On behalf of an airline today Friday we were at the High Court. A lawyer my contemporary who shall not be
named said: ‘The Amazon, you are an Institution.” Retort: “Thanks my Bro Barrister.” Now I ask Olanipekun, what
does your name represent?. Mine represents "NOT a briber".
Last year the NBA gave free stamp and seal to SANs right? And got
other lawyers to pay for the same stamp and seal. Is that fair?
Well, after court today Friday, I walked into one of the branches of
Access Bank Plc, NBA’s official Bank to inquire I asked “are lawyers paying
2016 stamp and seal?” They responded in saying “last year some paid but this
year No!” I did hint in the last quarter
of 2015 by electronic circular that our learned colleagues should protest. DO
NOT pay 2016 stamp and seal in order NOT to encourage a lope-sided implementation of the project, please
Recalling Wizkid wondering - people are suffering and isn’t it
because of the greeeeedy clique? click https://www.youtube.com/watch?
CA
PS: Is NBA NEC JOS Communique still missing?
On Mon, Feb 22, 2016 at 5:44 PM, Carol Ajie <carolajie@gmail.com> wrote:
Crisis rocks NBA in Edo
- Benin lawyers threatens to expel Alegeh
A letter from the General Secretary of the NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe, had directed Vice Chairman of the NBA Benin branch, Emmanuel Ojekhua to take over chairmanship and management of the branch including its bank accounts and properties.
The letter dated February 20, 2016 said Iyomon was removed by the National Executive Committee of the NBA at its meeting in Jos, Plateau State.
Angered by the contents of the letter sacking their chairman, some members of the Benin branch stormed the secretariat and saw that locks and keys to the secretariat were changed.
They broke into the secretariat and held an enlarged congress of the NBA at the instance of Elders of the branch.
Some lawyers at the congress who pleaded anonymity said the removal of Iyomon was because the NBA joined in a suit against the Land Use Charge.
At the meeting presided over by Barr. Nosa Peter Osifo, the lawyers dissociated themselves from the Jos meeting and expressed confidence in the leadership of the disposed chairman.
They said the NBA NEC lacked the constitutional powers to remove an elected chairman of a branch.
Five members of the Benin branch executive were suspended by the congress.
They included the branch Public Relation Officer, Ebosele Ohifoh, Vice Chairman Emmanuel Ojekhua, Secretary David Maduku, Treasurer J.J Osadiaye and Pearl Agbale.
Osifo said, “We see the Jos resolution as an affront and an attempt to ridicule Benin branch. We will not allow it. We are not timid”.
“We shall resist any despotic attempt in NBA. The NBA president is from here. He should not annoy us. If he did, we will expel him from this branch because we will not allow him to spoil our future chances.”
Reacting, Ebosele described the congress that suspended them as illegal and that the NBA constitution does not recognize the Elders.
Ebosele insisted that Iyomon was removed legally by the NEC.
Some lawyers at the congress who pleaded anonymity said the removal of Iyomon was because the NBA joined in a suit against the Land Use Charge.
At the meeting presided over by Barr. Nosa Peter Osifo, the lawyers dissociated themselves from the Jos meeting and expressed confidence in the leadership of the disposed chairman.
They said the NBA NEC lacked the constitutional powers to remove an elected chairman of a branch.
Five members of the Benin branch executive were suspended by the congress.
They included the branch Public Relation Officer, Ebosele Ohifoh, Vice Chairman Emmanuel Ojekhua, Secretary David Maduku, Treasurer J.J Osadiaye and Pearl Agbale.
Osifo said, “We see the Jos resolution as an affront and an attempt to ridicule Benin branch. We will not allow it. We are not timid”.
“We shall resist any despotic attempt in NBA. The NBA president is from here. He should not annoy us. If he did, we will expel him from this branch because we will not allow him to spoil our future chances.”
Reacting, Ebosele described the congress that suspended them as illegal and that the NBA constitution does not recognize the Elders.
Ebosele insisted that Iyomon was removed legally by the NEC.
On Sun, Feb 21, 2016 at 4:51 PM, Carol Ajie <carolajie@gmail.com> wrote:
The
Chief Justice of Liberia is addressed as His Honor Johnnie Lewis and that goes
for Liberian Judges.
