Wole Olanipekun & Co, allegedly soliciting to take over a brief his law firm was handling for SAIPEM SPA. Following his demand for an apology, Wole Olanipekun & Co apologized for the debacle and disowned the Partner. NBA has since filed a petition against the embattled senior lawyer at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).

In the letter dated 27th March, 2023 and addressed to the Secretary of the Body of Benchers, Maikyau wrote: “I am delighted to inform you that the National Executive Council of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA-NEC), at its meeting held on 23 March 2023, in Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi State, unanimously approved the nomination of Mrs Funke Adekoya, SAN (Life Bencher) as the NBA representative for the position of Vice Chairman of the Body of Benchers upon the exit of the current Chairman, Chief Wole Olanipekun, OFR, CFR, SAN. A copy of the NBA-NEC resolution is attached for your reference.

“The nomination is in recognition of her impeccable record, exemplary conduct, and contributions to the development of the legal profession in Nigeria. NBA-NEC acknowledged the invaluable role she has played as a quintessential Bar leader who is always committed to raising the standard of legal practice and uniting the Bar. A copy of her Curriculum Vitae is attached.

“Kindly bring this nomination to the attention of the Chairman and members of the Body.”

Titled “NOMINATION OF MRS FUNKE ADEKOYA, SAN (LIFE BENCHER) AS NBA REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE POSITION OF VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE BODY OF BENCHERS,” the letter was copied to all BoB members. It was gathered that former NBA President, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba SAN was also endorsed as a reserve candidate for the position, even as Maikyau was mandated by NBA-NEC to nominate any other Bar Leader in the event that the two candidates are unavailable or not endorsed by the benchers.

CITY LAWYER recalls that both the immediate past NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata and Maikyau had stridently demanded that Olanipekun “step aside” from the post, arguing that the conduct of his partner had brought odium to the legal profession.

But the body instead passed a vote of confidence on Olanipekun at its last quarterly meeting. At the meeting attended by three former chief justices of Nigeria including Justice Mahmud Mohammed, Justice Salisu Modibo Alfa Belgore, and Justice Walter Onnoghen, Awomolo commended Olanipekun as a highly successful lawyer on several fronts, urging the benchers to pass a confidence vote on him.

Meanwhile, a “send forth” dinner is being organized by the Body of Benchers in honour of Olanipekun. The event holds tomorrow evening at the body’s headquarters.

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Fiery activist and senior lawyer, Chief Malcolm Omirhobo has warned the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) leadership to steer clear of its planned pro bono services to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In a statement made available to CITY LAWYER and titled “NBA, INEC DO NOT NEED YOUR FREE LEGAL SERVICES,” Omirhobo wrote: “I wish to bring to the notice of Mr. Yakubu Maikyau, SAN, president of the Nigerian Bar Association that the Independent National Electoral Commission has budgeted over N3bn to defend the results of the February 25 presidential and national assembly election and the March 18 governorship and state assembly polls and consequently will not be needing free legal services from members of NBA .

“I therefore advise the NBA to get her priorities right by channeling her energy towards providing free legal services for indigent Nigerians who are victims of unlawful violence during 2023 elections, prosecute those involved in electoral mal practices and corruption and find ways to improve on our electoral laws.”

CITY LAWYER recalls that the Yakubu Maikyau SAN-led NBA recently called for application from lawyers interested in participating in the scheme.

In a statement titled “CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST – NBA-INEC PRO BONO SERVICES,” NBA wrote: “In a meeting between the NBA President, Mr Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau OON, SAN and the INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu held on Thursday 9 February 2023 to discuss the forthcoming 2023 general elections, the NBA President pledged the NBA’s support to INEC in the conduct of free, fair, credible, inclusive and verifiable elections emphasizing that we [the legal profession] owe Nigerians the duty of sincere participation in all election processes.

“In furtherance of our commitment to support INEC as indicated above, the NBA is setting up a team of lawyers to provide pro bono services to INEC for the handling of electoral matters including the prosecution of electoral offences arising from the 2023 general elections. We, therefore, call on interested members of the NBA to submit expressions of interest (EOI) for the provision of pro bono services to INEC under the NBA-INEC pro bono Services Scheme.”

Many lawyers have berated the NBA leadership for the controversial scheme, saying INEC has enough budgetary allocation to pay for legal services.

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The Nigerian Bar Association Women Forum (NBAWF) has announced Jumoke Oduwole, Special Adviser to the President on the Ease of Doing Business in Nigeria, as the Keynote Speaker for its 3rd Annual General Conference and International Women’s Day event.

The event will take place on March 30 – 31, 2023, at Sapphire Hall, A Class Park & Event Center, Maitama, Abuja, Nigeria, and will feature a keynote address by Jumoke Oduwole, panel discussions, and other activities aimed at promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The International Women’s Day celebration aims to celebrate the achievements of women while also highlighting the ongoing struggle for gender equity. This year, the focus is on the role of technology in advancing gender equity. The theme “Tech Her In – Innovating for Gender Equity” seeks to showcase the various ways in which technology can be used to address gender disparities, promote women’s rights, and empower women.

Jumoke Oduwole is a jurist, academic and policy advisor. Until her appointment as Special Adviser to the President in August 2019, Oduwole was Senior Special Assistant to the President on Industry, Trade & Investment (OVP) from November 2015 to May 2019 where she worked to form the Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN).

She also served on the Technical Working Group of the Presidential Committee for the Impact and Readiness Assessment of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) (Sub-Committee on Ease of Doing Business) and is currently represented on Nigeria’s AfCFTA Implementation National Action Committee (NAC).

Oduwole is the Executive Secretary to the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. She coordinates the activities of its secretariat where policies and business reformations that would make Nigeria a progressively easier place to do business are developed and implemented.

The event will also feature a fireside chat between Chinyere Okorocha, Chairperson, of the Nigerian Bar Association Women Forum and Shola Sholeye of Channels Television.

Other notable dignitaries at the event include Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau SAN, President of the Nigerian Bar Association and Barr. Chioma Uzodimma – First Lady, Imo State.

According to Dr. Foluke Dada, Chairperson, Central Planning Committee, the Annual General Conference and International Women’s Day event is one of the great things the forum has accomplished since its re-inauguration three years ago.

She said: “We are aligning with the United Nations in celebrating International Women’s Day. The theme for the IWD this year is centred around tech and innovation. We at the NBA Women’s Forum have decided to up the game in embracing technology and innovation as a means to promote our careers. This is what the NBAWomen Forum was formed for – encouraging female lawyers to achieve success.”

“The event will feature great speakers, experts and eminent personalities who will speak to tech and speak to equity. It is going to be an empowering session.

Speaking about the theme of the event, Chinyere Okorocha, Chairperson of the NBA Women Forum noted that “Nigeria is one of the countries that does not rank very highly in the equity radar and there is so much we can do with technology, in terms of leveraging it to achieve equity. If one looks at the statistics on gender equity in Nigeria, it is obvious that we are a long way from achieving equity. These are issues we need to tackle.”

Dr Foluke Dada is the Dean, College of Law, Caleb University and Emeritus 2nd Vice-chair, Nigerian Bar Association. Chinyere Okorocha is a Partner at Jackson, Etti and Edu and Head of the Health and Pharmaceutical Sector of the firm.

The NBA Women Forum is an arm of the Nigerian Bar Association that promotes the advancement of women in the legal profession and advocates for gender equality and women’s rights in Nigeria and beyond. NBA Women Forum is committed to creating a more inclusive legal profession and society that values and promotes the participation and leadership of women.

To register for the conference, visit www.nbawomenforum.org.ng.

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The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja recently set aside the decision of the Osun State Governorship Tribunal and upheld the election of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the governor of the state.

In a unanimous agreement by a three-man panel led by Justice Mohammed Shuaibu, the Court of Appeal quashed the tribunal’s judgement and affirmed Adeleke as the rightful winner of the Osun State Governorship Election.

The Appeal Court Panel annulled the tribunal’s order which directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a Certificate of Return to Adeleke’s predecessor-in-office and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Chief Adegboyega Oyetola.

The panel held that the Osun State Tribunal erred in law when it held that there was over-voting during the election, saying the claim only relied on the evidence by Oyetola and the APC and as such, doesn’t prove their case.

The judge faulted Oyetola and APC for relying only on the data from the back-end server and failing to look at the voters’ register which forms the foundation of the whole electoral process. It held that as such, the respondents could not sustain their allegation of over-voting.

On the issue of jurisdiction, the court resolved it in favour of Adeleke, stating that according to section 285(8) of the constitution as amended, the court has right to entertain the appeal.

The court also awarded the sum of N500, 000 against the All Progressive Congress and Oyetola.

CITY LAWYER recalls that the court had on March 13, 2023 reserved judgment in the appeal brought by Adeleke contesting the nullification of his election by the tribunal. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also filed an unprecedented 44-grounds appeal against the split 2:1 decision by the tribunal.

The tribunal had voided the July 16, 2022 election that produced Adeleke as the elected governor and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a Certificate of Return to the immediate past Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the validly elected governor. The verdict sparked widespread protests especially in Osogbo, the Osun State capital. A member of the three-man panel also disagreed, delivering a dissenting judgment.

According to the poll results announced by INEC, Adeleke had polled 403,371 votes against Oyetola’s 375,027 votes. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate was victorious in 17 of the 30 local government areas of the state while the remaining 13 local government areas went to Oyetola.

No sooner had the dust settled on the judgment than Adeleke headed to the Court of Appeal to challenge the verdict. His legal team led by the go-to election petition trial lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN had on February 9, 2023 filed 31 grounds of appeal against the January 27, 2023 split decision of the tribunal.

INEC also sharply disagreed with the tribunal and filed 44 grounds of appeal against the judgment. In a Notice of Appeal signed by its Lead Counsel, Prof. Paul Ananaba SAN, the commission stated that the judgment of the tribunal was riddled with “error in law” and “want of competence and jurisdiction.”

INEC urged the Appeal Court to set aside the whole judgment of the tribunal, arguing that “The judgement of the lower Tribunal is against the weight of evidence.”

Below are the lead judgment in the appeal filed by Adeleke and the judgments in the appeals filed by PDP and INEC as well as the cross-appeal by Oyetola and APC.

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There is palpable anxiety among lawyers who are yet to pay their Bar Practising Fee (BPF) as the March 31 deadline for the payment is fast approaching.

Social media platforms monitored by CITY LAWYER early today showed that some lawyers are still experiencing challenges in accessing the BPF payment portal.

According to one of the affected lawyers who sent an SOS on a Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) branch platform today, “I still can’t pay my BPF fees. This is what I keep getting after imputing card details.

“The payment for branch dues and insurance went seamlessly though. It’s the BPF that is giving issues. I’d appreciate any help I can get.”

Another lawyer replied: “Same thing is happening to me for 1 week now.”

Yet another anxious lawyer wrote: “The website isn’t working for payment of BPF. What’s the alternative please? I’m receiving empty emails without the otp.”

Responding, Mr. Adebola Lema of NBA Lagos Branch wrote: “The NBA website for payment of Practising Fee is working perfectly too. Having any issue with payment? Please do not hesitate to reach out for assistance.”

He added: “Kindly scroll down and click change of payment mode. You will then see several options including transfer to bank.

“Choose the option most convenient for you and effect the payment. I recommend direct bank transfer and once you have done the transfer you can click on ‘I have made this bank transfer’.”

Aside from “Bank Transfer,” other available options on the portal include Card, Paypal, USSD, and Bank.

This seems to have worked for some lawyers, as one payer wrote: “This worked!!!!! Payment was successful and confirmed. Got my receipt as well. THANKS A WHOLE LOT.”

Another lawyer wrote: “I used the Bank transfer option and it was successful. Try the bank transfer option”

Yet another lawyer suggested a change of personal details to enable payment, saying: “I changed my email and it worked. Thank you.”

The NBA leadership recently issued an update on the hiccups being experienced by lawyers while trying to pay the Bar Practising Fee.

In a document made available to CITY LAWYER and signed by the NBA General Secretary, Mr. Adesina Adegbite, the lawyers’ body wrote: “On behalf of the President and the National Executive Committee of our dear Association, I express our unreserved apologies for the difficulties experienced by our colleagues in the last few days over payment of Bar Practicing Fee (BPF). This was due to a technical glitch in the payment platform.”

Titled “UPDATE ON NBA BAR PRACTICE FEE (BPF) PAYMENT PORTAL” and issued on March 24, 2023, the NBA had assured that the challenges with the payment portal had been resolved, saying: “I am pleased to inform you that the NBA BPF Portal is now up and running. Members are advised to quickly visit the portal and make payment of BPF as appropriate.

