- He is a superior member of the Bar – Okutepa, SAN
- Akpata must have either been in law school or in the university when Olanikpekun was conferred with the rank of SAN in 1991 – Anachebe, SAN
By Lillian Okenwa
An ex-Attorney General of Rivers State, Mr. Worgu Boms, and the Eastern Bar Forum (EBF) have joined the call for the Chairman, Body of Benchers (BoB), Chief Wole Olanikpekun, SAN to step aside pending the conclusion of the investigation on the charge of professional Misconduct against a partner in his law firm.
According to Boms: “This Matter is not complicated. Grandstanding is complicating it… Two, no, Three Issues or so to Ponder Over:
1. L.E Nwosu SAN, wrote a letter objecting to Chief Olanikoekun SAN’s chairmanship of the BoB. He gave his reasons in that several-page letter.
2. The Chairman of the Disciplinary Committee of the same BoB, E.C. Ukala SAN, re-signed. His reasons for resigning are there contained.
3. At the Unilag Alumni gathering, to which Alumni Group both Olanikpekun and Ajumogobia belong and which gathering they both attended and chatted, Ajumogobia revealed that during thereat, Olanikpekun broached the issue of him Ajumogobia doing that piece of work for those clients or something like that. That was BEFORE the Ogunde infamous Letter in professional respect.
4. The Olanikpekun Firm’s letter was written directly to the clients of Ajumogobia. Ajumogobia did not know, and was not copied. Could not have, considering the nature of the letter.
5. The clients, it was, who brought it to the attention of their lawyer, Ajumogobia, otherwise, the scheme would have succeeded.
“Is there any fact here that is erroneous? Now, what is the argument? That Chief Wole Olanikpekun, SAN, did not authorize the letter, was not aware of its writing! We’re not there yet. He is the Chairman of the Body of Benchers which Body appoints Judges who hear disciplinary matters, such as this one. He cannot remain in that position that appoints those who Will judge the matter in which Olanikpekun himself, is alleged to have been using his influence in cahoots with Judges to be procuring judgement.
“This matter is serious but the facts are clear. The Chief should just step aside, for a moment and for as long as the proceedings concerning the issue last and until it’s determined. This is how it should be. Any other thing amounts to shooting ourselves on the foot because there’s tomorrow. Have we bothered as a group, did we care, to examine the reasons the persons we sent as Judges of the Disciplinary Committee of the Body of Benchers were resigning?
“Did we care? Don’t forget that they resigned before Olanikpekun SAN’s emergence as Chairman of the BoB. Now, go back and find out the reasons they gave, all of them for resigning. Compare it to the view Chief Olanikpekun is canvassing as to the separateness of the BoB and the LPDC. And if you are properly directing your mind, tell me why Chief Olanikpekun should not step aside for an independent hearing because, whether we like it or not, the alleged perfidy revolves around his name and it’s very unfortunate.
That cannot happen whilst he sits there as Chair of the Body that appoints those who will find out the truth about the matter of him. This Matter is not complicated. Grandstanding is complicating it. We’re not children, please. My name is WorguBoms.”
Also, the Eastern Bar Forum, (EBF) in a statement responding to this and other matters related to the bar said there can be no better way to lead than by example.
The statement signed by the Chairman, EBF Governing Council, Chief Uba Anene reads:
IN THE MATTERS OF INIBEHE EFFIONG AND CHIEF WOLE OLANIPEKUN, SAN
It is not the best of times for the legal profession in Nigeria.
Yesterday, at a hastily relocated venue due to the pervading state of insecurity in Nigeria, 1507 candidates were admitted to the noble profession at a ceremony presided over by a Chairman of the Body of Benchers with grave integrity issues hanging over his head.
Yesterday also, east of the Niger, a learned presiding Chief Judge wielded the ultimate judicial hammer and clamped a learned colleague Inibehe Effiong into prison for daring to raise procedural issues in a politically sensitive case involving the Akwa Ibom State governor, in which her impartiality had been called to question by way of a properly filed and served an application for recusal/transfer.
