*Lawyers Criticising Supreme Court Will Be Punished – NBA President, Maikyau
*I Will Go On Record With My Criticism – Odinkalu Dares Maikyau
*Maikyau Has Decreed To Silence Nigerian Lawyers – Femi Falana
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The reactions that have trailed the decision of the Supreme Court in the case between the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan and Bashir Machina, has taken a twist within the legal profession, as some senior lawyers have clashed over the scathing criticisms which the Apex Court has been subjected to in the aftermath of the judgement.
TheNigeriaLawyer recalls that in a split decision, the majority decision of a five-member panel of the Supreme Court controversially declared Mr Lawan as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Yobe North Senatorial District candidate, and the judgement has been widely criticised on the ground that Lawan did not participate in the Senate primary and could therefore not have emerged as flagbearer over Machina who duly won the election.
The new turn in events was sparked by comments made by the NBA President, Yakubu Chonoko Maikyau SAN threatening penal measures for lawyers who denigrate the Supreme Court.
He made this known on Thursday at a valedictory court session in honour of Ibrahim Buba, a retired judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The NBA President praised Mr Buba for his selfless service to the nation. He recalled the jurist’s many contributions to the development of Nigeria’s jurisprudence.
But Mr Maikyau then upbraided some lawyers for criticising the Supreme Court over its recent decision on Mr Lawan’s case.
“We are calling on the court to ensure that these lawyers face the consequences as the NBA will take steps in bringing the lawyers to book,” Mr Maikyau vowed.
However, in chat with TheNigeriaLawyer, the Lawal Akorede Habeeb ,National Publicity Secretary, of the Nigerian Bar Association, said that the president’s statement was bloated out of context by some sections of the media.
He thereafter supplied the Valedictory Speech he delivered at the event.
The speech reads in part: “When I read the heart-rending statements by Professor Farooq Kperogi over the judgement of the Supreme Court in the case involving Machina and Ahmed Lawan (the Senate President), I was burning with rage against Kperogi, only to hear like a whisper in my ear, while I sat alone lamenting, that “you people started it, you Senior Advocates of Nigeria.” I could not agree more! It was a Senior Advocate of Nigeria who, in 2016 at a programme of the NBA Enugu Branch, said that Courts had become “supermarkets where only the rich do their shopping”. The statements by Kperogi are not any different.
Similarly, those who describe the judgements of the Courts as Kangaroo Judgements clearly stated that they predicated their comments what senior lawyers had spoken of the Courts. While that appears to be their justification for treating the Courts with abject contempt, there must be consequences for these actions. For the senior lawyers, who denigrate the Courts in this manner or at all, it is contradictory for such persons to still approach he same institution they described as supermarket to seek reliefs or for the Courts so described to indulge them.
He also stated, “I have also observed that some lawyers have gone on the television to castigate the Supreme Court on the judgement referred to above. They too will face the consequences of their actions. For the non-lawyers who do this, the Courts must rise to the occasion and invoke its disciplinary powers to punish any act of contempt; the Courts, for the sake of the people and the existence of Nigeria, must protect its integrity by insisting that anyone who treats the Courts with contempt is disciplined accordingly.”
However, the comment has not gone down well with some Senior lawyers who has hit hard at the NBA President.
In a swift response, the Former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof Chidi Anselm Odinkalu tagged the threat as “nonsense”. He is reported to have written in a WhatsApp message shared on the NBA Election Integrity Group.
“I will go on record with my criticism because of this. Nonsense!”
He added, “Why wld anyone think that being a citizen is a free ride?
“What exactly is the benefit of being a lawyer in a country where you cannot advise anyone based on a reasonable prediction of what a responsible Court can do?
“A 5-person panel of the Supreme Court by a spare majority effectively overrules long-standing precedent (which shd only be done by a full panel), without considering relevant rules (including practice direction issued by the Federal High Court in July 2022 requiring originating to commence pre-election matters) & we are all supposed to maintain regimental #Ajuwaya? “What rubbish?!!”
Also challenging Maikyau, prominent Human Rights Activist, Femi Falana SAN, said the NBA President has decreed to silence Nigerian lawyers, and said it is not the first time such is happening.
He wrote: ““Emefiele issues ‘decrees’ on the amount that you can withdraw from your bank account outside the provisions of the Money Laundering Act.”
“NBA President, Maikayu SAN has decreed to silence Nigerian lawyers in utter breach of section 39 of the Constitution which guarantees the fundamental right of every citizen to freedom of expression.”
“However, this is not the first time that attempts had been made to prevent Nigerians from criticising the judgments of the Supreme Court..”
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