“Once again, we sincerely apologise for the earlier hitches.”

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THE FIRM
The Law Office is a full-service law firm based in Victoria Island, Lagos. The law firm is recruiting to enable it continue to provide cutting-edge clientele services.

THE POSITION
SOLICITOR

SELECTION CRITERIA
Ability to provide quality, skillful services to clients in a modern law firm that combines Corporate & Commercial Law with Litigation practice.

THE CANDIDATE
The candidate will especially straddle all aspects of Corporate & Commercial Law.

QUALIFICATIONS
Admitted to the Nigerian Bar, the candidate will possess good Bachelor of Laws and Bar Finals results. The candidate must have quality experience in Solicitor’s work, good team work and writing skills, and should be able to work with minimal supervision.

SALARY
The salary is competitive and in accordance with industry standards.

HOW TO APPLY
Interested candidates should email legaljobs77@gmail.com.

Please note that only shortlisted applicants will be contacted.

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COPYRIGHT 2022 CITY LAWYER. Please send emails to citylawyermag@gmail.com. Join us on Facebook at https://web.facebook.com/City-Lawyer-Magazine-434937936684320 and on TWITTER at https://twitter.com/CityLawyerMag. To ADVERTISE in CITY LAWYER, please email citylawyermag@gmail.com or call 08138380083.

All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

All roads today lead to the palatial residence of His Royal Majesty, Etinyin Dr. & Ekanyin Dr. Mrs. Asuquo Ekpenyong (OON, NPOM), the Clan Head of Bukong Clan in Eniong Abatim, Calabar, Cross River State as the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch Secretary Nta Ekpiken weds her heartthrob in a traditional marriage ceremony.

The lucky groom is a Nigerian-British computer engineer based in England. The lovebirds were recently joined legally via a private Registry ceremony in Ikoyi, Lagos.

Nta Ekpiken is an Intellectual Property expert with over 10 years of experience. Called to the Nigerian Bar in 2007, she holds a Master’s Degree from Swansea University, Wales, United Kingdom and is an alumna of the United States of America International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) on Protection of Intellectual Property Rights.

She is a Chartered Secretary with the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators (ICSA), United Kingdom, and has a certificate in CopyrightX from the Berkman Klein Center of Harvard Law School.

Nta started her career in the Legal Department of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). Upon her return from her Master’s degree programme, she joined the law firm of Ken Ahia & Associates before joining the IP Department of Aluko and Oyebode in 2012 until January 2020. Nta headed the IP and Technology team of The New Practice (TNP), an Andersen Collaborating Firm, from March 2020 to January 2021.

She has a wealth of experience in the legal framework for the protection of intellectual property rights, brand protection, anti-counterfeiting, copyrights, image rights, licensing & franchising, technology transfer, and product registration. Nta has been involved with many campaigns/advocacy initiatives including a committee working on the review of the IP laws in Nigeria and the United States Consulate Anti-Counterfeiting Collaboration (ACC) against fake malaria drugs. She now focuses on building her boutique IP firm.

Nta is passionate about career development and gaining expertise in specific fields of law. She mentors a number of young lawyers. A fellow of the Nigerian Leadership Initiative (NLI), Nta enjoys travelling and volunteering in capacity building projects. She was elected Secretary of NBA Lagos Branch in July 2021 for a tenure spanning two years. The branch is the largest branch of lawyers in Nigeria.

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All materials available on this Website are protected by copyright, trade mark and other proprietary and intellectual property laws. You may not use any of our intellectual property rights without our express written consent or attribution to www.citylawyermag.com. However, you are permitted to print or save to your individual PC, tablet or storage extracts from this Website for your own personal non-commercial use.

The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has set aside the decision of the Osun State Governorship Tribunal and upheld the election of Senator Ademola Adeleke as the governor of the state.

Following the governorship polls in the state, an Election Petition Tribunal had sacked Adeleke from office, saying that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate did not score majority of lawful votes during the July 16 governorship polls.

However, in a unanimous agreement by a three-man panel led by Justice Mohammed Shuaibu, the Court of Appeal quashed the tribunal’s judgement and affirmed Adeleke as the rightful winner of the Osun State Governorship Election.

The Appeal Court Panel annulled the tribunal’s order which directed the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a Certificate of Return to Adeleke’s predecessor-in-office and All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Chief Adegboyega Oyetola.

The panel held that the Osun State Tribunal erred in law when it held that there was over-voting during the election, saying the claim only relied on the evidence by Oyetola and the APC and as such, doesn’t prove their case.

The judge faulted Oyetola and APC for relying only on the data from the back-end server and failing to look at the voters’ register which forms the foundation of the whole electoral process. It held that as such, the respondents could not sustain their allegation of over-voting.

On the issue of jurisdiction, the court resolved it in favour of Adeleke, stating that according to section 285(8) of the constitution as amended, the court has right to entertain the appeal.

The court also awarded the sum of N500, 000 against the All Progressive Congress and Oyetola.

CITY LAWYER recalls that the court had on March 13, 2023 reserved judgment in the appeal brought by Adeleke contesting the nullification of his election by the tribunal. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also filed an unprecedented 44-grounds appeal against the split 2:1 decision by the tribunal.

The tribunal had voided the July 16, 2022 election that produced Adeleke as the elected governor and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a Certificate of Return to the immediate past Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the validly elected governor. The verdict sparked widespread protests especially in Osogbo, the Osun State capital. A member of the three-man panel also disagreed, delivering a dissenting judgment.

According to the poll results announced by INEC, Adeleke had polled 403,371 votes against Oyetola’s 375,027 votes. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate was victorious in 17 of the 30 local government areas of the state while the remaining 13 local government areas went to Oyetola.

No sooner had the dust settled on the judgment than Adeleke headed to the Court of Appeal to challenge the verdict. His legal team led by the go-to election petition trial lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN had on February 9, 2023 filed 31 grounds of appeal against the January 27, 2023 split decision of the tribunal.

INEC also sharply disagreed with the tribunal and filed 44 grounds of appeal against the judgment. In a Notice of Appeal signed by its Lead Counsel, Prof. Paul Ananaba SAN, the commission stated that the judgment of the tribunal was riddled with “error in law” and “want of competence and jurisdiction.”

INEC urged the Appeal Court to set aside the whole judgment of the tribunal, arguing that “The judgement of the lower Tribunal is against the weight of evidence.”

It urged the appeal court to “Allow the Appeal” and sought “An Order dismissing and/or striking out the Petition for want of competence and jurisdiction” as well as “An Order dismissing the Petition of the 1 and 2nd Respondents in this Appeal as lacking in merit with substantial cost.” Oyetola and APC were the 1st and 2nd respondents while Adeleke and the PDP were joined by INEC as 3rd and 4th respondents.

On his part, Adeleke described the tribunal’s judgment as a “miscarriage of justice” and prayed for “an order setting aside the whole decision of the tribunal”. The governor also sought “an order striking out the petition for want of competence and jurisdiction or in the alternative, an order dismissing the petition on the merit”.

While the tribunal had in a statement which attracted heated public debate held that Adeleke “cannot ‘go lo lo lo lo’ and ‘buga won’ as the duly elected governor of Osun state,” the appellant stated in his Notice of Appeal that “The tribunal, in its judgment, erred in law and displayed bias against the appellant when it made reference to the appellant’s dance at his inauguration as governor of Osun State which was never an issue before the lower tribunal.

“By referring to the appellant’s personal eccentricity for dancing, the lower tribunal derided and mocked him in a manner suggesting that it was biased against him.

“The appearance of bias, manifested in the reference to the Appellant’s proclivity for dancing and particularly the Buga song, has rendered the decision of the lower Tribunal a nullity.

“The tribunal in its judgment erred in law in returning the 1st respondent as the duly elected candidate without due regard to the enormity of the voters in the units where the results were cancelled for overvoting.”

At the hearing of the appeal, Ikpeazu argued that the tribunal did not base its judgment on the data on INEC’s Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines and the certified extracts which gave a clear lead to Adeleke, even if some polling unit results were cancelled. He also argued that a member of the tribunal did not read her judgment as required by Nigeria’s Constitution and the rules of court.

But Oyetola’s Lead Counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN countered Ikpeazu, saying that the typed judgement stated the decision of the tribunal. He added that “Our position has always been that not all registered voters were accredited by BVAS.”

The Tertsea Aorga Kume-led tribunal had admitted and marked 976 BVAS machines as exhibits. Oyetola’s counsel at the tribunal, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN) alleged that BVAS was not used in some polling units, saying this led to irregularities in the voting process.

The tribunal agreed with Olujinmi that there was over-voting during the election. Taking this factor into consideration, the tribunal declared that Oyetola won the election, having polled 314, 921, while Adeleke’s score was pruned down to 290, 266 votes. The tribunal held that all parties agreed that the “BVAS machine is the primary source of the results which were analysed,” adding that the advent of the BVAS machine has relegated the Voters’ Register to the background.

It is instructive that the case turned on the two BVAS reports issued to the petitioner by INEC. While the tribunal held that INEC did not withdraw the incomplete BVAS report earlier issued to the petitioners, INEC insisted that the initial report was “unsynchronised and inchoate,” since it did not present a full picture of the results on Election Day.

Instructively, Justice P. Agbuli agreed with INEC and Adeleke, saying that the petitioners relied on the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) report obtained on July 27, 2022 and paid for on July 28, 2022. He held that relying on the incomplete report (Exhibit BVR) to reach a verdict was not reasonable in the circumstances.

According to him, “It is remarkable to note that the petitioners did not controvert the exhibit RBVR series and the report of physical inspection, that is exhibit RWC; they stand unchallenged and I so hold.

“Exhibit RWC is a document made from the time resources which are the machines used on Election Day. The exhibit on RWC is in existence and was there on the machine date of the election. Section 64 sub 4,5 and 6 of the electoral act recognized BVAS machines as a key material to be used in the collation of results and in the resolution of any dispute arising therefrom.

“The petitioners are not saying that the entries on exhibit RBVM series which is the machine itself are not the same as the entries in exhibit RWC, their grouse is that since exhibit RWC came from the same first respondent, it will not be allowed to stand in view of the discrepancies of figures in them via-a-vis the entries.

“In view of the following I hold that exhibit BVR is a product of inadequacies and cannot be the best evidence for the determination of the accurate number of accredited voters on the 16th July 2022 election. The same is true of exhibit RBVR; the best evidence to that regard is RBVL, 1-119 down to RBVL 1-59 used in the polling units under contest and I so hold.” He struck out the petition and upheld the election of Adeleke as the governor.

Some analysts have argued that the tribunal’s majority decision has put BVAS, originally touted as a “game changer” in Nigeria’s troubled electoral experience, on trial.

But INEC’s former Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, disagrees. He argued that the tribunal’s majority judgment was based on an incomplete report. Speaking on a live CHANNELS TV programme, Osaze-Uzzi quoted the dissenting jurist as saying: “I would rather use the primary source of this information, and the primary source of this data is actually the machine itself.

“It is basically a computer. So, rather than go to the server where it transmitted data, I would use the printout from the machine itself.”

He said: “The machines were tendered, so were the reports from the server, and there ought not to have been a discrepancy, but somewhere along the line, not all the data had been transmitted at the time the APC obtained the certified copy of the initial server report.

“It was BVAS that exposed that as it were, and the fact that the BVAS report was relied on. But we have to be careful; which of the BVAS reports was relied on? Was it what was transmitted to the server – to the backend – or was it the BVAS itself?”

He said there was a need to break the verdict of the tribunal, adding that the majority of the tribunal members relied on the initial report of the backend server.

Osaze-Uzzi observed that “It (initial report) was downloaded from the server (after it was) transmitted. But a couple of days later, INEC used the word ‘synchronised.’ I’m not too sure I like that word, but you synchronise it and say, ‘Have all the results been transmitted? Has all data been transmitted from the machine, BVAS itself, to the server?’

“The machine is a physical one and then it transmits to a physical one. It now went, checked and said, ‘There’s a problem here.’ The BVAS report now downloaded itself, (we) now brought it out and examined each BVAS machine and found that, no, some data was not transmitted to the server.” He expressed optimism on the future of BVAS.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 25 of the 26 House of Assembly seats in the just concluded elections held on March 18, 2023. The party also won all the three senatorial seats and nine House of Representatives seats during the February 25, 2023 National Assembly elections while the state also delivered the largest number of votes to the PDP presidential flag-bearer Atiku Abubakar in the recent presidential election.

