How I was nearly jailed for appealing a judgment – Ngige, SAN

For exercising his fundamental rights to appeal a court’s judgment, Chief Emeka Ngige, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and Chairman, Council of Legal Education, almost found himself cooling off in jail.

Ngige who was instructed alongside the late Mr. Fidelis Nwadialo, SAN to appear for the Federal Government during the Failed Banks Tribunal saga, incurred the ire of the trial judge for appealing his judgment and asking for a stay of execution.

Chief Ngige made this disclosure in his tribute to the late leading Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim, SAN. Part of the statement reads:

“In 1998 when he was the Attorney-General of the Federation under Gen. Abdulsalam Abubakar regime he instructed Mr. Fidelis Nwadialo, SAN (now of blessed memory) and my humble self to appear for the Federal Government of Nigeria and defend several cases instituted by some accused bank chief executives undergoing trial for financial malpractices in their banks.

“In one of the cases, the trial judge attempted to send Mr. Nwadialo and myself to prison for appealing against his judgment and asking for stay of execution. Alhaji Ibrahim stood firmly behind us and gave us all the support needed to stave off the intimidation by the said judge.”