Lawyers for the Nation

18/09/2020

DAPAAH & ANOR. vs. ODEY
(2018)LPELR-46151(CA)

ISSUE: REPLY BRIEF-Whether a reply brief can be used to improve/extend the scope of arguments
(REPLY BRIEF-Whether a preliminary objection can be made in a reply brief; Purpose of a reply brief)
Issue in bracket mine.

PRINCIPLE:
"Before I go into the main appeal let me deal with the objection in the Appellants Reply Brief of arguments. A reply brief is specifically designed for a reply to the Respondent's brief and not an opportunity for the Appellant to raise fresh issues or extend the frontiers of the Appellant's brief, see MUSACONI LTD. VS. ASPINAL (2013) LPELR-20745 (SC) which held:
"A reply brief of argument is therefore filed when an issue of law or arguments raised in the Respondent's brief calls for a reply in rebuttal. In other words, a reply brief is expected to and should deal with only new points arising from the Respondent's brief of argument. When no new point has been raised in the Respondent's brief of argument, a reply brief becomes otiose and the Court will be entitled to discountenance it. It has been held that a reply brief is not a repair kit to correct or put right an error or lacuna in the Appellant's brief of argument. See: DR. AUGUSTINE N. MOZIE & ORS. VS. CHIKE MBAMALU (2006) 12 SCM (PT. 1) 306, (2006) 27 NSCQR 425; BASINCO MOTORS LIMITED VS. WOERMANN LINE & 1 ORS. (2009) 13 NWLR (PT. 1157) 149, (2009) 8 SCM 103.
The Appellants cannot in their reply brief raise fresh issues and that includes an objection because it would amount to a breach of the Respondent's right to fair hearing. I said so in clear terms in the case of NWUDE VS. FRN (2015) LPELR -24647 (CA) thus:
"A reply on points of law received judicial attention wherein the case of HARKA AIR SERVICES (NIG.) LTD. VS. KEAZOR, ESQ. (2011) LPELR-1353, the apex Court held thus: "The appellate Courts had in
many decided cases laid emphasis on when a reply brief is necessary and what it should address. A reply brief is filed when an issue of law or arguments raised in the respondent's brief usually by way of a preliminary objection calls for a reply. Where a reply brief is necessary, it should be limited to answering any new points arising from the Respondent's brief. Although the filing of a reply brief by an Appellant is not mandatory where a respondent's brief raises issues or points of law covered in the Appellant's brief, an Appellant ought to file a reply as failure to file without an oral reply to the points raised in the Respondent's brief may amount to a concession of the points of law or issues raised in the Respondent's brief. It is not proper to use a reply to extend the scope of the Appellant's brief or raise issues not dealt with in the Respondent's brief. A reply brief is not meant to have a second bite at the cherry, which is exactly the purpose of the Appellant's reply brief in this appeal. Since the Appellant used the reply brief to extend the scope of his arguments and submission in the two issues raised for determination, it is utterly irrelevant to this appeal." See also OLAFISOYE VS. FRN (2004) 4 NWLR (PT. 864) 580; POPOOLA VS. ADEYEMO (1992) 8 NWLR (PT. 257) 1; LONGE VS. FBN PLC (2010) 6 NWLR (PT. 1189) 1 and SHUAIBU VS. MAIHODU (1993) 3 NWLR (PT. 284) 748. The Appellant re-opened issues dealt with earlier and introduced new ones. He cannot do so no matter the cogency or efficacy of such points raised. An Appellant cannot also raise a preliminary objection in a reply brief, it offends Order 10 Rule 1 of the Rules of this Court."
Therefore, the Appellants in doing so offend the Rules of this Court and cannot be allowed. However, if the Appellant felt so strong about the objection, he should have filed a Motion on Notice which would give the Respondent an opportunity to be heard on the objection. The procedure adopted by the Appellants is strange and therefore cannot be considered. It is hereby discountenanced. However, the Respondents brief has a seal affixed so even if the objection was valid it would have failed." Per NIMPAR, JCA.(Pp.10-13,Paras.C-E).