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The Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit challenging the late Kalabari High Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs’ transfer of his shares in Moni Pulo Limited to his wife, Dr. Seinye O. B. Lulu-Briggs, his daughters and the O. B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation.

The suit was filed by the Chairman of Platform Petroleum, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs and three others urging the court to hold that the 268,445,000 shares of the 1st to 3rd plaintiffs in Muno Pulo Limited, amounting to 67.1% of the company’s shares, “were not outrightly transferred to High Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs (“the Deceased”) but were given to him by the Plaintiffs to hold in trust for their benefit.”

Justice James Omotosho however held that the suit by Dumo Lulu-Briggs, marked Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1481/2021, was the same as Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1576/2019 which was discontinued by an order of court per retired Justice Taiwo Taiwo on September 30, 2021, and which appeal is pending before the Court of Appeal. The judge held that the instant suit was a “gross abuse” of court processes.

The 1st to 4th plaintiffs in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1481/2021 are Mr. Senibo Lulu-Briggs, Chief Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Sofiri Lulu-Briggs, and Chima Onimim Lulu-Briggs.

The defendants are Mrs. Seinye Peterba Lulu-Briggs, Incorporated Trustees of O. B. Lulu-Briggs Foundation, Rachael Lulu-Briggs, Solate Ovundah-Akarolo, Moni Pulo Limited and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

The defendants had challenged the plaintiffs’ claims and asked the court to consider if having “freely, unequivocally and fully” transferred their entire shareholding to the Late O. B. Lulu-Briggs in two settlements, and having received consideration which the plaintiffs acknowledged as valuable and sufficient for such transfer, the plaintiffs could rightly turn around to impugn the share transfer.

The defendants put the consideration at $3 million to Dumo Lulu-Briggs in 2003 and $5 million to Dumo Lulu-Briggs, Senibo Lulu-Briggs and Sofiri Lulu-Briggs in 2004.

They also asked the court to consider whether the action was not statute-barred, having been filed 12 years after the date of the Consent Judgment on May 18, 2004.

Justice Omotosho agreed with the defendants. His words: “Consequently, I hold without hesitation that filing a fresh suit on a subject between parties on appeal is an abuse of court process. The fresh suit as in the instant suit is nothing than to over reach and make the outcome of the pending appeal nugatory.”

The court further held that “Filing this instant suit on the same subject matter and reliefs and against the same parties is vexatious and nothing more than a gross abuse of the process of the Court.”

Continuing, the court held: “The Court therefore agrees with argument of the 1st-5th Defendants that the suit is an abuse of Court process. This court will not allow its processes to be used in such a frivolous and vexatious manner. Consequently, the instant suit before the court is hereby declared to be an abusive process and as such it is dismissed.

“Having dismissed the suit for being an abuse of Court process, the other issue formulated goes to no issue.”

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The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola returned to Nigeria yesterday morning after a medical trip to London, CITY LAWYER can authoritatively report.

Speaking on the controversy trailing an alleged meeting between Justice Ariwoola and President-elect, Senator Bola Tinubu, a senior lawyer, Mr. Ahmed Raji (SAN) said the top jurist was in London solely for medical reasons.

CITY LAWYER recalls that Raji had about last November also made a spirited defence of Justice Ariwoola when the apex court jurist got into hot water for his remarks at a programme in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

While the top jurist was lampooned by some critics for allegedly expressing happiness over membership of the “Integrity Group” by his Oyo State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde, Raji dismissed any insinuation of bias by Ariwoola, saying that the Chief Justice of Nigeria only joked about the closeness that existed between the Wike and Makinde.

According to Raji, who is also the President of Oke-Ogun Development Consultative Forum (ODCF), the umbrella body of indigenes of Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, “I was at the said occasion at Port Harcourt and there was never a time the Chief Justice of the Federation said anything about being in support of the group of PDP five governors, he only made jokes about how the closeness between the Oyo State governor and governor Wike is strong which he attributed to the fact that governor Wike is the in-law of Seyi Makinde.

“For anybody to think the Chief Justice of the Federation will come down to such level as discussing party issues is ridiculous, I enjoin media organizations to please scrutinize information their reporters bring to them to avoid creating crisis and smear the images of people.”

According to a Nigerian Tribune report, Raji stated that the alleged meeting between Tinubu and Ariwoola is false and aimed at tarnishing the image of the apex court.

He stated that Justice Ariwoola travelled to London on Saturday for his routine medical check-up and returned to Nigeria on Thursday morning.

Media reports on Wednesday indicated that Tinubu left Nigeria for France and would depart France to London and Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj.

Also, a Press Statement issued by the Director, Media & Publicity, APC Presidential Campaign Council, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, refuted the report of any clandestine meeting between the duo.

In his statement, Raji said the report was another malicious attempt by some individuals to tarnish the image of the Supreme Court and the CJN after they had made attempts at attaching his name to some political parties to preempt the outcomes of the legal tussles before the apex court.

“It is in the news since Tuesday evening that Tinubu was traveling to Europe for medical reasons as well as for lesser hajj. Further reports indicated that he is in France to meet with his medical doctor. Why would somebody now link that to the CJN that has left Nigeria for UK since Saturday to observe his own medical session and just came back today (Thursday) as meeting?

“Our politicians need to allow due process to take control. Election matters are in the law courts, but that does not mean that the law lords will not live their normal lives as human beings. Tinubu is in France and the CJN was in London. Where is the contact?” he asked.

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Tomorrow is the D-Day as the Court of Appeal will decide the appeal filed by Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke over his sack the Osun State Election Petitions Tribunal.

The tribunal had voided the July 16, 2022 election that produced Adeleke as the elected governor and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to issue a Certificate of Return to the immediate past Governor Gboyega Oyetola of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as the validly elected governor. The verdict sparked widespread protests especially in Osogbo, the Osun State capital. A member of the three-man panel also disagreed, delivering a dissenting judgment.

The court had on March 13, 2023 reserved judgment in the appeal brought by Adeleke contesting the nullification of his election by the tribunal. The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also filed an unprecedented 44-grounds appeal against the split 2:1 decision by the tribunal.

According to the poll results announced by INEC, Adeleke had polled 403,371 votes against Oyetola’s 375,027 votes. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate was victorious in 17 of the 30 local government areas of the state while the remaining 13 local government areas went to Oyetola.

But Adeleke headed to the Court of Appeal to challenge the tribunal’s verdict. His legal team led by the go-to election petition trial lawyer, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu SAN had on February 9, 2023 filed 31 grounds of appeal against the January 27, 2023 split decision of the tribunal.

INEC also sharply disagreed with the tribunal and filed 44 grounds of appeal against the judgment. In a Notice of Appeal signed by its Lead Counsel, Prof. Paul Ananaba SAN, the commission stated that the judgment of the tribunal was riddled with “error in law” and “want of competence and jurisdiction.”

INEC urged the Appeal Court to set aside the whole judgment of the tribunal, arguing that “The judgement of the lower Tribunal is against the weight of evidence.”

It urged the appeal court to “Allow the Appeal” and sought “An Order dismissing and/or striking out the Petition for want of competence and jurisdiction” as well as “An Order dismissing the Petition of the 1 and 2nd Respondents in this Appeal as lacking in merit with substantial cost.” Oyetola and APC were the 1st and 2nd respondents while Adeleke and the PDP were joined by INEC as 3rd and 4th respondents.

On his part, Adeleke described the tribunal’s judgment as a “miscarriage of justice” and prayed for “an order setting aside the whole decision of the tribunal”. The governor also sought “an order striking out the petition for want of competence and jurisdiction or in the alternative, an order dismissing the petition on the merit”.

While the tribunal had in a statement which attracted heated public debate held that Adeleke “cannot ‘go lo lo lo lo’ and ‘buga won’ as the duly elected governor of Osun state,” the appellant stated in his Notice of Appeal that “The tribunal, in its judgment, erred in law and displayed bias against the appellant when it made reference to the appellant’s dance at his inauguration as governor of Osun State which was never an issue before the lower tribunal.

“By referring to the appellant’s personal eccentricity for dancing, the lower tribunal derided and mocked him in a manner suggesting that it was biased against him.

“The appearance of bias, manifested in the reference to the Appellant’s proclivity for dancing and particularly the Buga song, has rendered the decision of the lower Tribunal a nullity.

“The tribunal in its judgment erred in law in returning the 1st respondent as the duly elected candidate without due regard to the enormity of the voters in the units where the results were cancelled for overvoting.”

At the hearing of the appeal, Ikpeazu argued that the tribunal did not base its judgment on the data on INEC’s Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines and the certified extracts which gave a clear lead to Adeleke, even if some polling unit results were cancelled. He also argued that a member of the tribunal did not read her judgment as required by Nigeria’s Constitution and the rules of court.

But Oyetola’s Lead Counsel, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN countered Ikpeazu, saying that the typed judgement stated the decision of the tribunal. He added that “Our position has always been that not all registered voters were accredited by BVAS.”

The Tertsea Aorga Kume-led tribunal had admitted and marked 976 BVAS machines as exhibits. Oyetola’s counsel at the tribunal, Chief Akin Olujinmi (SAN) alleged that BVAS was not used in some polling units, saying this led to irregularities in the voting process.

The tribunal agreed with Olujinmi that there was over-voting during the election. Taking this factor into consideration, the tribunal declared that Oyetola won the election, having polled 314, 921, while Adeleke’s score was pruned down to 290, 266 votes. The tribunal held that all parties agreed that the “BVAS machine is the primary source of the results which were analysed,” adding that the advent of the BVAS machine has relegated the Voters’ Register to the background.

It is instructive that the case turned on the two BVAS reports issued to the petitioner by INEC. While the tribunal held that INEC did not withdraw the incomplete BVAS report earlier issued to the petitioners, INEC insisted that the initial report was “unsynchronised and inchoate,” since it did not present a full picture of the results on Election Day.

Instructively, Justice P. Agbuli agreed with INEC and Adeleke, saying that the petitioners relied on the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) report obtained on July 27, 2022 and paid for on July 28, 2022. He held that relying on the incomplete report (Exhibit BVR) to reach a verdict was not reasonable in the circumstances.

According to him, “It is remarkable to note that the petitioners did not controvert the exhibit RBVR series and the report of physical inspection, that is exhibit RWC; they stand unchallenged and I so hold.

“Exhibit RWC is a document made from the time resources which are the machines used on Election Day. The exhibit on RWC is in existence and was there on the machine date of the election. Section 64 sub 4,5 and 6 of the electoral act recognized BVAS machines as a key material to be used in the collation of results and in the resolution of any dispute arising therefrom.

“The petitioners are not saying that the entries on exhibit RBVM series which is the machine itself are not the same as the entries in exhibit RWC, their grouse is that since exhibit RWC came from the same first respondent, it will not be allowed to stand in view of the discrepancies of figures in them via-a-vis the entries.

“In view of the following I hold that exhibit BVR is a product of inadequacies and cannot be the best evidence for the determination of the accurate number of accredited voters on the 16th July 2022 election. The same is true of exhibit RBVR; the best evidence to that regard is RBVL, 1-119 down to RBVL 1-59 used in the polling units under contest and I so hold.” He struck out the petition and upheld the election of Adeleke as the governor.

Some analysts have argued that the tribunal’s majority decision has put BVAS, originally touted as a “game changer” in Nigeria’s troubled electoral experience, on trial.

But INEC’s former Director of Voter Education and Publicity, Mr. Oluwole Osaze-Uzzi, disagrees. He argued that the tribunal’s majority judgment was based on an incomplete report. Speaking on a live CHANNELS TV programme, Osaze-Uzzi quoted the dissenting jurist as saying: “I would rather use the primary source of this information, and the primary source of this data is actually the machine itself.

“It is basically a computer. So, rather than go to the server where it transmitted data, I would use the printout from the machine itself.”

He said: “The machines were tendered, so were the reports from the server, and there ought not to have been a discrepancy, but somewhere along the line, not all the data had been transmitted at the time the APC obtained the certified copy of the initial server report.

“It was BVAS that exposed that as it were, and the fact that the BVAS report was relied on. But we have to be careful; which of the BVAS reports was relied on? Was it what was transmitted to the server – to the backend – or was it the BVAS itself?”

He said there was a need to break the verdict of the tribunal, adding that the majority of the tribunal members relied on the initial report of the backend server.

