By Emmanuel Jakpa
There is a great, big moral battle ongoing for the soul of the Nigerian Bar Association. And everyone is invited to pick a side. By not picking a side, you are picking a side, it is the nature of moral battles.
On Sunday Chief Wole Olanikpekun gave an interview in the Vanguard newspapers, where he accused the President of the NBA, Mr. Olumide Akpata of an ulterior motive in writing a letter to him and leaking it to the press before he (the Chief) had a chance to see the letter.
Since then a number of senior advocates have toed the line, singing from the same hymn sheet that what the President of the NBA did was wrong. One faceless individual was alleged to have said, “it is only in oyinbo land that somebody will quit his job because there is a mere call by somebody who appears to have an ulterior motive in writing that letter.” Lagbaja, it appears you have forgotten this is an oyinbo profession, the last time I checked there were no lawyers let alone senior advocates in my village union. I don’t know about yours.
The legal profession is a foreign, imported commodity and we ought to look at the owner’s manual when using it, for our own safety. It is essentially this manual that dictates “nemo judex in causa sua.” That doesn’t sound like any Nigerian language I know of. But if you know the local translation, please let me have it.
More the surprise therefore is the fact that several senior advocates of Nigeria have gone on record to excoriate the President of the NBA for allegedly leaking the letter addressed to the Chairman of Body of Benchers Chief Wole Olanikpekun.
I don’t know whether they are right to lay the accusation without hearing from the man. But the information available is that a copy of the letter was delivered to the Secretary of the BOB and to the emails of every member of the BOB. That immediately implies that there are at least two possible sources of a leak; from the President of the NBA’s side of the fence or from the Secretariat of the BOB’s side of the fence.
None of the senior advocates of Nigeria who have gone on record to excoriate the NBA President has demonstrated to us how they eliminated one of at least two possibilities to arrive at their unequivocal conclusion that it was the President of the NBA that leaked the letter. Our understanding of legal procedure was that you analysed the facts before your applied the law – I think they used to teach it under the rubric IRAC or something.
Anyways, what that means is that the learned silks and members of the Body of Benchers ought to call for an investigation of the source of leak, if they are so concerned about a leak and if there is any rule that was offended by the alleged leak.
But I will point in a different direction. Just a couple of weeks ago, 14 justices of the supreme court were alleged to have authored a far more devastating letter to the Chief Justice of Nigeria alleging the highest level of malfeasance. The letter in circulation was even unsigned, which points in only one possible direction for source of leak.
Did the embattled CJN react by calling the other justices names and questioning their motives for leaking a document before they signed and sent it to him? I don’t recall that particular episode, if it ever occurred. Pardon my lapse of memory.
I think the learned senior advocates and members of BOB may have more serious things to do, like worry about the state of our legal profession and the moral underpinnings of the profession (or business as I hear some say it is in entirety). Even as business there should be some rules.
The allegation against Chief Olanikpekun’s partner is that she was seeking to attract business away from an already briefed counsel and not by some savoury means. The letter is in the public domain if you enjoy salacious details. It was directed at the business of another senior advocate. What happens where there are no rules in business? Does anyone know? It seems it becomes banditry, that favourite pastime of a few that has nearly brought this nation to its knees.
So if you are a fence sitter, you are wrong.
I believe if the process is allowed to play out properly we will get to the bottom of this issue in a manner that is fair to all.
The diversionary tactics being employed bodes no good for the legal profession in Nigeria and you know it.
Emmanuel Jakpa, Esq.
