AGENDA

OLANIPEKUN SURVIVES, AS BENCHERS FAIL TO DEBATE NBA’S RECUSAL DEMAND

The Chairman of the Body of Benchers, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN has survived a move by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to have him step aside from the seat following a petition to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) seeking sanctions against partners in his law firm for alleged professional misconduct.

Though CITY LAWYER gathered that NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata had sent an email to the BoB asking that the recusal matter should be tabled for discussion, an impeccable source who attended today’s Body of Benchers meeting told CITY LAWYER that the issue did not receive any attention during the meeting. “There was absolutely no mention of the matter during the entire duration of the meeting,” said the source. Akpata’s email was copied to all BoB members.

CITY LAWYER had predicted that the issue may not be debated at today’s meeting as it was not listed on the agenda. Sources however said that this may not be unexpected given that the agenda for today’s meeting had long been drawn up. The non-receipt of the recusal letter until yesterday may also have made it practically impossible to include the issue on the agenda.

The source told CITY LAWYER that the meeting was delayed for about 30 minutes as the chairman took turns to felicitate with members, even as the meeting witnessed massive attendance by many BoB members, some attending after a prolonged absence.

Though at least two national newspapers reported that NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata shunned the meeting, CITY LAWYER gathered from unimpeachable sources that Akpata attended the meeting virtually and was signed on throughout the deliberations as he is overseas.

The source said that while the only opportunity to include the recusal issue on the agenda was during debate on “Adoption of Agenda,” Olanipekun side-stepped the item by stating that his “Chairman’s Address” would cater for that.

This paved the way for a discussion of only issues relating to tomorrow’s Call to Bar ceremony following a committee report on the subject. Other reports were deferred to the body’s next meeting on September 29, 2022, moreso as the reports were not circulated to members.

CITY LAWYER however gathered that this has been the tradition, as the body’s meetings on the eve of Call to Bar ceremonies often focus exclusively on preparations for the event.

Aside from the Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kayode Ariwoola, two past Chief Justices of Nigeria also attended the meeting. They are Justice Mahmud Mohammed and Justice Walter Onnoghen as well as retired Justice Mary Peter-Odili who doubles as the Vice-Chairman of the Body of Benchers. Also in attendance was Justice Helen Ogunwumiju of the Supreme Court.

The NBA was also well represented at the meeting which held at the Body of Benchers Complex in Jabi, Abuja by Akpata and its statutory representatives as well as seven past presidents including Messrs Onomigbo Okpoko SAN, O. C. J. Okocha SAN, Joseph Daudu SAN, Augustine Alegeh SAN, Okey Wali SAN, Abubakar Mahmoud and Paul Usoro SAN. Daudu, Alegeh and Wali signed on virtually.

It remains to be seen whether the matter will be raised at the next meeting of the Body of Benchers in September.

CITY LAWYER had in an exclusive report noted the petition by NBA to the LPDC where it not only demanded sanctions against Ms. Adekunbi Ogunde, a Partner in Wole Olanipekun & Co, for alleged solicitation of briefs from Saipem SPA, but invited the Committee to “consider whether the Partners of the Firm of Wole Olanipekun & Co. are not liable to be disciplined by this august body seeing that the Respondent has the ostensible authority to act as a Partner and indeed acted for and on behalf of the said Firm.” Olanipekun is the Founding Partner of the law firm. The LPDC is a committee of the Body of Benchers.

In a letter personally signed by Akpata following the filing of the petition, NBA had urged Olanipekun “to recuse yourself from chairmanship of the BOB henceforth and to allow for the emplacement of an interim leadership of the BOB, in order to enable the LPDC carry out this particular assignment, amongst others, without coming under an undue suspicion of impartiality.”

But Olanipekun, a former NBA President, had expressed anger against the association for allegedly making its demand public without communicating the recusal letter to him, saying it appeared there was an ulterior motive behind the action. His words: “As we talk, I am yet to get a copy of the letter. People have been calling me but I can’t react to a document that I have not seen.”

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LPDC PETITION: BENCHERS MEET TOMORROW, SHUN NBA ‘QUIT’ LETTER TO OLANIPEKUN

The Body of Benchers (BoB), Nigeria’s regulator of the legal profession, may not discuss the demand by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for its Chairman, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN to step aside when the elite statutory group meets tomorrow.

The agenda for the meeting obtained by CITY LAWYER shows that NBA’s demand is not listed as one of the issues for discussion. The agenda was emailed to member today as a reminder for tomorrow’s meeting. The body adjourned from its last emergency meeting which held on June 21, 2022 to tomorrow.

But CITY LAWYER gathered that tomorrow’s meeting may be feisty, as some BoB members are bent on ensuring that the recusal letter is given a pride of place during the meeting.

Aside from consideration of minutes of its last meeting in June, other items listed for deliberation tomorrow under “Matters Arising” are receipt of reports from several committees including Report of the Body of Benchers Prayer Drafting Committee, Report of the Regulations Committee, Report of the Judiciary Advisory Committee and Report of the Ad-hoc Advisory Committee on amendment of the Legal Practitioners Act (LPA).

Other items listed for consideration at tomorrow’s meeting are “Report from the Screening Committee,” “Arrangements for Call to Bar Ceremony” and “Any Other Business.” The Call to Bar ceremony is scheduled to hold on Wednesday.