Osaze-Uzzi observed that “It (initial report) was downloaded from the server (after it was) transmitted. But a couple of days later, INEC used the word ‘synchronised.’ I’m not too sure I like that word, but you synchronise it and say, ‘Have all the results been transmitted? Has all data been transmitted from the machine, BVAS itself, to the server?’

“The machine is a physical one and then it transmits to a physical one. It now went, checked and said, ‘There’s a problem here.’ The BVAS report now downloaded itself, (we) now brought it out and examined each BVAS machine and found that, no, some data was not transmitted to the server.” He expressed optimism on the future of BVAS.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won 25 of the 26 House of Assembly seats in the just concluded elections held on March 18, 2023. The party also won all the three senatorial seats and nine House of Representatives seats during the February 25, 2023 National Assembly elections while the state also delivered the largest number of votes to the PDP presidential flag-bearer Atiku Abubakar in the recent presidential election.

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Legal experts at a public lecture in honour of a legal egghead, Alhaji Femi Okunnu (SAN), have identified flaws associated with the Land Use Act (LUA), enacted 45 years ago, which they attributed to bad draftsmanship, among other factors

Separate papers delivered by senior lawyers such as, Dr. Muiz Banire (SAN) and Remi Olatubora, titled, ‘Land Use Act: Some Reflections, 45 years After’ and ‘Land Administration in Nigeria: 45 Years After, the Enactment of the Land Use Act, 1978’ respectively, held that Nigerians have failed to get the expected benefits from the LUA.

According to them, the principal objectives of the Act were to, among others, make land easily accessible to all Nigerians; prevent speculative purchases of land; streamline and simplify land management and ownership; make land available to government at all levels for development; and to provide a system that will improve tenure security.

In their evaluation, they, however, said the objectives were far from being met, which they attributed to the poor and inelegant draft of the Act, among other factors.

Banire specifically stated that the Act has failed to accrue to Nigerians the expected benefits. His words: “The poor and inelegant drafting of the Act is worthy of note. If the opportunity presents itself in the future, it might well be best to get the most qualified draftsmen to handle the drafting of legislation of this nature.”

Other areas faulted by the senior lawyer include, the issuance of two certificates of occupancy, one by the federal and another by the state.

He said that the multiplication of land registries should be skewed and that only states should operate registries.

Among his views, the lawyer held that the rules of engagement by way of operational rules should be left entirely in the hands of the states.

According to him, membership of the Land Use and Allocation Committees should be specified in the relevant laws and made to have statutory tenure upon clearance by the House of Assembly. This, he said, would checkmate the absolute and excessive powers of governors.

He also held that the dichotomy between land in possession of the state and local governments should be eliminated, while a single authority deals with all the lands in the State to avoid the reigning confusion in this regard.

Olatubora, in his lectures, revealed that while every state is saddled with the management of land within its territory, there should be a national integrated electronic platform or registry on which land information can be accessed.

The lawyer also recommended that land matters should be placed on the Concurrent Legislative List to assist in developing an integrated, uniform and consistent land management policy.

As part of his recommendation, he said the present dichotomy between land in urban and nor-urban, where land under LUAC/Governor’s management and LG Council’s management should be abolished.

“All land in every state should come under the management of the governor/LUAC with uniform C of O granted by the governor,” he said.

THE GUARDIAN reports Olatubora as saying that membership of LUAC should be expanded to include representatives of traditional institutions, community development associations, and Civil Society Organisations.

Olatubora said professional members of LUAC should be nominees of professional organisations.

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The Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke has delivered 25 of the available 26 House of Assembly seats up for contest in last Saturday’s elections to his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Official results from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) showed that the PDP swept all but one of the 26 legislative seats in the state.

The victory, which is unmatched in the political history of the state, is a clear indication of the huge goodwill that Governor Adeleke enjoys with Osun people.

The landslide victory is also coming barely three weeks after Adeleke delivered the highest number of votes to PDP presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar. The party also showed its undiluted dominance of the political space in Osun State by winning all three senatorial seats and all nine House of Representatives seats during the February 25 presidential and National Assembly elections, leaving none for the rival All Progressives Congress (APC).

Since taking over the leadership of the state on November 27, Governor Adeleke’s impressive rating with the Osun populace has continued to soar.

Analysts believe that the back-to-back victories of the PDP in the elections held in the state is a further affirmation of the unflinching bond between Osun people and Governor Adeleke.

“The clear message that the two recent elections held in Osun conveyed was that Governor Adeleke is well accepted by the people of the state,” Yinka Sanni, a public affairs commentator noted. “Osun people have repeatedly spoken and in all, Governor Adeleke is who they stood with.”

Another public commentator, Mayowa Taiwo, said the people of Osun have spoken loud enough for all to hear, adding that it is increasingly difficult for the people’s voice to be ignored.

“In the two consecutive elections held in Osun, the people were firm in emphasizing their choice in Adeleke, because if you follow the trend well enough, you will know that the victories recorded by the PDP can be credited to him,” Taiwo noted. “The electorate voted PDP overwhelmingly in all the elections. It was like revalidating their faith in Adeleke.”

Echoing this sentiment in a “Thank You” message to Osun State voters, Governor Adeleke wrote: ”My good people of Osun state, you have honoured me and my party with another remarkable victory at the assembly elections.

“You have passed an excellent vote of confidence in my administration and my party by a series of electoral mandates in the last three elections.

“I went round the state with my scorecard under 100 days and you responded by endorsing my party’s candidates for legislative offices.

” You listened to my request for assembly members of my party who will work with me to deliver our five-point agenda.

”Your trust in me to deliver on our election promises has been expanded and strengthened. Your verdict on my performance is loud and clear.

”You have approved of our people-focused governance and our demonstrated will to resolve all outstanding challenges inherited from the previous administration.”

Adeleke however called on members of the opposition to join him to build a new Osun state. He said: ”To my brothers and sisters in opposition, I extend hands of fellowship and brotherhood. Join me to build a new Osun state.

“Support the will of the people as repeatedly demonstrated in the last three elections, as genuine democrats have no power except what the people will. I urge all lovers of democracy to enter the Imole train.

“Osun people need all, within and outside her political class, to unite for state development.”

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The countdown to the 2023 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Women Forum (NBAWF) has started with commencement of registration for the eagerly awaited event.

The conference, which will also include events commemorating this year’s International Women’s Day (IWD), promises to be a robust intellectual feast featuring intense engagements on a plethora of topical issues. Emerging trends in the Nigerian and global legal ecosystem and their impact on the fortunes of the female gender and society as a whole will be spotlighted.

The 2-day hybrid event with the theme, ‘TEACH HER IN: INNOVATING FOR GENDER EQUITY’, is scheduled for March 30 and 31 at the A Class VIP Lounge, Sapphire Hall, Plot 102 Kashim Ibrahim Way, Abuja FCT.

The conference will feature seasoned speakers drawn from across and beyond the shores of Nigeria and from diverse sectors and walks of life. The speakers will address issues aimed at the sustainable empowerment of the female lawyer.

To this end, the NBA-WF has advised prospective participants and guests to register promptly for the event by clicking here.

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PRESS RELEASE

PRESS STATEMENT ISSUED BY A COALITION OF CSOS AND NGOS OVER THE FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED IMO STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS OF 18TH MARCH, 2023.

We the members of 35 Civil Society Organisations (CSOS) and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOS) after duly observing the elections that took place in Imo state yesterday for the State House of Assembly wish to state as follows:-

(1) The elections were largely marred by voters intimidation and harassment by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) across the state.

(2) In particular, the elections held in the three local government areas of Mbaise and other local government areas under Owerri senatorial zone in general were a complete charade. Imo state sponsored militia, thugs and compromised security officials supplanted the wishes of the people by manipulating the election results with brazen impunity.

(3) In Orlu senatorial zone, in one of the highly publicised cases that even went viral on social media, the Deputy Speaker of the Imo state House of Assembly, Amarachi Iwuanyanwu was seen in a motor convoy moving from one polling unit to another intimidating voters and apparently manipulating election results. This is against the security directives issued by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) strictly restricting vehicular movements on election day in Nigeria.

(4) We also noticed that in hundreds of polling units, many party agents of the main opposition parties like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Labour Party (LP) were routinely chased away from polling units and in some cases, already authenticated election result sheets were snatched away from them with a view of re-writing the results to favour the ruling party in the state.

(5) Many Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) staff were intimidated to cooperate with the perpetrators of these acts of electoral fraud by threats to their lives.

(6) There were so many infractions on election day in Imo State too numerous to enumerate here.

(7) Our information is to the effect that these acts of unprecedented ”scientific rigging” are sign posts to prepare the grounds for an APC ”Landslide victory” in the forthcoming governorship elections on November 11, 2023 against the wishes of the people of the state.

AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND, WE THEREFORE DEMAND AS FOLLOWS:

( a) The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should cancel immediately the results of the elections in state constituencies where there were major acts of vote rigging, voters intimidation, suppression and violence that makes it impossible for the manipulated declared results to represent the wishes of the people.

(b) The Inspector General of Police should order the immediate prosecution of the Deputy Speaker of Imo state House of Assembly, Amarachi Iwuanyanwu and all other persons that violently, flagrantly, intimidated, harassed and suppressed the people on election day in Imo state and manipulated election results.

(c) We call on the Nigerian Media to sustain it’s publicity and searchlight on news stories about all those who have conspired and collaborated together to upturn the legitimate will of the people of Imo state.

(d) We call on Imo people to remain resolute to defend and protect their mandate by refusing to recognise the legitimacy of those who have stolen their mandate no matter how long it takes.

Signed

Dr. Chike Ogbonnaya

Mr. Mike Ukaegbu
On behalf of CONCERNED CSOS AND NGOS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE. (CCNGG)

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An Abuja-based human rights lawyer, Mr. Maxwell Opara has filed an ex-parte motion before the Court of Appeal sitting at Abuja seeking abridgement of time for the hearing of his appeal against President Muhammadu Buhari, the Inspector General of Police, the Attorney General of the Federation and Nigeria Police Council over extension of the IGP’s tenure.

It is recalled that the human rights activist and constitutional lawyer has maintained an action against the respondents in APPEAL NO:CA//A/ABJ/CV/648/2021 and SUIT NO: FHC/ABJ/CS/106/2021 over the extension of the tenure of current Inspector General of Police who was due for retirement on March 1, 2023.

Last month, in a letter to the Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeal, Abuja, counsel to the activist, Nnenna Opara, complained that the appeal was filed since 2021 but due to adjournments, has now been slated for hearing on the 19th of September, 2023.

The letter further asked the Presiding Judge to consider the peculiar circumstances of the case and bring the matter forward for hearing of the appeal. The Appellant is praying for “AN ORDER OF THIS HONOURABLE COURT Abridging the time to hear the appeal filed in this court.”

In an 11-paragraph affidavit in support of the Motion, the Appellant/Applicant stressed that he will suffer untold damages if the matter is not decided quickly. No date has been fixed for hearing of the motion.

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A senior lawyer and former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Birnin-Kebbi Branch, Mr. Hussaini Zakariyau SAN has sent a ‘Save-Our-Soul’ message to lawyers over alleged plans by a politician to kidnap and kill him.

Zakariyau was the youngest of the 72 lawyers to be conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) in the 2020 preferment exercise. It was the first time he would be applying for the rank.

In a statement obtained by CITY LAWYER and signed by the Publicity Secretary of the branch, Mr. Muhammad Usman, the branch condemned the threat to the life of the senior lawyer, urging security agencies and the state government to wade into the matter.

Usman noted that the branch leadership “received with great shock, a written complaint on the 10th March, 2023 from its former Chairman, Hussaini Zakariyau SAN lamenting on the dastardly incidence of life threatening phone calls he had received from some anonymous persons/bandits wherein they unequivocally threatened that they are coming for the learned silk soon, as they are given an assignment by a politician to KILL him.”

The statement observed that the “malignant and calculated attacks on legal practitioners, magistrates and judges in the Branch have taken a new dimension,” adding that this “necessitated calls for decisive intervention by all the security agencies to use every apparatus at their disposal to fish out the culprits, and be more proactive in protecting the sanctity of lives and properties of the citizenry.”

When CITY LAWYER telephoned the Chairman of the branch, Mr. Lawal Garba for an update on the matter, his phone rang without response. It was unclear at press time whether the Yakubu Maikyau SAN-led NBA leadership has been alerted on the matter.

Below is the full text of the statement.

