The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Third Vice President, Amanda Asagba has told CITY LAWYER that the NBA Executive Committee (NBA-NEC) has not held any meeting “for months now.”

Responding to a CITY LAWYER enquiry on whether the NBA-NEC approved the controversial NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) Annual Conference which held recently at NBA House, Abuja, Asagba distanced the Executive Committee from the event.

Stating that “No NBA Executive Committee opted to hold SPIDEL Conference,” the ranking NBA National Officer added: “We have not had Exco meeting for months now.”

Throwing more light on the circumstances that led to the NBA-SPIDEL annual conference, Asagba said: “Notice of the Conference was sent to the Exco page by the Assistant Publicity Secretary on the day of the conference, to which one of the Exco members forwarded the court Ruling on the interim injunction.”

Emphasizing that many NBA-NEC members may have shunned the annual conference, Asagba said: “How many Exco members did you see at the SPIDEL Conference, physical or virtual? So, please do not use the word NBA Exco (in relation to the conference).”

CITY LAWYER recalls that at least four National Officers had also disowned the conference, saying that it was not approved by NBA-NEC.

NBA Second Vice President, Mr. Clement Chukwuemeka told CITY LAWYER that “The 2nd Vice President, being a Democrat, can never disrespect any court ruling. I am not aware of any SPIDEL conference; we as EXCO have not discussed nor contemplated any issue in respect of any SPIDEL conference.”

Embattled NBA Treasurer Caroline Anze-Bishop echoed similar views, stating that “the NBA National Officers never met or decided to have any SPIDEL Conference yesterday. So please count me out of the shameful illegality that went down yesterday in our collective name.”

Anze-Bishop added: “We equally saw the notice of the NBA-NHI event as pasted that same Wednesday morning on our National Officers Platform, and even when I queried the belated notice of the never before heard or discussed events, and followed up same with a notice of the Court Order, my query and caution was as usual met with deafening silence.”

Assistant General Secretary Daniel Ayi-Kip stated that “the subsistence of such an (interim) order and the propriety of proceeding with the NBA-SPIDEL Conference in defiance to the said Order has never been a subject of any deliberation at the National Executive Committee level.”

On his part, incumbent Assistant Publicity Secretary Charles Ajiboye had penned a disclaimer on the conference following an election eve backlash which trailed his email to lawyers while announcing the conference.

According to Ajiboye whose political ambition may have taken a hit from the SPIDEL annual conference debacle, “I was not privy to the planning of the SPIDEL Conference nor was I served with the Court Order directing it not to hold.”

Efforts by CITY LAWYER to get the views of the NBA leadership on the claims by the National Officers proved abortive as NBA Publicity Secretary Habeeb Lawal did not respond to enquiries.

It is recalled that the SPIDEL Annual Conference held on July 18 notwithstanding a Delta State High Court order barring the NBA from proceeding with the scheduled conference.

The factional NBA-SPIDEL Executive Committee that was dismissed by the NBA National Executive Council (NBA-NEC) during its quarterly meeting in Jos, had issued Form 49 processes against NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN and  Mr. Ben Oji, the Secretary of the NBA-SPIDEL Caretaker Committee, to show cause why they should not be committed to prison for disobeying a subsisting court order.

Form 48 processes were also issued against Mr. Steve Adehi SAN, NBA-SPIDEL Caretaker Committee Chairman; Mr. Yakubu Philemon SAN, NBA-SPIDEL Caretaker Committee Alternate Chairman, as well as Lawal and Ajiboye for their alleged roles in facilitating the conference.