Nigerian Bar Association Ikeja Branch

Nigerian Bar Association Division To Offer Free Legal Service To People



nba.org.ngThe Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Barnawa branch in Kaduna State on Friday said it would designate a legal aid desk to offer free legal service to the public who couldn't afford legal representation.

The recently elected Chairman of the branch, Mr Napoleon Idenana, made this known within an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna soon after his election to pilot the affairs of the Organization for the following two years.

We will equally ensure the Barnawa NBA division, which can be just a year old, gets a befitting secretariat within another two years.

We will also be socializing with the state government, the judiciary and the state house of assembly to give our quota where needed and when called upon to do that.

We shall equally enhance the wellbeing of our members, especially young attorneys, by exposing them to educative, informative and ambitious ventures through seminars and trainings.

I assure you that before the end of our tenure, Barnawa NBA branch will be known nationwide as a model division and will be the envy of all.

Before, the new chairman had sworn to carry on the confidence bestowed on him and his team and vowed to take the division to greater heights.

He appealed to members for support and guidance where necessary for the increase of the division, including that his doors would be forever open for advice, suggestions and guidance.

The division also elected Mrs Chi Obi-Igwe as Vice Chairman; Mr Kayode Faturiyele, Secretary; Miss Halima Bello, Assistant Secretary and Mrs Ene Oga as Social Secretary;

He said we think to open a legal aid desk for members of the public, particularly people who want legal representation but cannot manage it.

We shall make lawyers available to provide legal services for them at no cost.

Idenana added a team of legal practitioners have been urged to speed up the process of establishing a high court in Barnawa or any part of Kaduna South found suitable.

Others are Mrs Lilian Ilechuku, Financial Secretary; and Ben-Churchill Aniekwena, Welfare Secretary; Malam Shehu Sanusi, Treasurer; Mr Lamidi Obaro, Provost Marshall and Mrs Toyin Ogbujie as legal Advisor.



nba.org.ngMeanwhile, Mr Cyril Ogbekene was elected the National Executive Committee (NEC) representative.

NAN reports that all the positions were unopposed except for the office of the publicity secretary which was contested by Mr Emmanuel Nwokenekwu and Mr Imodojemu Ehizogie.

Nonetheless, Nwokenekwu withdrew his nomination merely when the election was about to commence and Ehizogie was return elected.

Established in June 2015, the Barnawa NBA branch was the 111th branch to be established in the nation.

It was established during the Associations NEC meeting in Sokoto, with Malam Muritala Abdul-rasheed as Chairman and Philemon Panan as Secretary.

Abdul rasheed said the new executive would be sworn in during the branchs Annual General Meeting scheduled for July 1, 2016.

Asset Declaration Trial: SERAP Needs Nigerian Bar Association To Probe Sarakis Lawyers For Walking Out On Tribunal Judge



nba.org.ngSocio Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to urgently investigate the actions of attorneys to the Senate President Bukola Saraki, for walking out on the Code of Conduct Tribunal on Thursday after the tribunal rejected their application for stay of proceedings in the asset falsification trial against the Senate President.

The organization said that, It Really Is the job of Mr. Sakaris lawyers to serve their clients best interests but in doing so they should not act in a manner that would place the administration of justice, the societys self-confidence in the judicial system, and the fight against corruption at risk.

In a statement today signed by SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organization stated the following:

Walking out on the Code of Conduct Tribunal for simply and correctly implementing section 305(e) of the newly enacted Administration of Criminal Justice Act is disrespectful. It violates the fundamental rule that attorneys should behave with integrity and professionalism, keeping his or her overarching obligation to ensure civil conduct.

SERAP believes a lawyer's duty to the court is a fundamental obligation that explains a lawyer's function within the adversarial process. Lawyers should at all times act to boost the rule of law and the public's confidence in the management of justice rather than to be seen to sabotage it or facilitate an infringement of the law.

As we've seen many times, without the rule of law, the rule of the jungle takes hold and the economically and socially vulnerable fall victim to the powerful and nobody is safe. The rule of law also creates a disincentive for would be tainted officials.

Senior attorneys especially have a responsibility to act as the protectors of the rule of law by leading to a strong judicial and legal system that is vital into a well-functioning democracy and which in turn is necessary to satisfactorily prevent and fight years of official corruption in the country.

If Mr. Sarakis attorneys were dissatisfied with the opinion of the Tribunal there are laid down processes that they should have followed to demo their role as officers in the temple of justice rather than giving media interviews and literally abusing the Tribunal. We advocate the NBA to urgently investigate what just happened and to penalize any professional misconduct that may have occurred.