NBA BIRNIN KEBBI BRANCH CONDEMNS THE THREAT MADE BY UNKNOWN PERSONS TO KIDNAP/KILL ITS FORMER CHAIRMAN, HUSSAINI ZAKARIYAU, SAN: A CALL ON NIGERIA POLICE FORCE, DEPARTMENT OF SECURITY SERVICES, KEBBI STATE GOVERNMENT AND ALL OTHER SECURITY AGENCIES TO BE MORE VIGILANT ABOUT SECURITY OF LIVES AND PROPERTIES OF LAWYERS IN THE STATE.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Birnin Kebbi Branch received with great shock, a written complaint on the 10th March, 2023 from its former Chairman, Hussaini Zakariyau SAN lamenting on the dastardly incidence of life threatening phone calls he had received from some anonymous persons/bandits wherein they unequivocally threatened that they are coming for the learned silk soon, as they are given an assignment by a politician to KILL him.

The Branch strongly condemn this deploring event, and noted same as disheartening. This is one too many, amongst other latest searing occurrences that in recent times befell members of the Branch. Indeed, malignant and calculated attacks on legal practitioners, magistrates and judges in the Branch have taken a new dimension, which necessitated calls for decisive intervention by all the security agencies to use every apparatus at their disposal to fish out the culprits, and be more proactive in protecting the sanctity of lives and properties of the citizenry.

The NBA Birnin Kebbi Branch therefore, firmly reiterates its unwavering commitment in getting to the roots of the alleged threats with a view to fish out the anonymous perpetrators, and shall ensure that the said perpetrators are brought to book.

In conclusion, the Branch will not relent in taking every legal step to call the attention of the State Government and all security agencies to be alive to their constitutional role of protecting lives and properties of the citizens, legal practitioners in particular. The bitter truth is that these unwarranted and provocative threats/attacks on innocent citizens including members of the legal profession must be treated with all seriousness, and must be brought to a decisive end.

Thank you.

Muhammad Usman, Esq
Publicity Secretary
(13/03/2023)

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A human rights lawyer and son of Justice Augustine Paul Bokon Utsaha, the retired President of the Benue State Customary Court of Appeal, Mr. Michael Tarnongo Utsaha is dead.

CITY LAWYER gathered from unimpeachable sources that the younger Utsaha died last Tuesday after a brief illness. He was admitted to the Nigerian Bar in 1995, having graduated from the University of Jos.

A source who is familiar with the matter told CITY LAWYER that the vibrant human rights lawyer took ill last December and succumbed to the sickness last Tuesday.

An announcement by the family reads:

The family of Honourable Justice Augustine Paul Bokon Utsaha (Rtd) announces the sad demise of their son, brother, husband and father, Barrister Michael Tarnongo Utsaha, who answered the call of the Almighty God on 14 March, 2023.

Burial arrangements will be announced by the family. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace. Amen.

Announcer
Brig Gen RT Utsaha
For the family.

Among the early mourners was the Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), Mr. Steve Abar who wrote: “Shocking! @Mike Utsaha was my classmate in UniJos, call mate, a well-respected colleague and friend. He was such a good man. May Heaven prepare for him a resting place. May we all be consoled.”

On his part, a Makurdi-based lawyer, Mr. Kelvin Iorzenda said: “He was a very active human rights activist. He even did cases before the ENDSARS Panel in Abuja and got judgment for his clients. He had a law firm in Abuja all his life but recently moved to Makurdi around 2021 till date.”

Utsaha was until his death the Executive Secretary, Resource & Planning Commission at the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi. He was the Program Officer (Law Justice & Human Rights) at Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) between 2009 and 2011; Project Coordinator at Lux Terra Leadership Foundation, and Provincial Secretary for the Catholic Ecclesiastical Province of Kaduna.

He was also an Open Society Justice Initiative (OSJI) Human Rights Fellow, and received a Master of Laws degree in 2005 from the Central European University, Budapest, Hungary. He was married with a child.

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The Federal High Court presided over by the Chief Judge of the court, Justice John Tsoho has dismissed a suit filed by Hon. Emmanuel Agonsi seeking some reliefs against the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB) and the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

Marked as Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/33/2021, the Code of Conduct Bureau and Yakubu were named as 1st and 2nd respondents respectively.

Brought pursuant to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2011, the applicant sought a declaration that the CCB has a statutory duty to furnish the applicant with information concerning Yakubu’s assets declaration while he was the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) between 2007 and 2012.

The applicant also sought details of asset declaration made by Yakubu during his first term in office as INEC Chairman between 2015 and 2020, and a written declaration of all properties, assets and liabilities of his unmarried adult children submitted for the same period.

The suit also sought any other information available to the CCB showing whether or not there has been any corresponding addition or progression of properties, assets and liabilities of Yakubu and his unmarried adult children from 2007 till date.

However, the INEC Chairman had through his Lead Counsel, Chief Emeka Obegolu SAN filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection urging the court to dismiss the suit. He argued that the information sought by the applicant contains personal information belonging solely to Yakubu.

Ruling on the application, the court upheld Obegolu’s submission. It held that by virtue of Section 14 of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, a public institution must deny an application for information that contains personal information of a public officer.

Justice Tsoho also held that the grounds for which a public institution would release the personal information of a public officer to any citizen is on the basis of consent by the public officer, adding that in the absence of such consent, the Code of Conduct Bureau is not under a duty to disclose such personal information.

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The immediate past General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Joyce Oduah has written to the President of the International Bar Association (IBA) seeking a reduction in membership and conference fees for lawyers in developing countries.

In the letter made available to CITY LAWYER, Oduah recalled that she had last November “presented a paper as a Panelist at the International Bar Association Conference 2022 in Miami, Florida, USA on the topic International Strategy and the IBA: Building and Developing an International Strategy for Young Lawyers and its Implementation.

“The goal of the paper was to create a strategic framework based on best practices through which young lawyers could gain entrance into the international legal space and also position themselves for success in the international legal market especially through membership of the IBA and participation in IBA programmes and conferences amongst others.”

A former IBA Council Member and Vice President (West Africa) of the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU), Oduah stated that “The purpose of this letter is to propose a reduction in IBA membership and conference fees for lawyers and young lawyers in developing countries. The statistics and examples used in this proposal are derived from Nigeria and United Kingdom.”

According to Oduah who is also a member of the Common Wealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA), “Upon research, however, I discovered that certain categories of lawyers are inadvertently excluded from access to the benefits of membership of and participation in IBA activities not for absence of knowledge but due to inability to afford membership fees and conference fees.”

She stated that “This category of lawyers includes Lawyers (more especially young lawyers) in Developing countries. Based on the above discovery, I suggested in the session that the IBA take active steps to ensure the inclusion of these category of lawyers through the reduction of membership and conference fees to ensure and promote diversity and inclusivity in IBA activities.”

She observed that her proposals are already being implemented by other international lawyer’s associations such as the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association (CLA), adding that “Conference Fees are reduced based on the economic development of the country (i.e. developing countries) and the numbers of years in practice (i.e. young lawyers) https://www.clcgoa2023.com/registration.html. The IBA in the past also subscribed to this model of determining conference and membership fees based on the economic classification of the individual’s country.”

Outlining the benefits of the proposed reduction in fees, Oduah urged that “This practice should be revived as it allows for greater participation of lawyers regardless of their nationalities and economic status.”

Below is the full text of the proposal.

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No fewer than 93 Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) are set to do legal battle in arguably the fiercest election petition trial in Nigeria’s modern history.

While the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, Senator Bola Tinubu have both appointed their legal teams, only rival Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as well as populist Labour Party candidate, Mr. Peter Obi have named their legal teams. The PDP and Labour Party as well as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) are yet to appoint their legal teams.

CITY LAWYER recalls that Tinubu was declared winner of the hotly contested presidential election by INEC, polling 8,794,726 votes. According to the results declared by INEC, Atiku polled 6,984,520 votes while his Labour Party counterpart polled 6,101,533 votes.

Obi had set the ball rolling with announcement of the appointment of a 12-member legal team. The team in order of seniority include Dr. Livy Uzoukwu (SAN); Chief Awa Kalu (SAN); Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN); Chief Patrick Ikwueto (SAN); Chief Ben Anyachebe (SAN); Sebastine Hon (SAN); Chief Arthur Obi Okafor (SAN); Ikechukwu Ezechukwu (SAN); J. S. Okutepa (SAN); Dr. Mrs. Valerie Azinge (SAN); Emeka Okpoko (SAN); and Alex Ejesieme (SAN).

It was however unclear at press time whether Uzoukwu will operate both as Lead Counsel for Peter Obi and Labour Party, as the party also named him as its Lead Counsel. A statement by Dr. Tanko Yunusa of Labour Party Presidential Campaign Council reads:

However, no sooner was the list made public than Akubo withdrew from the team, saying that he was not consulted before the appointment. In a disclaimer sighted by CITY LAWYER and personally signed by the senior lawyer, he wrote: “With all due respect, I wish to state that I had no prior knowledge of the said appointment. As a matter of fact, I have not received any official communication on the subject matter hitherto. Suffice it to say that I was taken by surprise to hear of the said appointment via social media.

“In the circumstance, and for personal reasons, I hereby decline the said appointment.”

CITY LAWYER also gathered from an unimpeachable source that longstanding Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) prosecutor at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), Mr. Jibrin Okutepa also turned down a similar offer. Okutepa was said to have been approached by the APC National Legal Adviser, Ahmad Usman El-Marzuq, but declined the offer because he “could not defend the victory.” It was unclear whether this informed a recent visit to his office by Obi.

Issuing a similar disclaimer, former NBA President, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) wrote: “My attention has been drawn to an online fake news saying ‘Olisa Agbakoba declines invitation to join Tinubu legal team to challenge the election describing it as a battle of conscience and humanity!!!’ I was never approached by the Tinubu legal team to be part of their team.”

By far the largest legal team for the impending election petition tussle was raised by Tinubu with the appointment of a 50-member team led by Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), a former NBA President and current Chairman of the Body of Benchers.

Hinting that the 50-member team may have been enlarged to subsume the 13-member team earlier announced by the APC, APC Presidential Campaign Council spokesman Bisi Onanuga said: “The earlier list released by the APC partially just reflect the lawyers who will be involved in the case. It does not capture the full picture. I am aware, for instance, that Wole Olanipekun is the leader of the team. And of course, the man who has been representing Asiwaju all this while in the court, Babatunde Ogala (SAN), is also a member of the team.

“I am aware that what we have in the public arena is just a partial list. There is no conflict concerning it. But there is an ongoing move to harmonise the list as one. Altogether, I think there are about 50 of them in all.”

There are strong indications that barring any hiccup, INEC’s legal team for the titanic battle may be led by its longstanding and cerebral election petition trial lawyer, Prof. Paul Ananaba (SAN).

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PRESS STATEMENT

UPDATE ON BAR PRACTICING FEE (BPF) PAYMENT PORTAL

We are pleased to announce that the technical glitches recently experienced on the NBA payment portal for the Bar Practicing Fee (BPF) have now been resolved. The issues were caused by bandwidth constraints and we apologise dearly for the break in service.

With the issues now resolved, you can seamlessly make your BPF payment before the March 31st deadline. We encourage you to make payments as soon as possible to avoid any inconvenience or delay in processing.

We value your commitment and dedication towards the NBA and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.

If you encounter any further issues, please do not hesitate to contact our support team:

1. Ezekiel David – 07037000903
2. Wole Efuwape – 08035479443
3. Solomon Magaji – 08035989206
4. Adewale Adebayo – 08033803724
5. Simon David-West – 08126306930

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Akorede Habeeb Lawal
National Publicity Secretary, NBA

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The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Kazeem Alogba has stated that no petition against a judicial officer of the Lagos State Judiciary will be treated unless the petitioner has served notice of the petition on the opposing counsel.

Justice Alogba stated this while responding to concerns raised by stakeholders during a Bar-Bench forum between the state judiciary and Eti-Osa Lawyers Forum (ELF) held last Wednesday.

CITY LAWYER gathered that a stakeholder had observed during the interactive session that “there is a notorious trend among lawyers – especially senior lawyers – who derive pleasure in disrespecting magistrates and thereafter write frivolous petitions against magistrates, thereby disrupting expeditious disposal of cases and clogging the wheel of justice.”

Responding, the Chief Judge noted that there is bound to be disagreements between the Bar and the Bench, adding however that such disagreements should be on the merit.

He noted that the state judiciary has devised a means to curb frivolous petitions against judicial officers, adding that petitioners are now required to show proof of service of the petition on the opposing counsel to avoid adjudicating on a one-sided allegation.