His
Lordship as women Judges in Nigeria are loathe to bear “Her Ladyship” That the
men may appear before them and ‘romanticize’ it, as “My Lady” with a contemptuous/insulting undertone
often embarrass them and rather than send those men to jail for contempt of
court, Nigerian female Judges prefer the address mode “His Lordship”. Absurd! Whilst human rights activists suggest the
pronoun “Her Lordship” some proposed “Her
Honour” and by the way that is how we address the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of the United States of America and other Justices as “your honor”. Please give us a law to address all Judges
from the High Court in Nigeria upto the Supreme
Court as “His Honour” or “Her Honour” and for the Magistrate Courts, “Her
or His Magistracy” or simply “Sir or Ma’am”.
SAN
It
has happened before in England and Wales, where the practice was taken from in
2003 and 2004 the award of Q.C., was suspended due to public outcry as we now have
in Nigeria against SAN for different reasons. Please Mr President pending the
passing of legislation to scrap, abolish or ban the rank of SAN, from now on, your
national executive council which has some statutory regulatory powers as you
can see from section 5(7) of the Legal Practitioners Act hereunder reproduced,
could in conjunction with the LPPC suspend this rank for now for obvious
reasons. In America there is no Q.C., or
its equivalent. In neighbouring Ghana there is no Q.C. or its equivalent and
several countries too numerous to list.
s5(7) LPA: “The Legal Practitioners' Privileges
Committee may, with the approval of the National Council of Ministers, make
rules as to the privileges to be accorded to Senior Advocates of Nigeria, as to
the functions of a legal practitioner, which are not to be performed by a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, as to the mode of appearance before courts by a
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, and generally, but without prejudice to the
foregoing, for ensuring the dignity of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.”
Originally
it was meant to protect and promote junior lawyers which is why a Q.C. must
appear with a junior in any case s/he conducts and there is a fee formula the
junior gets 1/3rd of the fees. All those $21 million some 3 or 4 SANs
in Nigeria earned from Halliburton and Siemens, some $7million ought to have gone
to juniors and if that occurred we would have less impoverished juniors. It is
common nowadays one lawyer Fidelis Udowana died in Lagos 2015 needed only N45,000=
for surgery, couldn’t afford it.
The
NBA Lagos Branch scribe passed after his car had an accident on his way to the
national executive committee meeting in Ekiti, police and road safety took
custody of the car, he needed money to get it out plus his medics which should
come to about a hundred thousand Naira No help!. What of Akinbote Esq former
NBA Lagos scribe died from want of care. A number, also Ms Felicia was former
NBA Lagos scribe, cancer struck!
Governorship
tussle Akwa Ibom, Abia and Rivers State. One SAN took the brief of Abia State
Governor, PDP and Rivers State PDP and argued one position of the law ie card
readers not being a statutory requirement. The same SAN took the brief of
APC/Umana Akwa Ibom and argued the exact opposite and lost; two conflicting
positions taken contemporaneously.
Many
work hands sore others do less work. During the tenure of office of AGF Adoke
SAN. INEC, AGF, Zinox etc were sued by Bedding Holdings Ltd. the plaintiff got
the order of Auta CJ FHC Abuja restraining INEC from conducting voters
registration exercise, plaintiff claimed patent rights. I, was the counsel who
in December 2010 vacated those court orders that paved way for our democracy to
thrive. Click http://www.nigerianbestforum.
Whilst
AGF Adoke SAN was paying millions dollars to a few others on Halliburton plea
bargain, I received no fees at all yet did more work. Unfair!
In
2008-2012, I began the struggle against Governors tenure elongation; my legal
pontification was vindicated by the Supreme Court. Please see the Vanguard.
Another SAN who had access to the former President Jonathan went and took a
national award that I had worked for and earned. How many of these SANs nowadays pontificate
any laws?. We had the FRAs, RF-Kayode, GCM Onyuikes, the Mudiagha Odjes SAN our
Idols. http://www.vanguardngr.com/
Our
Idols, the first generation Senior Advocates of Nigeria are all gone.
Kindly
let the suffix SAN being mis-used presently, go with the winds!
Respectfully
submitted
Attorney
CN Ajie
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