Nigerian Bar Association uncovers over 1,000 fake attorneys

The Nigerian Bar Association says it's discovered no fewer than 1,000 fake lawyers in the nation in recent times.

The Vice President of the association, Mr Akintokunbo Oluwole, stated this on Monday in Akure, the Ondo state capital, during a Special Sitting of the NBA to mark the launching of the 2015/2016 legal year.

He added, So far, the NBA Stamp Policy has had the opportunity to revive the system and has raised the revenue stream of attorneys across the country.

It has improved the authenticity of records which are now being filed in court registries since all legal documents must now bear the stamps of attorneys to be considered valid. The individuals (quacks) have also devised various means albeit unsuccessfully, to scuttle the smooth execution of the policy.

He called all stakeholders in the profession to assist the association in actualising the vision of restoring the integrity of the legal profession.

In his remarks, the state Chief Judge, Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi, said the state judiciary had been able to checkmate all forms of malpractices in the states third arm of government.

Justice Kumuyi said that some suspicious individuals had carved out private stamps, which they used in issuing prohibited affidavits to unsuspecting members of the general public.

One of the methods used to control the malpractices in the state judiciary, the CJ clarified, was the prohibition of affidavits by proxy, irrespective of the despondents status, describing that a specific Seal of Oaths and particular serial were affixed to all affidavits while hard and soft copies were archived.

According to him, the imposter attorneys were detected after the inauguration of the associations Postage Policy, which was introduced to curtail the operation of quacks in the legal profession.

Oluwole clarified that the issue of quackery in the legal profession had been a pain in the neck of the association.

Speaking on the occasion, the Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, expressed satisfaction over the operation of the judiciary, guiding the arm of government to not compromise with another arm in the interest of democracy.

Nigerian Bar Association queries Bayelsa governor, Dickson, around strike on Court

The Nigerian Bar Association has queried the Bayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, for leading thugs to attack a Federal Court in Yenagoa, the state capital.

The governor was caught on video, walking into the court premises, followed by his police guards and hangers on, before hooligans, including rifle-wielding police officers, invaded and attacked the court.

The video, released by PREMIUM TIMES Friday, sparked outrage with many Nigerians requiring an impartial investigation into the assault.



nba.org.ngMr. Dickson, a lawyer, is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association, and a onetime attorney general of Bayelsa State. He is also a former member of the House of Representatives.

The NBA president, Augustine Alegeh, told PREMIUM TIMES the association of attorneys in Nigeria had sent a letter to the governor, asking him to explain his activities in the court.

Mr. Alegeh clarified that the NBA needed to hear the governors side of the story before determining whether or not, disciplinary measures would be meted against him.

He said the association may also learn from the attorneys who were in the court during the attack.

We have sent a letter, a notice of advice and a link of the video to him, asking for his own side of the narrative, Mr. Alegeh said. Once we hear from every party involved, we might take action and make accessible our next line of action.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is a totally disorganised body using an uncertain mission and insecure future; where predatory sexual misconducts are rife and the morale of its abused and exploited staff is next to zero, a report submitted by the associationscommittee on professionalization of the NBA secretariat has said.

In a damning evaluation of the rot that has eaten the organizations secretariat, the committee said, If any other organization or thing can grow to offer to members of the NBA a unifying promise of professional growth or edge, the NBA as we understand it could become history.

The report concerns that the secretariat has become so dysfunctional that it could endanger the continued existence of the association as it could rubbish it with undesirable pecuniary and reputational consequences.

In accordance with the report, the shoddiness of the secretariat has undermined the processes of professional area in the legal profession in Nigeria.

Members of the association complain that they get nothing in return due to their devotion to the organization in form of branch membership and practicing fee, which are the associations lifeblood,leading one senior advocate to competently describe the association as grossly incompetent, the report says.

There is absolutely no defining vision or programmatic plan that offers growth, value added or a competitive existential or professional border to the members of the NBA or powerful programs for participation outside the politics of bar activism.

Formed in 1933, the NBA is a non-profit, umbrella professional association of attorneys admitted to the Bar in Nigeria.

It's participated in the promotion and protection of human rights, the rule of law and good governance in Nigeria. It's an observer status with the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights, and a working partnership that has many national and international non-governmental organizations concerned with human rights, the rule of law and good government in Nigeria and in Africa, the NBA site states.

The association is presently made up of 100 divisions, three professional sections, two specialized institutes, and six practice-cadre newsgroups. It truly is one of the most vocal and honored professional associations in Nigeria and has had over 25 heads since inception.

The report, submitted in January, by the NBA committee headed by Chidi Odinkalu, a law professor and current chairman of Nigerias Human Rights Commission, nevertheless, reveals a decayed national secretariat without scruples.