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Tag: Senior Lawyer

  • Nationwide Protest: Organizer’s lawyer recommends One-Day demonstration for safety

    Nationwide Protest: Organizer’s lawyer recommends One-Day demonstration for safety

    Senior lawyer Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, representing some organizers of the planned hardship protest, has appealed to the protesters to limit the duration of their demonstration to one day or a maximum of three days.

     

    The #EndBadGovernance protests, which have gained significant traction on social media, are scheduled to take place from August 1 to 10.

    In a statement on Wednesday, Adegboruwa urged the protesters to remain orderly and peaceful as they take to the streets on Thursday in locations previously communicated to the police.

     

    “In the past few days, we have facilitated dialogue with law enforcement and security agencies. The Inspector-General of Police’s insistence on ‘credible intelligence’ of planned violence confirms the government’s desperation to thwart the protests by sponsoring hooligans and thugs to disrupt them, which is currently happening in many parts of Lagos State,” Adegboruwa stated.

     

    He continued, “I appeal for the protests to be orderly and peaceful and to take place in the locations already communicated to the police. Additionally, reduce the duration of the protests to one day or a maximum of three days, and then suspend them. Make your demands known to the government and allow time for them to be addressed. I am confident in your capacity to conduct the protests as intended, with the support and prayers of the majority of our people. However, let us allow for more dialogue. I offer to join you in this effort anytime.

     

    “I make this appeal in the interest of peace, progress, and tranquillity for our dear nation,” he added.

     

    Adegboruwa also warned security agencies against using bullets, making arbitrary arrests, and deploying the military. “The law recognizes the right to peaceful protests while mandating the police to protect unarmed civilians during their demonstrations. Let no single bullet be fired tomorrow, let there be no arbitrary and unlawful arrests of citizens, and let there be no deployment of the military to handle engagements. The protesters are our children and citizens. They do not deserve bullets and crackdowns.”

     

    Adegboruwa further advised President Bola Tinubu and his team to immediately reverse the policies of oil subsidy removal and currency devaluation. He argued that these policies have crippled the economy and plunged Nigeria into its worst economic crisis. He also emphasized the need for the President to end government wastefulness stemming from lavish lifestyles of functionaries.

     

    “How can the President buy a new jet, and the Vice-President renovate his house with N21B, while the people are expected to suffer? How do you expand your wealth and luxuries and then preach to the people to tighten their belts? President Tinubu must end all forms of bad governance, such as spending billions on religious pilgrimages while offering pittance to students as loans,” he questioned.

  • 2023 Elections: Keyamo speaks on quitting his role at APC

    2023 Elections: Keyamo speaks on quitting his role at APC

    Senior Lawyer and spokesperson of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo has spoken on the only reason he could pull out of his role in the campaign of the All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu.

    The Legal Practitioner added that he would be quitting his role in APC if Tinubu asked him to withdraw his court case against Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

    Keyamo said Atiku should be arrested and prosecuted for alleged breach of the Code of Conduct Act, Money Laundering, Criminal Breach of Trust, and Conspiracy.

    Keyamo made his position known on a political programme on Channels Television on Tuesday.

    Keyamo was reacting to a viral video by a whistleblower, Michael Achimugu, who indicted Atiku.

    Achimugu claimed that the former Vice President used Special Purpose Vehicles to usurp funds while in office between 1999 and 2007.

    Keyamo said: “In the case when they challenged my principal (Bola Tinubu), when they brought up dead documents from the US, I said go to court. Come out with your full chest and go to court. Up until today, they ran away.

    “I’m proceeding to court. And if Asiwaju says, ‘Festus, you’re diverting from my campaign, just campaign for me.’ I will say take your campaign because this is in national interest. I have taken it personal.”