18/09/2020

VOID AND VOIDABLE CONTRACT
A contract that is void cannot be enforced by either party.The law treats a void contract as if it had never been formed.A contract will be considered void,for example,when it requires one party to perform an act of kindness that is impossible or illegal.
A voidable Contract,on the other hand is a contract that can be enforced.Usually, only one party is bound to the contract terms in a voidable Contract.The unbound party is allowed to cancel the contract which makes the contract void...
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN VOID AND VOIDABLE CONTRACT
The main difference between the two is that a void contract cannot be performed under the law, while a voidable contract can still be performed , although the unbound party to the contract can choose to void it before the other party performs..
EXAMPLES OF VOID CONTRACT
A) Contracts involving an illegal subject matter such as gambling, prostitution or committing a crime.
B) contracts entered into by someone not mentally competent (minors /mental illness)
C) contracts that require performing something impossible or depends on an impossible event happening
D) contracts that are against public policy

EXAMPLES OF VOIDABLE CONTRACT

A) Contracts entered into when one party is a minor.The law often treats minors as though they do not have the capacity to enter a contract.As a results,a minor can walk away from a contract at any time.
B) Contracts where one party was forced or tricked into entering it.
C) Contracts entered when one party was incapacitated ( drugs,insane, delusional)..
In summary, voidable contracts are valid agreements,but one or both of the parties to the contract can void the contract at any time.As a result,you may not be able to enforce a voidabe contract...
Void Contracts are unenforceable by law.Even if one party breaches the agreement ,you cannot recover anything because essentially there was no valid Contracts.
SIGNED:OBA OMOLADE✍️

03/09/2020

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24/07/2020

*COVID-19: Ekiti Orders Arrest Of Face Mask Defaulters*

_The commissioner further explained that commercial motorcyclists as well as road transport workers whose passengers refused or neglect to wear face masks would be held liable._

_He explained further that *mobile courts had been established to try offenders and impose adequate sanctions such as fines and community service.*_

The Ekiti Government says it will begin to arrest those refusing to wear face masks in public places from Monday. The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Olawale Fapohunda, on Sunday told newsmen in Ado Ekiti that there would henceforth be stiffer penalties for those who fail to comply. T...

24/07/2020

*NBA 2020 DECIDES: Brief Insights Into The Manifestos Of NBA Presidential Candidates*

_AS the countdown continues towards the forthcoming Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) National Elections, the candidates for the various offices have released their manifestos. Meanwhile, the three Presidential Aspirants to wit: *Mr. Dele Adesina, SAN, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade, SAN and Mr. Olumide Akpata* have all released their respective manifestos for the office of President of the African largest Bar._

_Meanwhile, their detailed manifestos which were made available to *TheNigeriaLawyer* spanned from *30, 26 and 43 pages* respectively._

AS the count down continues towards the forthcoming Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) National Elections, the candidates for the various offices have released their manifestos. Meanwhile, the three Presidential Aspirants to wit: Mr. Dele Adesina, SAN, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade, SAN and Mr. Olumide Akpata h...

24/07/2020

Buratai; don’t tell us you are doing well, a Man cannot be a Judge in his own case.
By: Okangla Stephen Peter.

Introduction
It is truism that the Armed Forces as established by section 217 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended 2011 is saddled with the following responsibilities as contain in section 217 (2) (a) (b) (c) (d) as follows:
Defending Nigeria from external aggression;
Maintaining its territorial integrity and securing its borders from violation on land, sea or air;
Suppressing insurrection and acting in aid of civil authorities to restore order when called upon to do so by the president, but subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly;
Performing such other functions as may be prescribed by an Act of the National Assembly.
In view of these responsibilities, it is not out of place to submit that our safety and that of our properties in face of threat and danger is to be taken care of by the Armed Forces and other security agencies alike.

However, the pace at which insecurity runs in Nigeria is dreadful and alarming. The pace in which death flows is heartbreaking. It is as a result of these, that I submit that the military as a responsive Government Institution should be accessed and score by Nigerians and not the ‘Chief’ nor the president. It is self-evident that the chief of Army Staff is responsible to the president as his employee, but the president in turn is responsible to Nigerians.
No one can deny the fact that terrorism, banditry, Herders-Farmers clash and kidnapping has shown and expose the weakness and decay in our security architecture and a summary of the fact that things have gone out of hand.

More disturbing is the publicity, I read on social media almost every day how military dislodge and neutralize scores of terrorist in the North Eastern part of Nigeria only to read devastatingly how the members of Boko Haram and the breakaway Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) murder and kidnap military personnel and civilians alike. Similar situation prevail in Zamfara, Kaduna, Katsina and Sokoto states respectively. In fact, Nigerians are at the mercy of these faceless criminals and terrorist. Truth be told, things are not getting any better, neither is the military doing well on security issues. The security of Nigeria have long been an eyesore and seems not to improve in any way.

