A NECESSARY DISCLAIMER AND CLARIFICATION TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC

RE: THE SPURIOUS LETTER DATED DECEMBER 30, 2025, FROM A SELF-STYLED “EXECUTIVE COUNCIL” OF THE NIGERIAN LAW SOCIETY (NLS)

By Chief Joe Kyari Gadzama, SAN, OFR, MFR

For ease of reference, a copy of the spurious letter dated December 30, 2025, addressed to me is attached hereto, being in respect of a matter presently before the Court of Appeal where the CAC and the NBA are Appellants.

My attention has been drawn to a letter dated December 30, 2025, purportedly emanating from an “Executive Council of the Nigerian Law Society (NLS),” and signed by one Ambassador Dahiru Aliyu, who styles himself as the “President, Nigerian Law Society (NLS)” and, most curiously, a “Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SCN).” This letter, which has been circulated to me and others, issues a bizarre and unwarranted “SEVEN (7) DAYS ULTIMATUM TO DISCONTINUE THE LAWSUIT AGAINST THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION-NBA” and threatens disciplinary action upon non-compliance.

The audacity and misapprehension of law and fact contained within this document necessitate this comprehensive public disclaimer. This rejoinder seeks to establish the true legal and factual position of the matter and to unequivocally distance myself and my law firm from the authors of this patently spurious correspondence.

To understand the absurdity of the ultimatum issued, one must first appreciate the history and current status of the litigation in question. The matter, which has been a subject of public discourse for some time, is primarily a challenge to the administrative refusal of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to register the Nigerian Law Society.

The suit was originally instituted by the legitimate promoters of the Nigerian Law Society against the CAC. After a rigorous legal battle, the trial court delivered a sound judgment in favour of the promoters, where it effectively compelled the CAC to proceed with the registration of the NLS.

The original suit was a challenge to the administrative refusal of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to register the NLS. Following the trial court’s judgment in favour of the NLS promoters, the CAC appealed against the judgment. Also, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), claiming to be an interested party, sought and obtained leave from the Court to also appeal the decision. Consequently, the matter is now pending before the Court of Appeal, Abuja Judicial Division, where the CAC and the NBA are Appellants. It must be clearly stated that the NLS is not the Appellant in this matter, and there is nothing for the NLS promoters to withdraw.

The letter from Ambassador Dahiru Aliyu is addressed to me, Chief Joe Kyari Gadzama, SAN, and demands that “your good self and your associates named as promoters of the NLS are to withdraw the above named litigation.”

To set the records straight, my law firm, J-K Gadzama LLP, is retained as counsel only to the 1st Respondent, Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, SAN, in the pending appeal. Our role is strictly to defend the judgment of the trial court and uphold the right of the NLS to be registered. Therefore, the demand for my withdrawal of the appeal is a misdirected one. Since the CAC and the NBA are the Appellants, any request for the withdrawal or discontinuance of the appeal must, by elementary principles of law, be addressed to the CAC and/or the NBA. The author of the spurious letter is hereby advised to redirect his misguided ultimatum to the appropriate parties.

Finally, one cannot overlook the peculiar self-designation of the author, Ambassador Dahiru Aliyu, as a “Senior Counsel of Nigeria (SCN).” It is a matter of public record and elementary knowledge within the legal profession that the only recognized rank of Senior Counsel in Nigeria is that of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), a prestigious title conferred by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee. The title “Senior Counsel of Nigeria” is entirely unknown to our laws, statutes, and professional hierarchy.

The creation and adoption of such a fictitious rank, coupled with the legal and factual errors in the letter, raises serious questions about the author’s grasp of reality and his fitness to comment on, let alone intervene in, such a complex legal matter. It is a spectacle of self-delusion that borders on the tragically comic. The public should beware and discountenance any such publication from any set of people who exhibit such a tenuous relationship with the established norms of the legal profession.

The public is urged to treat the letter and any other publication on this subject from Ambassador Dahiru Aliyu and his self-proclaimed executive with the contempt they deserve, wherever they come across them. These are borne out of desperation and a desire to fraudulently capitalize on the success of the legitimate NLS.

Let the public be guided accordingly.

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