These incidents leave a sour taste in the mouth.
The EBF calls on the Honourable Chief Judge of Akwa Ibom State to take another look at the matter, rescind her committal order immediately and transfer the pending case to another court so that justice may not only be done but also be seen to have been done.
The EBF also calls on the Chairman of the Body of Benchers to save that august institution and the legal profession further embarrassment and opprobrium by stepping aside while issues pertaining to his integrity and that of his eponymous office is being dealt with. There can be no better way to lead by example.
Likewise, Mr. Yemi Candide-Johnson SAN, a former President of the Lagos Court of Arbitrators remarked that “Wole Olanipekun is a leading Nigerian lawyer and recognized by many important offices as a leader of the profession. It is of the utmost importance that such an individual always conducts himself and regulates his practice in a manner that is exemplary.”
The Senior Advocate further stated that: “Any implication that he acts below optimum standards makes his position, especially as chairman of an important professional organ untenable. In the face of public allegations of egregious professional misconduct, I would expect him to defend the profession first before himself and accordingly to resign from the office that leads the profession. It’s a matter of responsibility and of honour.
“The appearance of corruption by itself is deeply damaging. My own view generally is that nobody is above the law and the bane of our profession to this time has been that the most senior are often the most badly behaved. It is intolerable and unsustainable. The law and its due and proper administration is more important than any individual.”
However, J.S Okutepa SAN has condemned the letter of recusal written by Chief Olanipekun by the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, (NBA), Olumide Akpata in relation to the ongoing charge of professional misconduct against Ms. Kunbi Ogunde, a partner in his Law Firm.
Okutepa in an interview with vanguard newspapers: “The letter was not in the best tradition of how things are done irrespective of what anybody feels about it. Chief Wole Olanipekun was a past President of the Nigerian Bar Association and whether we like it or not, he is a superior member of the bar and if I were to be in the position of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, I won’t write such a letter. I would go to meet with Chief Wole Olanipekun or involve senior members of the Bar, elders, past Presidents, and then meet with him and have a discussion because whether anybody likes it or not, he is the leader of the bar.
“To do a letter to him and before he gets it, it is on social media, it is a very terrible thing that he ought not to do. You may not like Wole Olanipekun as a person but the institution that we all belong to must be preserved by the decorum we accord to ourselves.
“I’m not saying Wole Olanipekun is above disciplinary process and I am not going to go to any argument as to whether or not what happened is correct or not correct, but there are better and respectful ways of dealing with issues that affect the profession.
Another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Ben Anachebe (SAN) equally knocked the NBA President for daring to ask the Chairman of the Body of Benchers, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN to recuse himself as chairman of the body while a charge of professional misconduct against a partner in his Law firm is being entertained.
According to the Vanguard report, Anachebe SAN disagreed with the letter written by the NBA President and said that the letter was written with underlined mischief. “It was not supposed to have been written being mindful of his status without hearing from him first. I will think as a former President of the Bar, he ought to have made personal contact with him alongside other senior members of the Bar.
“I have it on good authority that Chief Olanipekun who in fact, I spoke with today, that up till now, he has not sighted a copy of the letter and same has been released to the press.
“The fact that a junior in the Chamber of Chief Olanipekun wrote a letter and the content was considered to have violated the rules of practice does not justify asking Chief Olanipekun to resign.
“As a matter of fact, Chief Olanipekun has many friends, relatives, and colleagues serving in his chambers or other chambers at the Bar. So does it mean that tomorrow, if anybody whom he knows is brought before the Committee, he has to step aside in order not to interfere with the proceedings? Truth be told, some people are blowing this matter out of proportion.
“Chief Olanipekun was conferred with the rank of SAN in 1991 when the President of the NBA must either be in law school or in the university. He should have shown better respect or a better approach.”