On plans to tackle the problem of awaiting trial inmates, Alogba stated that the Lagos State Judiciary has made efforts to reduce the challenges in bail administration by introducing the Bail Bond System, adding however that many stakeholders have not registered as bondsmen under the scheme.

The jurist noted that the Bail Information System (BIS) has also been introduced to solve the challenges surrounding the verification of sureties and urged lawyers to assist the judiciary by providing credible sureties.

He urged judicial officers to exercise discretion judiciously in bail matters in order to stem the problem of congestion of correctional centres through harsh bail conditions, especially as some charges are frivolous. The jurist however noted that some defendants jump bail, adding that inadequate manpower is also a major clog in bail administration especially in documentation and verification of addresses of sureties.

Turning to the eagerly awaited pronouncement of Eti-Osa as a Judicial Division by the Chief Judge, Alogba stated that the process is almost completed, adding that it is a top priority for the Lagos State Judiciary in order to bring justice nearer to the people.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of Eti-Osa Lawyers’ Forum, Mr. Adewale Sanni commended the Chief Judge “for adopting an open-door policy in relation to the Bar,” adding that the forum has enjoyed excellent relations with the Lagos State Judiciary since the unveiling of the court in Eti-Osa in December 2019.

He noted that some judicial officers do not exercise discretion in bail matters judicially and judiciously, and urged the Chief Judge to issue Guidelines or Practice Direction to curb arbitrary bail conditions which worsen congestion of correctional centres.

While the entire Executive Committee and some ranking members of Eti-Osa Lawyers’ Forum attended the interactive session, the state judiciary was represented by a high-powered team led by the Chief Judge.

Other judicial officers who attended the session include the Administrative Judge of Lagos Judicial Division, Justice Olutoyin Ipaye; her Ikeja Judicial Division counterpart, Justice Modupe Nicol-Clay; the Administrative Judge of Eti-Osa Judicial Division, Justice Josephine Oyefeso; Justice Adenike Coker, Justice Hakeem Oshodi, Justice G. A. Safari, Justice Dorcas Olatokun, Justice Lawal Akapo and Justice Aigbokaevbo.

Also present were the Chief Registrar of Lagos State, Deputy Chief Registrar (Administration) Lagos; Deputy Chief Registrar (Special Duties) Lagos, some Magistrates as well as Heads of Units and Departments in the Lagos State Judiciary.

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed banks to comply with the Supreme Court judgment which extended the use of old Naira notes to 31st December, 2023.

In a press statement obtained by CITY LAWYER and dated March 13, 2023, the apex bank noted that the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes remain legal tender until December 31, 2023.

According to the statement signed by Mr. Isa AbdulMumin, Acting Director of Corporate Communications, “In compliance with the established tradition of obedience to court orders and sustenance of the Rule of Law Principle that characterized the government of President Muhammadu Buhari, and by extension, the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as a regulator, Deposit Money Banks operating in Nigeria have been directed to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3, 2023.”

Continuing, the apex bank stated that “Accordingly, the CBN met with the Bankers Committee and has directed that the old N200, N500 and N1000 banknotes remain legal tender alongside the redesigned banknotes till December 31, 2023.

“Consequently, all concerned are directed to conform accordingly.”

CITY LAWYER gathered that the Bankers Committee met yesterday

The Supreme Court had nullified the Federal Government’s naira redesign policy, declaring it as an affront to the 1999 Constitution. Justice Emmanuel Agim, who read the lead judgement, dismissed the preliminary objections by the defendants (the Attorney General of the Federation, Bayelsa and Edo states), as the court held that it had jurisdiction to entertain the suit.

Citing Section 23(2)1 of the constitution, the court held that the dispute between the Federal Government and states must involve law or facts. The apex court further held that President Muhammadu Buhari in his broadcast admitted that the policy is flawed with a lot of challenges.

Pre-empting the CBN’s announcement, Anambra State Governor and former CBN Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo said: “

“Commercial banks have been directed by the central bank to dispense old currency notes and to also receive same as deposits from customers,” the governor said.

“Tellers at the commercial banks are to generate the codes for deposits and there is no limit to the number of times an individual or company can make deposits.

“The governor of the CBN gave the directive at a Bankers’ Committee meeting held on Sunday, 12th March, 2023. The Governor, Dr. Godwin Emefiele, personally confirmed the above to me during a phone conversation on Sunday night.

“Residents of Anambra are therefore advised to freely accept and transact their businesses with the old currency notes (N200; N500; and N1,000) as well as the new notes.”

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) had in a statement by its President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN, urged the CBN to comply with the apex court’s order, even as President Muhammadu Buhari had noted that he had not directed the CBN or the Attorney-General of the Federation, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN to disobey the Supreme Court order.

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The Chairman of Nigeria Branch of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK), Chief Akingbola Akinola SAN has commended women arbitrators for their contributions to the dispute resolution industry.

In a message to mark the International Women’s Day, Akinola stated that “As Arbitrators, you play a crucial role in ensuring that women’s voices are heard and their rights are protected, both in and outside of the Hearing Room.”

Turning to the theme for this year’s celebration, “Embrace Equity,” the chartered arbitrator said: “We appreciate that there’s still room for improvement towards achieving gender equality at full par, but with your dedication and commitment, I believe we can make significant progress.”

Continuing, the respected senior lawyer wrote: “I will like to take a moment to acknowledge your various contributions towards promoting equality and justice in your work as Arbitrators.

“This year’s theme for International Women’s Day is ‘Embrace Equity,’ which serves as a reminder that we need to continue to work together to create a more just and equitable world for women everywhere.”

Akinola added: “On this day, let us celebrate the achievements of our women and reaffirm our commitment towards building a world that is fair and equitable for all.”

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Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) General Secretary, Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN has celebrated with women on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.

In a message to mark the event, Osigwe noted that “International Women’s day is a day among many others to celebrate women and their impact in our world.”

Noting that the strength and resilience of women in no small way shape society, Osigwe stated that “Women have borne the burdens life and nature thrusted on them with equanimity. They have helped in shaping the world, even in the most part of subtle of ways. Theirs are often the softest of voices, yet it reverberates to bring about a better world.”

According to Osigwe who is also a Life Bencher, “The achievements of women in the times past despite challenges and their continued success shows how better the world/society can become when women are given opportunities.

“Promoting and ensuring equity for women will surely see to a better and more robust society transforming to sustainable development.

“On this day, I celebrate all women and their achievements.

I hope society continues to embrace women and harness their potential.

“Happy International Women’s Day.”

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The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN has felicitated with women on the occasion of the International Women’s Day.

In a statement made available to CITY LAWYER and personally signed by the NBA helmsman, Maikyau said that the association “is delighted to join the rest of the global community to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day.”

He noted that 8 March every year is set aside “to celebrate our women and their outstanding achievements and contributions to the society,” adding that “This year’s event is no different, and as an association we are taking the time to celebrate all the female members of the legal profession who have done their bit for the advancement of the legal profession and the betterment of our world.”

According to him, “The NBA has consistently maintained the position that, for us to achieve transformative change in the world, issues relating to gender equality and empowerment must be prioritized and addressed head-on. We are, therefore, happy to identify with the theme of this year’s event: DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality. This year’s theme, which focuses on innovation, has given the world a veritable platform to assess and re-assess how to maximise the use of digital technology to bridge the gender gap. The next global agenda should therefore put in place developmental policies and pragmatic mechanism to accelerate equality and equity with the aid of technology.”

Continuing, he stated that “In celebrating this year’s International Women’s Day, we wish to acknowledge and celebrate specially the female pioneers in the legal profession. These women blazed the trail for others to follow and shattered glass ceilings to reach for the stars in a hitherto male-dominated sphere.”

Maikyau said that “the NBA is proud to be supporting the International Bar Association (IBA) and LexisNexis Rule of Law Foundation’s ‘50:50 by 2030’ Gender Project (the ‘Gender Project’). The Gender Project is designed in an effort towards achieving SDG 5.

“It is an innovative and unprecedented project through which the legal profession looks inwards; to study the available data and understand the primary causes of gender disparity at all levels of seniority within the legal profession with a view addressing same.

“So far, the Gender Project has surveyed and produced reports on England and Wales, Uganda and Spain. The Gender Report on Nigeria is next and will be published over the next few days. I thank all participating law firms, corporate organisations, public sector establishments and members of the judiciary who supported this project. I enjoin all our members to study the report when it is published, take the lessons from the data and become champions of the change we want to see in our nation, starting with the legal profession.”

The full text of the statement is below.

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• GIVE ACCESS TO OBI TO PROBE BVAS – COURT

The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Wednesday, gave the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the nod to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, it used for the presidential election.

The Presidential Election Petition Court, PEPC, sitting at the Court of Appeal in Abuja, on Wednesday, gave the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, the nod to reconfigure the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System, BVAS, it used for the presidential election.

The court, in a unanimous decision by a three-member panel of justices, held that stopping the electoral body from reconfiguring the BVAS would adversely affect Saturday’s governorship and state assemblies elections.

It dismissed objections that the Labour Party, LP, and its presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, raised against INEC’s move to reconfigure all the BVAS.

According to the court, allowing the objections by Obi and his party, would amount to “tying the hands of the respondent, INEC.”

Besides, it noted that INEC had in an affidavit it filed before the court, assured that the accreditation data contained in the BVAS could not be tampered with or lost, as they would be stored and easily retrieved from its accredited back-end server.

It further observed that neither Obi nor LP controverted the depositions in INEC’s affidavit, stressing that since such averments were not challenged, it amounted to admission by the applicants.

According to VANGUARD news report, the court ordered INEC to allow the applicants to inspect and carry out digital forensic examination of all the electoral materials used in the conduct of the elections, as well as to avail them the Certified True Copy, CTC, of result of the physical inspection of the BVAS.

The Justice Joseph Ikyegh-led panel faulted Obi and LP for repeating their request to be allowed to scan and make copies of the electoral materials in INEC’s possession.

Noting that the request was earlier granted, the panel held that repeating the prayer amounted to an abuse of court process.

It will be recalled that INEC had insisted that the reconfiguration of the BVAS was necessary since they would be deployed for the next round of elections.

It maintained that without a prompt variation of the order the court earlier granted to Obi and the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, especially the aspect restraining it from tampering with formation contained in the BVAS, it would be difficult for it to proceed with the scheduled elections.

Obi and his party had in their application marked: CA/PEC/09m/23, sought permission to be allowed to conduct physical inspection of all the BVAS that were used for the presidential poll.

The applicants, through their team of lawyers led by Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu, SAN, said the essence of the application was to enable them to extract data embedded in the BVAS, “which represent the actual results from Polling Units.”

They specifically applied for; “leave to carryout digital forensic and physical inspection of BVAS, etc”, as well as to obtain the Certified True Copy, CTC, of all the data in the BVAS.”

While opposing the application, INEC told the court that there were a total of 176,000 BVAS that were deployed to polling units during the presidential election.

“Each polling unit has its own particular BVAS machine which we need to configure for the forthcoming elections.

“It will be very difficult for us, within the period, to reconfigure the 176, 000 BVAS.

“We have already stated in our affidavit that no information in the BVAS will be lost as we will transfer all the data in the BVAS to our back-end server.

“We need the BVAS configured. So, granting this application will be a cog in the process and may delay the conduct of the elections,” INEC’s lead lawyer, Tanimu Inuwa (SAN), pleaded.

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The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Election Working Group (NEWG) has disagreed with NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN on the success of the recent General Elections.

Maikyau had in an interview with CHANNELS TV rated the election highly, saying: “Those who came out were happy to express their franchise. There were challenges, definitely.” He added that “on the whole, I will score INEC as having performed maybe about 78, 80 percent in the delivery of these elections. That will be an A for every exam, notwithstanding all the things that happened – which we are not ignoring.”

This led to a flurry of criticisms, with many lawyers saying that Maikyau spoke for himself and not for the Bar. Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Anselm Odinkalu also accused the NBA President of refusing to sign the official NEWG Report, a charge NBA Publicity Secretary Habeeb Lawal denied.

But in the official NEWG report signed by Maikyau and made available to CITY LAWYER, the NBA Observers stated that only 27.1 percent of voters “were excellently impressed with the conduct of the ballots.” Most voters (64.6%) said they were “somewhat satisfied” with the election while 8.2% of the electorate rated the poll as “poor or very poor.”

The report is titled “INTERIM REPORT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL & NATIONAL ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.” The observer team was chaired by Mrs. Linda Rose Bala, NBA 1st Vice President and “deployed over 1000 INEC accredited observers drawn from the 128 Branches of the NBA.”