Year in year out, billions of naira is voted into the defense ministry solely for the procurement of arms, military hardware and for welfare of military personnel in troubled zones but nothing significant seems to prevail.
Still, commanders at different location in North East Nigeria lament of poor weapons, soldiers and officers lament on daily basis of poor remuneration and welfare services. One of those who boldly came out to air his dissatisfaction is the former commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Major General Olusegun Adeniyi who was seen in a video lamenting about poor military equipment which resulted in the loss of numbers of gallant soldiers and officers who dedicated their lives to serve their father land. Adeniyi equally condemn the military for poor remuneration of personnel which has resulted in no little to dampen their morale. It is evident that corruption has find its way in the military and has laid a solid foundation therein, as a result we now bear the pain and consequences.
The question that pops out of my mind is: who will rescue us? Who will savage this situation? Now that we have become lame at birth and thrown out of our houses by criminals, who will help us? Little wonder, that Corporal Martins was recently arrested and thrown into guard room for bemoaning military leaders for poor equipment and welfare packages for soldiers. The truth is that the spirits of these soldiers are broken and their moral dampen by what they see on daily basis.

Although, well-meaning Nigerians including former president Olusegun Obasanjo have in different times and at different occasion decried the decay and deterioration in our security space while calling for overhaul, review, rejig and restratagizing in order to defeat criminality and terrorism in Nigeria. However, all these pleas and suggestion fell on deaf ears which as a result have further claimed the lives and properties of vulnerable Nigerians. Our roads are not safe, our farms are not safe, no place is safe. Nigerians are murdered on daily basis by members of the Boko Haram sect, Bandits, Kidnappers and Herdsmen. Just recently a bank was rubbed in Kogi state and scores of policemen lost their lives, till date no trace of the robbers nor their whereabouts was reported.
Only recently, the chief of Army Staff Lt. General Tukur Buratai in statement marking their five year stay in office said they (service chiefs) have not failed the president neither have they failed Nigerians.
However, I see this statement as a confrontation, embarrassment and a mockery on Nigerians who sleep with one eye close, whose source of livelihood is rustled and taken, whose only companion is the inimical sounds from guns and the terrible explosions from Improvise Explosive Devices (IEDs). With due respect sir, your work is commendable but the output is not productive, it is the reverse of our expectation. We are sitting on gun powder sir.

In a nutshell, all Nigerians know the state of our security architecture and need no military Czar to tell them. Nigerians are in no doubt in better position to access ad score the military and other sister security agencies. Nigerians are the leg in the shoe, they are the victims of the fractured security structure. Just as the Latin maxim states: Nemo judex in causa sua: No one is Judge in his own case. I therefore submit that the chief of Army Staff Lt. General Tukur Buratai should not tell us they are doing well but allow Nigerians access their paper and score them.

Contact info:
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Tel, 08132040369

24/07/2020

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17/07/2020

Virtual court sitting not unconstitutional—Supreme Court

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that virtual court sittings are not unconstitutional.

A seven-man panel of the apex court led by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour held that virtual court sittings are presumed to be valid and not been declared unconstitutional by the apex court.

Members of the panel dismissed the fear said to be entertained by many judges as to the constitutionality of remote hearings in the country.

They maintained that the Chief Judges of the states that had issued practice direction to provide for virtual sitting when convenient had the duty to enforce the directive.

They made the comments during the hearing of separate suits filed by the Attorneys-General of Lagos and Ekiti states on the adoption of remote hearings by judges in their states.
The panel described the suits of both the Lagos and Ekiti states’ AGs as speculative as the suits did not disclose how virtual proceedings had injured the interest or right of anyone.
Both the Lagos State AG, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), and that of Ekiti State, Olawale Fapohunda, then withdrew the suits after members of the apex court panel described the suits and academic and speculative.

In striking out the suit, Justice Rhodes-Vivour held that “as of today, virtual sitting is not unconstitutional”.
While Lagos State filed its suit challenging the power of the National Assembly to amend section 274 of the Constitution which seeks including virtual proceedings in the Constitution, Ekiti State had urged the court to make an affirmative decision on the issue to remove the speculations and uncertainties being entertained about it by judges.