  • Senior Lawyer, Oma Ahonaruogho suggests way forward for Nigeria

    Senior Lawyer, Oma Ahonaruogho suggests way forward for Nigeria

    Senior Lawyer and Human right activist, Richard Oma Ahonaruogho (SAN)  has posited that for Nigeria to develop, each local government  must be given attention to.
    Similarly, the senior lawyer also suggested a single term of 6 years for president, saying it will afford every individual ample time to deliver knowing full well that they do not have opportunity for second term.
    Ahonaruogho, reiterated his stance via a speech delivered by him today in Lagos.
    According to him, what Nigeria needs to develop is for each of the local government to pay attention to their areas and it will automatically translate to the country’s development.
    ”I have said it for years, develop each Local Government Area and the Country is developed. I suggested a
    “Dangote” to be Local Government Chairman without pay for 3 years to be succeeded by a “Dantata” for another 3 years without pay and so on and so forth as a deliberate sacrifice to develop each Local Government, State and Country. Voila, the Country will be developed.
    ”The competition will be who will be Local Government Chairman, not Governor, not President.
    ”I have also over the years posited that the tenure of the President and Governors should be a SINGLE term of 6 years with the possibility of a mid-term election called by the Senate of the National Assembly (excluding the House of Representatives as the Senate represents the equality of States) or State House of Assembly if in their opinion, the President or Governor as the case may be has failed to deliver on the Electoral promises for which he/she was voted into office, by a majority of two thirds of the Membership of the Senate or of the State House of Assembly.
    ”If such a President or Governor is re-elected in the mid-term election, then he/she completes the remaining period of 3 years but if another person is elected, then the new office holder starts his/her SINGLE term of 6 years with the possibility of mid-term election. In this way, a President or Governor will strive to deliver good governance and the polity will be better served even if for 3 years, instead of the present situation that encourages a candidate to rig an election and win a 2nd term of 4 years almost automatically, except in one or two instances, with little or nothing to show for it, again, except in one or two instances.
    ”I see the Political Parties getting more involved in ensuring that Party Manifestos and Programmes are strictly complied with by the President and Governors elected on their Party platforms as to enable their Political Party remain in office/power.
    ”Nigeria can work. We only need sacrificial Leaders.
  • Insecurity: Falana attacks National Assembly for going on vacation

    Insecurity: Falana attacks National Assembly for going on vacation

    Senior advocate of Nigeria and Human rights activist, Femi Falana, has frowned at the National Assembly for going on holiday while the country is facing its biggest security challenge.

    Falana expressed shock at the federal lawmakers were not taking the security problem seriously as they should, saying it’s very unfortunate.

    The lawyer made his position known while granting interview questions on a political program on Channels Television.

    Recall that the National Assembly on Wednesday decided to go on vacation from July 28th till September 20, 2022.

    This is coming three days after personnel of the Presidential Guards Brigade were attacked in Bwari, Abuja with six of them reportedly killed by bandits.

    Last week, terrorists in a video that went viral online, threatened to abduct President Muhammadu Buhari, and the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai.

    Speaking on the security situation, Falana said: ” They [lawmakers] are going on vacation for six [eight] weeks. You can’t talk of a vacation when your house is on fire.”

    He said the six-week ultimatum given to the president to end the insecurity in the land was not realistic, saying, “they should have given the president a 7-day ultimatum.”

    “This is because, within six weeks, there may not be a National Assembly for them to return to. Schools have been closed down. Yesterday, we had a call to the bar ceremony, the venue has to change and parents were asked not to turn up because of the seriousness of the situation.

    “I had expected the National Assembly members to take this matter very seriously,” he added.
    Members of the minority caucus in the Senate walked out of the plenary on Wednesday after calling for the impeachment of President Buhari for not being able to handle the security challenges in the country.

    “You only say that in a war situation. And if care is not taken, if we continue with the lackadaisical attitude of the political class, we are going to be in trouble.

    “You can’t talk of elections next year if the situation is not arrested and urgently too.”

    The human rights activist said the situation calls for an emergency session of the National Assembly to deliberate on it and find a solution.

  • Supreme Court faults, sets aside judgement convicting, sentencing senior lawyer

    Supreme Court faults, sets aside judgement convicting, sentencing senior lawyer

    The Supreme Court has set aside the conviction and 30 days sentencing of a senior lawyer, Joseph Nwobike.