It was unclear at press time whether NBA’s demand for Olanipekun to recuse himself from chairmanship of the Body of Benchers will be raised before commencement of the meeting or under “Any Other Business,” even as CITY LAWYER gathered from an unimpeachable source at NBA HOUSE that NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata will “definitely” bring up the recusal matter during the meeting.

Olanipekun, a former NBA President, had expressed anger against the association for making its demand public without communicating the recusal letter to him, saying it appeared there was an ulterior motive behind the action.

His words: “As we talk, I am yet to get a copy of the letter. People have been calling me but I can’t react to a document that I have not seen.”

CITY LAWYER had in an exclusive report noted the petition by NBA to the LPDC where it not only demanded sanctions against Ms. Adekunbi Ogunde, a Partner in Wole Olanipekun & Co, for alleged solicitation of briefs from Saipem SPA, but invited the Committee to “consider whether the Partners of the Firm of Wole Olanipekun & Co. are not liable to be disciplined by this august body seeing that the Respondent has the ostensible authority to act as a Partner and indeed acted for and on behalf of the said Firm.” Olanipekun is the Founding Partner of the law firm. The LPDC is a committee of the Body of Benchers.

In a letter personally signed by Akpata following the filing of the petition, NBA had urged Olanipekun “to recuse yourself from chairmanship of the BOB henceforth and to allow for the emplacement of an interim leadership of the BOB, in order to enable the LPDC carry out this particular assignment, amongst others, without coming under an undue suspicion of impartiality.”

In the letter to Olanipekun dated July 22, 2022 and titled “RE: PETITION AGAINST MS. ADEKUNBI OGUNDE BY THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION FOR ALLEGED PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT,” the NBA stated that it had petitioned the LPDC to penalize Ogunde “for engaging in conduct incompatible with her status as a legal practitioner and in flagrant disregard of our Rules of Professional Conduct which both the NBA and the Body of Benchers (BOB) are by their respective mandates bound to enforce as part of the disciplinary objectives of the legal profession. (Please find enclosed the Petition dated 19 July 2022).

“Ms. Ogunde, the subject of the Petition, as it turns out, is a Partner at the Law Firm of Wole Olanipekun & Co. where you are a Founding Partner and remain involved in the day-to-day running of the Firm. This dynamic creates an undeniable shared and intertwined professional relationship between your goodself and the said Ms. Ogunde. Indeed, in the said Petition, we have also asked the LPDC to “…consider whether the Partners of the Firm of Wole Olanipekun & Co. are not liable to be disciplined by this august body seeing that the Respondent has the ostensible authority to act as a Partner and indeed acted for and on behalf of the said Firm.

“As you know, the LPDC is a Standing Committee of the BOB whose processes come under the supervision of the Chairman of the BOB – an office which you currently occupy.

“Against the backdrop of your partnership relationship with Ms. Ogunde, vis-a-vis the prosecution of the petition by the LPDC, it is clear, albeit unfortunate, that you have been put in a situation where your continued occupancy of the office during this period would conflict, or be reasonably interpreted to conflict, with or influence the processes of the LPDC, by fair-minded observers and right thinking members of the public, both within and outside our profession. By reason of your close professional ties and involvement with Ms. Ogunde, it would be an infraction of the salutary principles of natural justice for the said Petition to be heard by the LPDC while you continue as Chairman of the BOB, of which the LPDC is a committee.”

Quoting Lord Denning, Akpata noted that justice must be rooted in confidence and that confidence is destroyed when right-minded people go away thinking that the Judge is biased, adding: “Consequent upon the above, I am constrained to invite you to recuse yourself from chairmanship of the BOB henceforth and to allow for the emplacement of an interim leadership of the BOB, in order to enable the LPDC carry out this particular assignment, amongst others, without coming under an undue suspicion of impartiality.

“As a beacon of Rule of Law and due process, the NBA must continue to demonstrate that it is committed to the vision of its founding fathers, especially in its internal affairs. This situation, therefore, puts our foundational ethos as an Association on the line, and I trust that as a former President of the NBA and a very respected senior member of the Bar, you will take the honourable path of stepping-aside in the interest of justice, fairness, and posterity.

“I am pained that I have to make this call, but in the circumstance, it is in the best interest of our Association and of the legal profession in Nigeria.”

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‘MY AGENDA TO RAISE THE BAR,’ BY LIMAN SALIHU

THE LIMAN AGENDA Part 1

My vision if elected as the 1st Vice President while working with the President of the NBA is:

● To uphold the standard and reputation of the legal profession while entrenching global best practice as the core values of any lawyer in Nigeria.

● To create a National Data Base for lawyers in Nigeria and all Human Rights cases in Courts across the Country.

● To resuscitate and re-engineer the NBA Human Rights Institute for efficiency.

● To hold National Summit for Young Lawyers in Nigeria on Matters Generally affecting our Practice, Opportunities in the Legal Profession, Human Rights, Gender Based issues and remuneration of Young Lawyers.

● To ensure that NBA partners or collaborate with Civil Societies for the promotion of Human Rights in Nigeria and by so doing strengthen the Human Rights posture of the Association.

Vote LIMAN SALIHU as 1st Vice President of the NBA

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