It held that there was a presumption of regularity in favour of virtual sitting in courts.

It said virtual sitting is not unconstitutional as it has not been declared so.

Courtesy; Strictlylegalprecedents

09/07/2020

*BREAKING NEWS!*
*On School resumption*

*No WAEC this year, Nigerian govt declares*

by RAYYAN ALHASSAN July 8, 2020

Adamu Adamu

*The Federal Government has declared that final year students won’t participate in the forthcoming West African Examination Council, WAEC, examinations.*

The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, made the disclosure while speaking with State House Correspondents shortly after the week’s virtual Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting.
According to the minister, schools may not resume any time soon, saying that it is preferable for the students to lose an academic year than to be exposed to COVID-19.
*He, therefore, urged state governments that had announced school resumption plans to rescind such decision.*

Mr Adamu said the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, was misquoted when he spoke on the matter during a Presidential Task Force Briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja on Monday.

Mr Nwajiuba was reported to have announced that school facilities would be made available for revision classes ahead of the examination which commence from Aug. 4 through Sept. 5, and called on parents to take note of the date.

Read Also: Xmas, New Year: Nigerian govt declares December 25, 26, January1, 2020 as public holidays

However, according to Adamu, the Federal Government’s schools will not reopen any time soon until it is safe to do so because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Schools under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Education will not reopen on Aug. 4 or any time soon.

“Our schools will only open when we believe it is safe for our children and that is when the situation is right, not when the number of COVID-19 infection is going up in the nation.

“So, I just want to make that clear.

“We will not reopen schools now for examinations or any other reason unless it is safe for our students; even WAEC because WAEC cannot determine for us what we do. So schools will remain closed.

The minister frowned at the way and manner WAEC was handling the issue of the examination timetable, saying the ministry of education was consulted before the announcement of the new date for the exams.

He, therefore, emphasised that no school would participate in the West African Senior School Certificate Examinations earlier scheduled for between Aug.4 and Sept. 5.


“Yesterday we called a meeting of stakeholders to tell us their situation and what needs to be done in order to reopen schools but while the meeting was going on, WAEC announced that they will start exams.

“So let’s see who they are going to start with,” he said.

“I feel responsible for the whole children in Nigeria not just those in Federal government-controlled schools. Please let’s save our children from this.

“You can look at this scenario; just one infected child going into a class, can infect everyone in the class and after classes they go back to the hostel; because children cannot observe social distancing as expected.

“If one child in the hostel is infected, the next morning everybody will be infected so this is not the right time to open schools,’’ he said.

He, therefore, maintained that final year students preparing for the Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, SSCE, would not be allowed to return to school contrary to earlier announcement.

Source:

Daily Nigerian News - Read Nigerian Breaking News Today, Politics, Business, sport News - Read Nigerian Breaking News Today

05/07/2020

LAW OF EQUITY

Equitable Remedies
Injunctions
This is an order by the court to make a party complete an action or to make them refrain
from doing an action. It is awarded to protect a legal right rather than compensate for
the breach of one. If a party breaches this court order it is a serious offence and can
merit arrest or possible jail sentence. The reason for injunctions is that money would be
an inadequate remedy for breaching the person’s right. An injunction is a discretionary
remedy which courts will only grant if they feel it is just and equitable in the
circumstances to do so. Interim and interlocutory injunctions are temporary and last up
until specified date or until a trial hearing. Injunctions can be used to stop trespass,
passing off, prevent illegal picketing and to freeze assets.
Conduct of the parties will also affect whether the judge will grant them an injunction
(Chappell v Times Newspaper 1975)
Interlocutory Injunction
Granted prior to a court hearing because plaintiff may suffer un-repairable damage if
right is breached which cannot be compensated by money. The plaintiff must prove to
the judge that there is sufficient reason to believe that the damage will be caused to
them.
Three stage test on granting interlocutory injunctions was introduced in the English case
(American Cyanamid) this was accepted and followed as law in the Irish case (Campus
Oil V The Minister for Energy) :
1. If it is a serious and fair issue that will be tried y need not prove it’ll be a successful
claim.
2. Set out if damages would be a suitable remedy. must be impossible to quantify
damages and m give an under taking which means in the event o an injunction not being
granted they must compensate the other party for any losses.
3. Whether it is convenient or not to grant the injunction. Need for plaintiff to be
protected mu outweigh against the right of the other party in order to grant the
injunction.
Qui Timet Injunction

05/07/2020

STATEMENT OF INTENT TO CONTEST FOR THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION – 2020-2022


Dear Esteemed Senior Advocate/Colleague/ Bar Leader,

Compliments.