    He was charged with an attempt to pervert the course of justice.

    In a unanimous decision on Monday, a five-member panel of the Supreme Court, led by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, faulted the decision of the Lagos High Court and the Court of Appeal, Lagos, which had upheld the conviction.

    The Supreme court noted that Section 97(c) of Administration of Criminal Justice Law (ACJL) of Lagos State, under which the Senior lawyer was charged, did not clearly define what constitutes a perversion of justice.

    The court added that the EFCC lacks the power to investigate and prosecute the offence of perversion of the course of justice.

    It also held among other things that the Lagos High Court was wrong to have convicted Nwobike on the offence.

    In April 2018, Justice Raliat Adebiyi of the Lagos High Court had convicted the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joseph Nwobike on a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

    The court had also sentenced the Senior Advocate to a jail term of 30 days after holding that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) proved beyond reasonable doubt that the SAN was in constant communication with some court officials to influence the assignment of his cases to preferred judges.

    The Legal Practitioners Privileges Committees, LPPC had swiftly announced the suspension of the senior lawyer from using the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

    The EFCC, through its counsel Rotimi Oyedepo had, among others, accused Nwobike of exchanging SMS with a court registrar on the assignment of his cases and when such cases should be heard.
    At his trial, Mr Nwobike admitted sending messages to the court officials but denied that the intention was to influence the assignment and the outcome of his cases before certain judges of the court.
    He also admitted that the N750,000 he gave to a judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Mohammed Yunusa was not a bribe but “for the specific purpose of helping the (sick) mother of the gentleman.”
    Hours after the judgment, the Senior Advocate filed a notice of appeal to challenge his conviction.
    He insisted that the judgment was unreasonable and unwarranted and the EFCC did not prove the allegations of attempts to pervert the course of justice.
  • Why I sent money to Nigerian judges, senior lawyer accused of corruption reveals

    Why I sent money to Nigerian judges, senior lawyer accused of corruption reveals

    A senior advocate, Joseph Nwobike, who is standing trial on charges of offering gratification to some judges, on Monday told an Ikeja High Court why he gave money to the judges.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Mr. Nwobike is being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on an 11-count charge bordering on perverting the course of justice and offering gratification to public officials.

    The anti-graft agency alleged that Mr. Nwobike offered gratifications to some judges of the Federal High Court and the National Industrial Court to influence them to act contrary to their official capacities.

    The EFCC also claimed that Mr. Nwobike engaged in sending illegal text messages with four registrars of the Federal High Court in a bid to unduly influence his cases being tried by the judges.

    Mr. Nwobike, however, denied all the charges.

    While being led in evidence by his lawyer, Olawale Akoni, the accused denied giving gratification to Justice Samson Uwaifo, a retired justice of the Supreme Court.

    “I don’t know retired Justice Samson Uwaifo of the Supreme Court personally, long after Justice Uwaifo retired, we had a client who had a dispute with the National Examinations Council (NECO).

    “The parties went to court and the court appointed Hon. Justice Uwaifo as the sole arbitrator to the dispute.

    “As it is customary in arbitration, we and the other party were asked to provide money for the preliminary stages of the arbitration.

    “We sent some money to him and one Mr Seun Ibitoye, a registrar, to kick-off the preliminary stages of the arbitration.

    “My Lord, Justice Uwaifo had retired about eight or nine years before he was contracted to do the arbitration.

    “We initially purchased a bank draft for N1.5 million in the name of Justice Uwaifo as the arbitrator, but we were later advised to purchase it in the name of the registrar,” Mr. Nwobike said.

    He denied giving false information to the anti-graft agency by saying that the only judicial officer he had ever helped was Justice Mohammed Yinusa.

    “I did not give false information to the EFCC and there was no intention on my part to give false information to the EFCC or their officials.

    “In my statement to the EFCC, I stated that I gave Justice H.A Ngajiwa money for the purchase of books for his library.

    “I wrote in my statement that I gave N300,000 to Justice Ngajiwa and N750,000 to Justice Yinusa and I stated their purposes.”