The report noted that despite the challenges faced by INEC and voters at the polling stations, NBA observers “expressed some satisfaction” with the conduct of the election “but have also identified major challenges that should be addressed for future elections.”

Among the challenges identified by the NBA Observers were late arrival of INEC officials and ballot materials at the polling stations; malfunctioning BVAS machines – this caused delay in voter accreditation; few or non-transmission of the results from the polling units to the INEC results portal; insecurity at some polling units including violent attacks on voters and officials; voter intimidation, snatching and destruction of voting materials; significant cases of vote-buying, and limited access facilities for persons living with disabilities.

On voter intimidation, the report said: “The NBA Observers reported incidents of destruction of voting materials by party agents at various PUs, e.g., LDA Zuba Federal Housing Estate, Zuba – Abuja; voters were chased away to go to INEC Headquarters in Ciroma Yahe Kirt/UBA, Borno State; some voters were barred from voting at PU 014, Lagos Mainland Epetedo (Costain), Lagos. In Lagos, there were reports of many party agents threatening voters on the queue for accreditation that they must vote a particular candidate or leave the PU.”

On the issue of collation of results, the report stated that “After the tallying and counting of votes, most PUs polling agents found it difficult to upload the results to INEC portal using the BVAS machine, for various reasons ranging from lack of network to lack of proper skills or clear instructions from INEC.

“In many PUs, it was reported that the INEC server was not opening to enable officials transmit the results such as in PU 096 Gwarimpa, Abuja. In Takur Site Dispensary 002, Jigawar Tsada, Dutse, Jigawa State, INEC officials failed to display election result saying that it cannot instantly upload same via BVAS except it is done at the ward collation centre. As a result, by the time results are being collated at National level, most PU results were not yet uploaded, as had been expected by the INEC guidelines.”

Among other recommendations, NBA urged that “INEC should ensure that all bugs or glitches in the BVAs machines and other election technology are fixed and improved for the 11 March 2023 Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections, to reduce technical issues experienced in the 25 February elections.”

To read the full report, click below.

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The Court of Appeal sitting at Abuja has fixed tomorrow to deliver a ruling on the application by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to vary its orders retraining INEC from tampering with the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) machines used for the conduct of the 25 February presidential election.

The three-man panel led by Justice Joseph Ikyegh, sitting as Presidential Election Petition Court, set down the case for a ruling after listening to the parties.

CITY LAWYER recalls that the court had earlier granted Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) access to inspect the sensitive electoral materials including BVAS to enable them file their petitions against the election.

Represented by renowned election petition expert, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), Labour Party and Obi had argued that the essence of the application was to enable them to extract data embedded in the BVAS “which represent the actual results from Polling Units.”

Urging the court to refuse INEC’s application to vary the order earlier granted to the political parties, Ikpeazu said: “My lords, this is to ensure that the evidence is preserved before the BVAS are reconfigured by INEC. This is because if they are wiped out, it will affect the substance of the case.” He equally applied to obtain the Certified True Copy of all the data in the BVAS.

INEC however disagreed, urged the court to refuse the application.

Speaking through its Lead Counsel, Mr. Tanimu Inuwa, the commission insisted that sustaining the order would affect its preparations for the Governorship and State Assembly Elections scheduled to hold on Saturday.

Inuwa told the court that there are about 176, 000 BVAS machines that were deployed to polling units during the presidential election, adding that “Each polling unit has its own particular BVAS machine which we need to configure for the forthcoming elections. It will be very difficult for us, within the period, to reconfigure the 176, 000 BVAS.”

INEC argued that “We have already stated in our affidavit that no information in the BVAS will be lost as we will transfer all the data in the BVAS to our backend server.

“We need the BVAS configured. So, granting this application will be a clog in the process and may delay the conduct of the elections.”

The political parties had sought the following orders: “An order granting the applicants’ permission to do electronic scanning and make photocopies of voter’s registration, ballot papers used in the conduct of the election for the office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria held on the Feb. 25.

“An order granting leave to the applicants to carry out Digital Forensic Inspection of BVAS machines used for the conduct of the Feb. 25 election for the Office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

“An order restraining INEC from tampering with the information embedded in the BVAS machines until the due inspection was conducted and Certified True Copies of them issued”.

Ruling on the earlier application, the court had ordered INEC to allow the applicants to inspect all the electoral materials used in the conduct of the presidential election. It also permitted Labour Party and PDP to do electronic scanning and/or make photocopies of Voter Registration and Ballot Papers used in the conduct of the presidential election.

The court ordered “That leave is hereby granted to the applicants to carry out Digital Forensic Inspection of BVAS machines used for the conduct of the 25 February 2023 election for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its presidential candidate, Senator Bola Tinubu have also approached the court for an order to inspect the sensitive materials including the BVAS machines used for the conduct of the election. It was unclear at press time whether a date has been fixed for hearing of the application.

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Lawyers of Yoruba extraction under the aegis of Egbe Amofin O’odua (The Yoruba Lawyers Forum) have congratulated Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as the winner of the just concluded presidential election.

In a message made available to CITY LAWYER, the umbrella body of Yoruba lawyers stated that “This victory clearly acknowledges your outstanding services and commitment to the nation as well as the trust reposed in you by Nigerians.”

The association noted that Tinubu’s election “comes at a critical stage of our national life when patriotism is at its low ebb,” adding that “Leadership has a job to do than just to choose sides. It must bring sides together.”

Below is the full text of the congratulatory message.

His Excellency,
Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
President-Elect,
Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Your Excellency Sir,

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR ELECTION AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA.

As you prepare to take up the responsibilities and challenges of your high office, please accept our warm congratulatory greetings as Egbe Amofin O’odua (The Yoruba Lawyers Forum) on your victory and consequent declaration as President-elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria at the recently concluded 2023 presidential elections.

This victory clearly acknowledges your outstanding services and commitment to the nation as well as the trust reposed in you by Nigerians.

Your election comes at a critical stage of our national life when patriotism is at its low ebb and it is our firm belief that being the natural leader that you are, your emergence and government when eventually constituted, will not only chat a new course for the nation economic growth and international relevance, it will further ensure the resurgence of trust, confidence and interest of all citizens in the “project – Nigeria”.

Leadership has a job to do, than just to choose sides. It must bring sides together. To that extent, we commend to you, the words of Martin Luther King (Jnr) thus; “Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sun-lit path of racial (tribal and religious) justice. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God’s children (Nigerians). Now is the time, to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial (tribal and/or religious) injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.”

We equally appreciate all Nigerians for the decorum and peace substantially maintained during and after the elections.

We wish the President-elect good health, divine wisdom and a successful tenure.

Long live Egbe Amofin O’odua.
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!

Most Sincerely,

Aare Isiaka Abiola Olagunju SAN
Chairman, Egbe Amofin O’odua

Adetunji Osho Esq
Secretary, Egbe Amofin Oodua.

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In this article, DR. ADEYEMI AGBELUSI (FCIArb), an internationally accredited Mediator and Arbitrator, argues that instead of fiat and litigation, consensus building is better orchestrated via Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods.

The legal system has always been an essential aspect of society, particularly when it comes to the resolution of constitutional disputes. However, there are instances where the court system may not be the most effective or efficient method of resolving such issues. This is where Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) comes into play.

ADR refers to a range of processes that help parties resolve disputes without resorting to litigation. These processes include mediation, negotiation, and arbitration.

In recent times, there has been a growing need to use ADR methods to resolve constitutional crises. This is because of the perceived inefficiency of the court system when it comes to dispensing justice. In many instances, the courts tend to apply rigid rules and laws to issues before them rather than considering the broader context of the dispute at hand. This often results in an outcome that does not dispense fairness and justice. It also gives rise to judgements which are difficult to enforce or obey, as the courts in this instance cannot use the power of the security forces to compel compliance of the government in which coercive force resides.

A stable and prosperous society is built on consensus. This is what ADR methods offer. Building a society by consensus is a collaborative approach to decision-making that prioritizes collective agreement over unilateral decision-making by a single person or group. This approach ensures that everyone’s voices are heard and considered before any actions are taken, which in turn promotes harmony and unity among members of the society.

The alternative to building a society by consensus is to rely on fiat or litigation, which can be problematic. Fiat refers to decisions made unilaterally by a person or group without input or agreement from others. Such decisions can be met with resistance, and can ultimately result in conflict within the society. Litigation refers to the process of settling disputes through the legal system. This can be time-consuming, expensive, and can further exacerbate tensions within the society.

Building a society by consensus requires that members of the society come together to discuss and negotiate any decisions that need to be made. This involves active listening, empathy, and a willingness to compromise. It also requires that everyone involved be committed to the long-term success and stability of the society, rather than their own individual interests.

Consensus-building can take time, but it ultimately results in stronger and more harmonious societies. This approach allows everyone to feel heard and valued, which in turn fosters a sense of community and belonging. It also helps to avoid the negative consequences of fiat or litigation, such as resentment, division, and legal fees.

ADR methods are focused on finding mutually acceptable solutions to disputes. They allow the parties involved to work collaboratively to resolve the issues in a way that meets their needs and interests. By doing so, ADR methods are able to provide a more fair and equitable solution to constitutional crises.

One of the primary benefits of ADR methods is their flexibility. Unlike the court system, ADR methods are not bound by strict legal procedures and rules. This allows the parties involved to craft solutions that are specific to their needs and interests. This is particularly important in constitutional crises where the issues involved are often complex and multi-faceted.

Mediation, for example, is a common ADR method used to resolve disputes. It involves a neutral third party who helps the parties involved to communicate effectively and find common ground. In the context of constitutional crises, mediation can be particularly effective in bringing together opposing parties to work collaboratively towards a resolution that meets the needs of all parties involved.

Another ADR method that can be effective in resolving constitutional crises is arbitration. This process involves a neutral third party who listens to both sides of the dispute and makes a binding decision based on the evidence presented. While the decision is binding, arbitration is often a more flexible process than litigation, as the parties can agree on the scope of the arbitration and the issues to be resolved.

Negotiation is another ADR method that can be used to resolve constitutional crises. This process requires the parties involved to work together to find a mutually acceptable solution to the issues at hand. Negotiation is often effective in situations where the parties have an ongoing relationship and want to preserve it.

In addition to their flexibility, ADR methods are often faster and less expensive than going to court. This is because they do not involve the same level of legal procedures and formalities as the court system. By using ADR methods to resolve constitutional crises, parties can save time and money while still arriving at a fair and equitable solution.

In conclusion, it has become imperative to deploy ADR methods to resolve constitutional crises. The court system, while important, is not always the most effective or efficient method for resolving complex disputes. Conversely, ADR methods provide a more flexible, fair, and equitable approach to resolving disputes. By using ADR methods, parties can arrive at a mutually acceptable solution that meets their needs and interests, while also saving time and money.

It is time for us to embrace ADR methods as a critical tool for resolving constitutional crises in a way that ensures fairness and justice for all parties. A political solution that is worked on by all concerned parties will need no enforcement and benefit from widespread compliance.

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There has been heated debate on whether Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) presiding officers have a mandatory duty to transmit results electronically. Renowned electronic evidence expert and former Judge of Kogi State High Court, Justice Alaba Omolaye-Ajileye tackles the issue.

Today’s piece embodies my reflections on the controversial issue of electronic transmission of election results. What is the position of the law on the issue?

From the onset, it is important to take recourse to the provisions of Section 60 (4) (5) of the Electoral Act. They provide as follows:

60 (4). The presiding officer shall count and announce the result at the polling unit.

60 (5). The presiding officer shall transfer the results including total number of accredited voters and the results of the ballot in a manner as prescribed by the Commission.

The relevant question that arises here is, what is the manner of transfer prescribed by the Commission?

The answer to the above question can be found in Clause 38 of the Regulations and Guidelines for the Conduct of Elections, 2022 which stipulates thus:

Upon completion of all the Polling Unit voting and results, procedures, the Presiding Officer shall:

(i) Electronically transmit or transfer the result of the Polling Unit, ɗirect to the collation system as prescribed by the Commission.

(ii) Use BVAS to upload a scanned of the EC8A to INEC Result Viewing Portal (IReV), as prescribed by the Commission.

Now, what interpretation do we ascribe to the above provisions? Is it mandatory or optional for INEC to transmit the result of a polling unit electronically?

