Immediate past National Officers of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) received about N440,000 each on their last day in office, CITY LAWYER can authoritatively report.

Meanwhile, immediate past NBA Treasurer, Caroline Anze-Bishop was shut out of the payment which was titled “AGC REFUND.” This may not be unconnected with her longstanding face-off with the immediate past NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN.

There are strong indications that the payment is to cater for the logistics of the National Officers during the recently ended NBA Annual General Conference (AGC) in Lagos.

The payment may also have been the last official act of Maikyau, as CITY LAWYER gathered from an unimpeachable source that the National Officers received their alerts during the swearing-in of Mr. Afam Osigwe SAN as NBA President.

A close associate of Bishop confirmed the payment to other National Officers, saying: “I do not know if N500k was given to the National Officers but I am aware that each one of them was credited the sum of N440,000 on the day of the swearing-in of our new Officers.

“In fact, it was Caroline’s colleagues at the table that directly told her about the payment.

“She hasn’t received a dime from the NBA till now, since April. YC only publicly hugged and shook her at the swearing-in ceremony to mislead lawyers into thinking that all is well and resolved; nothing could be farther from the truth.”

There are strong indications that some National Officers may have received marginally lower or higher figures, as a ranking National Officer told CITY LAWYER that some officers were paid N320,000 and N480,000 respectively.

The officer however complained bitterly that the monies were “serious underpayments,” saying most of the National Officers spent far above the refunds. “This is aside from several outstanding payments for official assignments,” said the officer. “I can tell you that our financial sacrifices in discharging our official duties were huge.”

CITY LAWYER recalls that Maikyau had barred Bishop from receiving the financial sponsorship extended by the NBA leadership to other National Officers to attend the recent Annual General Conference (AGC) in Lagos.

This did not however deter the embattled former Treasurer from hitting Lagos on the eve of the conference.

Though NBA watchers had expected a feisty session at the NBA Annual General Meeting, especially as Bishop had vowed not to endorse the NBA Annual Report, this was obviated as National Officers were not invited to present their traditional reports.

Bishop had told CITY LAWYER that despite her longstanding quest, she was sidelined as regards the association’s finances, adding that she was not a party to any financial report to be presented at the AGM.

It is recalled that Bishop had in a letter addressed to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi SAN in his capacity as the Chairman of the General Council of the Bar (GCB), urged him to “set-up a high-powered Committee to immediately and thoroughly consider and investigate my concerns.”

The letter was titled “A REPORT OF A PERPETUAL ABUSE OF OFFICE, THE MARGINALIZATION OF THE NBA NATIONAL TREASURER AND URSURPATION (SIC) OF HER DUTIES UNDER THE NBA CONSTITUTION (2021 AS AMENDED) BY THE PERSON OF THE NBA PRESIDENT MR. Y. C. MAIKYAU SAN: AN APPLICATION FOR AN IMMEDIATE INVESTIGATION OF THIS COMPLAINT AND FOR YOUR NECESSARY ACTION.”

A similar petition was addressed to the Chairman of the Body of Benchers as well as to NBA Trustees. Bishop had made a similar plea following controversies that trailed the NBA Annual Report and Accounts at the 2023 Annual General Meeting.

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