    On the alleged gratification he gave to Justice James Agbadu-Fishim, the SAN said the money was given as a form of `assistance’ to a friend.

    He said: “Justice Fishim and I became friends when we were post-graduate students of the University of Lagos, he left for the University of Abuja.

    “I did not see him until after a while and it took a long time before I got to know that he had been appointed a judge of the National Industrial Court.

    “Justice Fishim told me that his guardian who trained him died and as it is customary among friends, I made my contributions toward the burial.

    “He told me some time later that his father died and I contributed some money for him as it is customary among friends.

    “Some time later, he told me that he had eye problems and he needed to go for eye surgery and that I should pray for him.

    “I gave him some money as it is customary among friend to help each other.”

    Mr. Nwobike told the court that he was innocent of the allegations of the EFCC.

    “I have contributed to the law, I have no other job but litigation and practice. I have a lot of respect for the law and I have
    been very generous to people.

    “I am an employer of lawyers and I don’t pervert the course of justice and I will never pervert the course of justice,” he said.

    Under cross-examination, Rotimi Oyedepo, counsel to the EFCC, confronted Nwobike with a text message he allegedly sent to a registrar of the Federal High Court to unduly influence one of the cases he was handling.

    “You sent this text to one Mr. Jide of the Federal High Court, the text reads: ours should go to Justice Yinusa or Justice Aneke.

    “The `ours’ in the text message was it a case that you filed?” Mr. Nwobike said: “I can’t say.”

    Mr. Oyedepo alleged that the suit Mr. Nwobike allegedly tried to unduly influence was between AMCON V Delta Steel Company Ltd with suit no FHC/L/CS/127/2015.

    “I put it to you then what you were seeking Jide to do was in not in exercise of his judicial function,” Mr. Oyedepo said.

    Replying, Mr. Nwobike said: “Jide has no judicial function and the text was conversational as Jide has no power to assign cases.

    “Mr Felix Deckon is our Senior Litigation Clerk, upon filing of the AMCON case, he sent the particulars of the case to me to
    confirm which of the judges did the earlier one.

    “Felix being my subordinate, speaks to me before sending texts and he called me on another line after sending that particular text.”

    Mr. Oyedepo, however, disputed Nwobike’s claims about the timing of the text messages and asked: “Are you aware that your phones record your phone logs? Will you be surprised that Felix did not call you before sending the text?

    “You received a text from Felix at 12.53 p.m. on February 12, 2015; at 12.56 p.m. you forwarded the particulars of the case to Mr. Jide of the Federal High Court.

    “By 1.07 p.m. you sent a text message to Mr. Jide which reads: “The one Aribisala filed is before Justice Idris.’’

    “You immediately forwarded the text message to him saying, “ours should go before Justice Yinusa or Justice Aneke, we need to do so today please,” Oyedepo said.

    Justice Raliatu Adebiyi adjourned the case until July 4 for continuation of trial.

    NAN

     

  • Legal practitioners committee strips senior lawyer of SAN title

    A senior lawyer, B.I Nwofor has been stripped of his Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, title by Nigeria’s Legal Practitioners Privilege committee.

    The decision was taken at the committee’s 126th general meeting held on June 22 and was contained in a letter from the privileges committee. It was signed by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court, Ahmed Salleh.

    It said, “The legal practitioner’s privileges committee at its 126th General meeting held on June 22nd, 2017, considered extensively the complaint filled by the court of appeal of Nigeria against B. E . I. Nwofor, Esq. a Senior Advocate of Nigeria; with his response to same and all material facts, and have decided that B. E. I. Nwofor Esq; a Senior Advocate of Nigeria conducted himself in a manner unbefitting of a holder of the esteemed rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.

    “By reason of the foregoing, the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (including all its privileges) has been withdrawn from B. E. I Nwofor, forthwith.”

    However, it was not immediately clear what the allegations were against the lawyer.

    You may also read: http://thenewsguru.ng/no-right-invade-sun-ozekhome-tells-efcc/