May I use this medium to express the hope that you and your family members are well and safe.

These are very trying times globally, and our attention is focused on the health, social and economic implications of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the future of the legal profession. In the midst of the uncertainty, we must pause to spare a thought for our dear Nigerian Bar Association (‘NBA’) which continues to play a critical role in regulating the profession and speaking for us.

On the 29th and 30th of July, 2020, elections will be held to elect National Officers who will pilot the affairs of the NBA for the next two years. In these critical times, the calibre of persons to be elected must be of paramount interest to all of us. Clearly, we need men and women of vision, administrative capacity and intellectual sagacity to steer our ship forward. We need leaders who possess the qualities of integrity, charisma, erudition, competence, quiet dignity, gentlemanly comportment, capacity for work, preoccupation with excellence, and the ability to inspire others to action. The stakes are too high for us to fail!

In July, 2011, I was elected as Secretary of the NBA Lagos Branch, and brought a distinctive style and much acclaimed innovative advances to the discharge of the duties of that office. It was the commitment, innovation and passion which marked the two-year tenure that endeared me to the members of the Branch and ensured the overwhelming support that brought me in as Branch Chairman from 2013 – 2015.

The four years spent stewarding the NBA Lagos Branch as Secretary and then as Chairman were, perhaps, the best years of my life of service to the NBA. It was a privilege to serve, and history will judge my stewardship. I have remained active at the bar since that time – serving in several NBA National Committees and taking an active part in championing the cause of committed persons who have over the years sought to lead the Bar.

I have, of course, continued to run my law-firm and serve clients as a litigator and transaction lawyer, as well as providing pro bono legal services to the indigent public especially in the area of women’s rights and criminal defence work. I am also a member of the Lagos Multi-Door Courthouse Lagos Settlement Week Committee, and a Trustee of the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership.

Now, following months of consultations with colleagues across the country, I have decided to offer myself for service to the NBA in the capacity of General Secretary of our Association and to seek that office in the national officers elections on the 29th and 30th of July, 2020.

My legal training and experience has prepared me well for that office. In 1990 (at the Lagos State University, Ojo, Lagos) I wrote my final year Project on ‘The Office of the Company Secretary: An Evolutionary Study’. The following year, at the Nigerian Law School, I graduated with a Second Class Upper Division Degree and won the prize for Company Law and Commercial Practice. From 1992-1997, I cut my legal teeth with the law firm of Messrs. Tunde Odanye & Co., working in the Solicitor’s Department of the firm and handling (initially under supervision) the company secretarial and solicitor’s work there. Interestingly, I was one of the first 100 lawyers accredited by the Corporate Affairs Commission (on the 1st of March, 1993). Since July 1997, company secretarial work has been a major staple of my law-firm’s service offering.

This background, naturally, prepared me for the very involving role as Secretary of the NBA Lagos Branch (the largest branch of the NBA) from 2011-2013. It was a challenging position to which I brought innovation, flair and dedication, and the verdict by members is that I discharged the duties of the office creditably well. My subsequent duties as Branch Chairman from 2013-2015 (coupled of course with managing a busy law-firm) have, no doubt, imbued me with the necessary administrative acumen which the General Secretary of the NBA must possess in order to effectively and efficiently run the Secretariat of our great Association.

I feel very strongly that my written and oral communication skills, secretarial training, expertise, experience, and demonstrated administrative capacity are best suited for service as the General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, and that is why I offer myself for service in that position.

The Electoral Committee of the NBA has cleared me (and other aspirants) to contest in the elections. The Final List of Eligible Voters has been published, and the verification and update process is currently on-going. I, therefore, seek to formally inform you of my intention to contest for the office and humbly ask for your support. If elected, I pledge to serve with the passion, integrity and efficiency for which I am well known.

Many feel that 2020 will be a watershed year for the NBA - we must get it right this time. I am eager to place my time, energy, talents, experience and resources at the disposal of the Bar for the next two years, and to offer the kind of premium stewardship which the Bar definitely needs at this time. The Bar needs a great scribe… and I have been tried, tested and adjudged to be one. I, therefore, solicit your active support of my candidacy, your endorsement, and your vote at the Elections.

Thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Alex N. Muoka
5th July, 2020

05/07/2020

YET ANOTHER WARNING TO LAWYERS

Read the judgment below & be guided.

👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿👇🏿

Anthony Ojigho v. NBA & LPDC (2019) LPELR-46895(SC); [2019] 9 NWLR (Pt. 1678) 399 .

A lawyer, Mr. Anthony Ojigho, was petitioned for fraudulently increasing the price of a property which the Petitioner (Banjo Onanubi) paid the vendor through the lawyer. It was alleged that the lawyer fraudulently induced the Petitioner into paying N40 Million for a property instead of N30 Million that was demanded by the vendor. The case of the Petitioner was that it was the vendor who informed him that the excess sum of N10 Million had been returned to be paid to him through the lawyer being in excess of reserved price. When confronted, the lawyer admitted the wrongdoing and made an initial refund of N3 Million and issued a cheque for the repayment of outstanding N7 Million which he later countermanded (stopped). At the hearing, the lawyer failed to enter a formal defence and chose not to appear at the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) but was instead, represented by his Counsel, Mathias Emeribe. The LPDC held that where a solicitor engrosses an agreement for both the vendor and the purchaser of property, and both of them rely on his legal advice, he is a solicitor to both parties. It is immaterial that one of them introduced him to the other. Thus, the solicitor owes a fiduciary duty to both parties in the circumstance and that the lawyer in the instant case was in breach of same. The LPDC finally held that it was imprudent of the lawyer not to have entered a formal defence and to have sought to defend himself of very serious allegations of professional misconduct and impropriety through the avenue of his Counsel’s Written Address.
The LPDC found the lawyer guilty of infamous conduct in the course of the performance of his duty as a legal practitioner and accordingly directed the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court to strike out his name from the Roll of Legal Practitioners.

Appeal to Supreme Court
Being dissatisfied with the decision of the LPDC, the lawyer appealed to the Supreme Court which had no difficulty in dismissing the appeal for lacking in merit. Bage, JSC reasoned as follows:

“Clearly, the Appellant [the lawyer] acted contrary to his oath as a legal practitioner when he misled the Petitioner to purchase the property at a price other than that which was fixed by the owner. Assuming the Appellant was ‘beclouded’ by a sense of professional duty of maximising the benefit or gains for his client, he had clearly breached this by refusal to pay-over the N10 Million balance demanded and collected in excess of the price fixed for the property.”

Warning to lawyers and call for ‘cleansing’
This is a warning to all lawyers out there, especially those who also double as property consultants. Being overly too smart does not pay. According to Bage, JSC:

“The Appellant’s self-deceit smartness is less than a half. Having conducted himself in a rather unprofessional manner, and having also admitted the misconduct by repaying part of the outstanding sums, a prudent Legal practitioner ought to do more by disabusing the minds of an observer as to his ‘saintly’ disposition in the transaction to negative the likely outcome or consequence of lacking in professional decency and probity. He has chosen to lace his bed with stones, pebbles and crumbs of iron and broken bottles; he surely deserves to sleep on the bed alone. This will send appropriate signals to potential violators of Rules of Professional Ethics, 2007 and other applicable provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act 2004. It is my view in this considered Judgment that having regard to the evidence led before the 2nd Respondent, I am convinced beyond any shadow of doubt, that the LPDC was correct in coming to the conclusion that the Appellant was guilty of infamous conduct in discharging his professional duties. I am also of the view that the 2nd Respondent was justified in its direction to the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria dated December 2, 2013 that the name of the Appellant be struck-off the Roll of Legal Practitioners in Nigeria.”


His Lordship also called for some cleaning in the legal profession when he said:

“We need a sharp depart from infamy in the legal profession. All Judges are first and foremost lawyers. Thus, the bench and the legal profession must continue in internal regulation and/or self-cleansing. This, in my view is to save the legal profession and invariably the entire structure with which justice is administered in this country. The justice mechanism essentially includes all legal practitioners, and by direct implications all those who practice as solicitors, transaction advisors or as in-house Counsel and law academics. They all belong to the category of ‘Legal Practitioners’. This is because their avoidable professional indiscretion, misconduct, imprudence or lack of probity in written agreements, transaction or advisory and other forms of professional engagements may, and have often formed basis of or cause of action in several suits and appeals.