My answer to the above question is that it is mandatory for the presiding officer to transmit the result of a polling unit electronically . First and foremost, it is one of the surest indexes of a progressive and dynamic jurisprudence to seek to know the purpose for the enactment of a statute. It is without doubt that the repeal of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and the enactment of the 2022 Act, with all the innovations embodied in it, including the introduction of Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS), the law makers intended that our electoral system be enhanced, transparent and credible, beyond what the situation in the past was. This conclusion becomes inevitable having regard to the use of the word “shall”, which, by literal interpretation, imposes an obligation on the presiding officer to comply with the relevant provisions of the Electoral Act and the INEC Guidelines.

Second, the INEC Guidelines, though a subsidiary legislation, by judicial authorities, had been accorded a place of prominence as part and parcel of the Electoral Act. In APP v INEC (2019) LPELR 48465 (CA), the Court of Appeal aptly held the INEC Guidelines form part of the Electoral Act and non-compliance with them means non-compliance with the Electoral Act. See also: Hon. James Abiodun Faleke v INEC & Anor. (2016) 18 NWLR (Prt. 1543) 61

Furthermore, by virtue Section 160 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), INEC has the constitutional power to regulate its own procedure or confer powers and impose duties on its officers for the purpose of discharging its functions. Section 148 of the Electoral Act also contains similar provisions to ensure proper discharge of its functions. It follows, therefore, that since the INEC Guidelines are backed up constitutionally and statutorily, they must be invoked, applied and enforced.

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The President of the International Bar Association (IBA), Almudena Arpón de Mendívil Aldama, will tomorrow launch the “IBA Women’s Day,” a worldwide event in celebration of women legal professionals. The event coincides with the 2023 International Women’s Day anniversary.

Conceived by Ms Arpón de Mendívil and developed in collaboration with the IBA Women Lawyers’ Committee, the IBA Women’s Day will see simultaneous events in the form of fireside chats or panels take place across several jurisdictions around the world.

This inaugural event is aimed at guiding the younger generation of female practitioners in their professional careers, with senior women in the law sharing their experiences to reach and maintain senior positions.

The African Regional Forum of the IBA will be participating in this inaugural event by hosting a virtual international women’s day session with participation across several African jurisdictions on Wednesday, March 8, 2023, from 3:00 pm to 4: 00 pm (West African Time).

The Pan-African IBA event is structured as a virtual event hosting a panel discussion on “Gender Equity: Innovation and Technology as Catalysts for Progress.”

The session will be moderated by Yinka Edu, Partner at Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie. The panellists include:

i. Justice Sanji Monageng, the Botswana High Commissioner to South Africa;
ii. Amina Abugdanpoka Kaguah, Head of Office & Head of Corporate Commercial Practice ENSAfrica, Ghana;
iii. Ruth Sebatindira, Founder Ligomarc Advocates/Commissioner, Judicial Service Commission, Uganda; and
iv. Mayowa Kuyoro, Partner, McKinsey & Company.

The discussions will focus on:

a) each speaker’s experience in reaching the top of their respective positions and maintaining senior positions;
b) the professional barriers that women in the legal profession still face and which stifle the attainment of gender equity;
c) how lawyers across the world are working towards the attainment of gender equity in the legal profession;
d) the role which technology and innovation can play in closing the gender equity gap; and
e) how digital innovation can be harnessed to improve legal services, and any innovative solutions that address the challenges for African lawyers and empower women.

Date: Wednesday, March 8, 2023

Time: 2:00 pm (Ghana),3:00 pm – (Nigeria), 4: 00 pm (Botswana & South Africa), 5:00 pm – (Kenya & Uganda)

To confirm your participation, please click here.

For more information regarding this event, kindly contact Adeola Sunmola (adeola.sunmola@uubo.org), the IBA Women Lawyers’ Committee’s Liaison Officer to the IBA African Regional Forum.

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The Nigerian Bar Association, Lagos Branch is set to hold its Annual Law Week from Friday, June 16 to Friday, June 23, 2023.

The theme of this year’s Law Week is, “Facing The Future: Law in a Globalized Economy”. KINDLY SAVE THE DATES.

The theme seeks to interrogate the major question: what role does the law play in a globalized economy? And, in particular, are Nigerian legal practitioners equipped and/or prepared to operate as players in a globalized economy?

Other sub-themes will also look at issues arising from the globalization of the economy and the growing universality of the law, the relevance of Nigerian law to govern international transactions, the skill sets that are required for Nigerian jurists and lawyers to actively play in a globalized economic order, and the vexed question of the regulation of foreign lawyers who seek to practice in Nigeria.

The planning committee has come up with a rich line up of industry experts & panelists who will do justice to the theme & sub themes.

It promises to be interesting and educative!

There will also be the usual week-long line up of events such as Jumat/thanksgiving services, health walk/checks, aerobics/dance classes, football matches, charity visits, elder’s night & a closing themed party.

Towards ensuring a successful event, the Chairman of the Branch, Ikechukwu Uwanna has reappointed Mr. Wale Adesokan, SAN as the Chairman of the Planning Committee for the Law Week while Prof. Abiola Sanni SAN will serve as the Alternate Chairman.

The law week will offer participants opportunities for networking and gaining valuable insights into the latest trends and developments in the law.

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• HE HAS REFUSED TO SIGN NBA OBSERVER REPORT – ODINKALU

These are not the best of times for Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Mr. Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau SAN as he has come under a flurry of criticisms for passing a vote of confidence on the recent General Elections.

Speaking to Shola Soyele on “Law Weekly,’ a CHANNELS TV programme, Maikyau had spoken glowingly about the controversial elections, saying: “I would say that the elections went well. Those who came out were happy to express their franchise. There were challenges, definitely; there were challenges that we got, some infractions. Some of them actually constituted electoral offences. But on the whole, on the whole, I will score INEC as having performed maybe about 78, 80 percent in the delivery of these elections. That will be an A for every exam, notwithstanding all the things that happened – which we are not ignoring.”

This rating did not go down well with most commentators who took to their Twitter handles to lampoon the NBA helmsman.

While leading human rights activist and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Prof. Anselm Odinkalu spotlighted the rating on his verified Twitter handle, many respondents promptly disagreed with Maikyau whose election as NBA President was rejected by his rival, Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama SAN.

Meanwhile, Odinkalu has alleged that Maikyau has refused to sign the official NBA Election Observers Report, threatening to publish the report if he continues to withhold assent. CITY LAWYER recalls that NBA was one of the observers accredited by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to monitor the election.

But opening the flood gate of criticisms, Odinkalu wrote on his Twitter handle: “The president of @NigBarAssoc, @YCMaikyauSAN, says he wld score @inecnigeria ‘about 78-80% in the delivery of these elections.’ I’m sure he will tell u to #GoToCourt if u disagree. But it’s still important for u to know what he thinks & to ask him whom he speaks for: The bar?”

Continuing, Odinkalu wrote: “For the record: 1. @NigBarAssoc deployed an election observation team for the presidential election. 2. The #NBA’s election observer team has not yet issued a report. 3. I know for a fact that the @NigBarAssoc election observer team handed in the text of their report to the President of the #NBA at the beginning of this week. 4. I also know for a fact that the President has been unwilling or unable to sign off on the report.”

Responding, one Ike Eso Ogbuji who tweeted @EsoIyke wrote: “The NBA President must have spoken based on his convictions. but I stand firm to say his position does not in any way represent the stance of @NigBarAssoc. I observed the elections and I presume our (NBA) reports were not the bases (sic) upon which this conclusion was reached.”

Mr. Chuma Ngini who tweeted @CNgini wrote: “Exactly. Who does he double speak for?. 80%? after he declined to offer opinion in the Arise TV interview cos he is NBA president. We now know how he contributes to nation-building as NBA president.”

A leading development sector expert, Mr. Stanley Ibe tweeted @ukwuomaibe, saying: “Interesting score. Would be nice to understand the basis for this score. Can we begin with indicators? What indicators make the February 25 elections worthy of this score?”

One Nana who tweeted @nananwadjey wrote: “I’m in severe pain right now. I thought I was going to get a consolation from NBA. I was momentarily blank.”

One Avio, tweeting @Avio09364571, was less sparing, saying: “That man speaks for himself, not us (NBA). I’m sure he’s gotten a pocket full of dollars.”

Dandyson wrote @blesseddandy: “Please call your President to order, else we the Nigerian people will see him as part of the political armed robbers that stole our mandate.”

While one St. Joan of Arc berated the NBA President saying, “You learned colleagues should have voted for Gadzama,” Dr. David Kieghe who tweeted at @dkieghe alleged thus: “It is part of the strategy. PR campaign. Influence the behaviour, words, and actions to legitimise a coronation instead of a democratic elections (sic). BVAS Accreditation + BVAS real time transmission to IReV = polling units real time results = win at polling units = no alterations.”

Another lawyer, Lugard Tare-Otu who tweeted @Lugard_Tareotu wrote: “Honestly, this feedback coming from the President of the Bar is very sad and unfortunate,” while Kassandra Ugochukwu @KassandraUgoch1 wrote: “He speaks for himself and himself alone. I miss Mr. Olumide Akpata,as the NBA President he was fearless. The NBA is going back to the state of ‘As it then was’….”

But it was not all condemnation for the embattled NBA President, as one Amwenche Bitrus @bj_amwenche wrote: “I support his opinion. Earlier there was complaints in uploading results to IREV portal,later they were noise on election malpractices and announcing the presidential election too early. Is fair to rate @inecnigeria 70-80 performance.”

Also joining the fray, one Dan Nigeria who tweeted @Ibrahim11499729 wrote: “Off course he spoke for the Bar. Mind u NBA deployed observers to monitor the elections. He might have spoken based on their report. Though u must not agree with him. But we are with our president on this 100%.”

When CITY LAWYER contacted NBA Publicity Secretary Habeeb Lawal on the allegation that Maikyau is withholding the final NBA Election Observers Report, he debunked the claim. He stated that the association had released two preliminary reports on the election, adding that “The allegation is baseless.”

Lawal stated that NBA has an obligation to send its final report to INEC and also make it available to members, adding that it may await the Governorship and State Assembly Elections before publishing a final report.

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Seven state governments controlled by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have withdrawn a lawsuit filed against the Federal Government at the Supreme Court challenging the declaration of All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu as President-elect. The states are Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Taraba and Sokoto.

In the suit which had the attorneys-general of the seven states as plaintiffs and the Attorney General of the Federation as defendant, the seven states had asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the just-concluded general elections, arguing that the declaration of Tinubu did not follow the Electoral Act.

They argued that the declaration did not follow INEC’s own laid down guidelines, particularly the uploading of results to the IREV through the BVAS. They also expressed fear of a potential breakdown of public order and civil disobedience, a THISDAY report stated.

The Notice of Discontinuance signed and filed today by the Lead Counsel, Mr. Mike Ozekhome SAN read: “Take notice that the plaintiffs doth hereby wholly discontinue this suit against the defendant herein”.

Details later…..

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The Court of Appeal, sitting as the Presidential Election Petition Court, today granted leave to Mr. Peter Obi and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to inspect sensitive materials used by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct last Saturday’s presidential election.

The duo had brought applications seeking an order of the court to inspect materials used for the conduct of the election.

A panel of the appellate court led by Justice Joseph Ikyegh made the orders after it heard two separate ex-parte applications the two aggrieved presidential candidates filed alongside their political parties.

Listed as respondents in the election petition cases were INEC, the acclaimed winner of the presidential election, Bola Tinubu, as well as his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The applications were brought pursuant to Section 36(1) of the 1999 Constitution, Section 146 of the Electoral Act 2022, paragraphs 47(1) and 54 of the First Schedule to the Electoral Act 2022, and under the inherent power of the tribunal.

While Obi, in his application that was moved by his team of lawyers led by Mr. Alex Ejesieme (SAN), sought six principal reliefs, Atiku’s lawyer, Mr. Adedamola Faloku, sought seven prayers from the tribunal.

Specifically, the applicants urged the court to compel INEC to allow them to obtain documents in its custody that were used for the presidential election.

According to VANGAURD, the duo maintained that the requested documents would aid their petition against the outcome of the presidential contest that was declared in favour of the APC presidential candidate.

Specifically, Obi sought among other reliefs “AN ORDER granting leave to the Applicants to bring this Application outside or before the Pre-Hearing Session.”

CITY LAWYER recalls that INEC had last Wednesday declared Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, as winner of the keenly contested election. According to INEC, Tinubu scored a total of 8,794,726 votes to defeat Atiku who polled 6,984,520 votes and Obi who polled 6,101,533 votes.

Obi and Abubakar promptly rejected the results, vowing to challenge it in court.

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