Fiery Bar activist and former Nigerian Bar Association First Vice President, Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins is set to dazzle the audience at the eagerly awaited parley between 2026 NBA presidential aspirants.

Tagged “Nigerian Bar Association: A peep into the future,” the debate is seen by NBA political watchers as a golden opportunity for aspirants for the 2026 NBA Presidential Election to fire the first real salvo as it relates to their manifestos.

Analysts believe that it may be very difficult for any aspirant who fails to impress at the parley to fully recover before next year’s presidential election which is barely one year away.

Reputed as a core Bar-Man and social crusader, Aikpokpo-Martins has earned a reputation as a strategic litigation expert who deploys the instrumentality of the law to redress social injustice.

His tenure as Chairman of the NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) was marked by the levying of sundry lawsuits to challenge perceived tyranny and ‘speak truth to power.’

Analysts believe that he is one of the speakers to watch at the forthcoming debate.

A profile of Aikpokpo-Martins seen by CITY LAWYER reads:

A quintessential gentleman, John Aikpokpo-Martins hails from Edo State. He is based in Warri, Delta State, where he practice law as a full time Private Legal Practitioner.

Mr Aikpokpo-Martins graduated from the Bendel State University, Ekpoma in 1989, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1990. He is the Principal Partner of Aikpokpo, Okeregha & Co.

Mr Aikpokpo Martins has served the NBA in many capacities. He was the Chairman, Warri Branch, 2014 – 2016; Vice Chairman, Warri Branch, 2010 – 2012. He was the NEC Rep from 2016-2018. He was a member of the NBA Election Working Committee, 2012 – 2014, and a delegate to the NBA trade mission to South Africa, 2016. He is a very committed member of the Midwest Bar Forum. He has chaired several committees of Warri Branch and the Midwest Bar Forum. He is also a member of the Delta State Justice Sector Reform Team. He has delivered papers at several NBA events including the 2015 conference in Abuja.

Mr Aikpokpo-Martins is a very passionate committed and dedicated bar man. As the Chairman of Warri Branch, 2014 – 2016, his administration positively and innovatively impacted on the Branch in no small measure. Below are some of the innovations that came to be under his watch:

• His administration revised and improved the welfare package to members.
  * His administration revitalized and encouraged the Young Lawyers Forum, sponsored them to several NBA functions, open a bank account for them and paid substantial amount into it for their operations.
  * His administration revolutionized the administrative machinery of the Branch and brought in so many innovations.
  * His administration redesigned our accounting system of the Branch to make it more fraud proof.
  * His administration built a multi-million naira bar centre at Effurun High Court, premises. The foundation stone of that project was laid on the 19th of June, 2015. The bar centre comprises of a 300 persons sitting capacity, offices, cloak rooms for male and female etc. It was opened on the 10th of June, 2016. This was achieved without levying members, and less that 20% of the cost was from the branch’s account.
  * His administration always defended the rights and dignity of our members tenaciously and robustly whenever the need to so defend arose.
  * Most importantly, His administration drafted and sponsored a bill to the Delta State House of Assembly to make it possible and easy for lawyers to collect the statutory fees chargeable for the preparation of deeds of title to lands in the Delta State, which said bill was passed into law, and was awaiting assent of the Governor of Delta State before he vacated office. The bill will make it legally and statutorily mandatory for clients to pay their lawyers the statutory professional fees for the preparation of land instruments. This will positively impact on the earnings and welfare of lawyers in Delta State and possibly in the whole country in no distant time.
  * His administration created and encouraged the female lawyers’ and law officers’ fora and activism in the Branch.
  * His administration ensured that young lawyers, female lawyers and law officers always have representations in any committee of the branch for inclusiveness.
• Mr John Aikpokpo-Martins served as the chairman of the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria, Delta State Chapter (APBN) from 2017 to 2019.

He is a lover of football and participated in the football competitions for branches at the annual NBA conferences from 2005 to 2016.

He is Married to a fellow Lawyer, who was the Vice Chairman of the Delta State Chapter of the Law Officers Association of Nigeria (LOAN) and Asst Director, Delta State Ministry of Justice.

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