Today 8th December 2021, some legal wigs will be conferred with the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, (SAN) which is the highest rank to be given to a legal practitioner in Nigeria.
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Persons to be conferred with the rank are expected to be persons of sound legal antecedents; they must be persons who have contributed immensely to the development of the legal profession in Nigeria as laid down in the relevant Laws. One of such persons who have fulfilled the criteria laid down in the Law and will soon be robed with the silk is Chijioke Ogugua Precious Emeka.
Chijioke Ogugua Precious Emeka obtained his LL.B. degree from Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, in 1999 after a two-year stint in Mass Communication. He attended the Nigerian Law School, Bwari, FCT in 2000, with the last set before the introduction of multi-campus system. He was called to the Nigerian Bar in January 2001. C. O. P. (as he is known among his colleagues) worked with Mike Ozekhome’s Chambers and Olisa Agbakoba & Associates, respectively. He was at the cutting-edge of practice at those leading law firms. He was later appointed Partner (Litigation) in the latter. In 2013, he founded Auxano Law; a multi-service law firm with offices in Lagos and Abuja.
Chijioke sees law as a tool for social justice, social engineering and social change. This attitude reflects in his brand of advocacy generally. His public interest advocacy in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/941/2010, Olisa Agbakoba, SAN v National Assembly & Anor. helped to resolve the standoff between the National Assembly and the then president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, over presidential assent to constitution amendment. His advocacy also saw to the setting aside of five death sentences by the Court of Appeal within a period of three years. They are Awelle v People of Lagos State (2016) LPELR-41395; Okon v State (2017) LPELR-42639; Mendrick v State (2018) LPELR-45549, Kayode v State (2018) LPELR-50108 and Zebulon v State (2019) 11 NWLR (Part 1684) 383.
He argued the leading case of Zhiya v State (2016) LPELR-40562 on the legal effect of a confessional statement obtained without video evidence contrary to Section 9(3), Administration of Criminal Justice Law 2011, Lagos State. His point that such confession is legally impotent and ought not to ground a conviction was upheld by the Court of Appeal, and has been applied in Awelle v People of Lagos State (2016) LPELR-41395 and Eneche v People of Lagos State (2018) LPELR-45826, both of which he also argued.
His advocacy in Ihenacho & 4 Ors. v NPF & 2 Ors. (2017) 12 NWLR (Part 1580) 424 helped to put to rest the vexed issue of the extent of the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court in Fundamental Rights Enforcement applications with regards to its shared jurisdiction with the State High Court. Also, in Kolo v NPF & 3 Ors. (2018) LPELR-43635, a Full Court empanelled by the President of the Court of Appeal on the issue, unanimously upheld his position and reaffirmed the earlier decision, which has remained the law on the issue.
Chijioke has represented several blue-chip organizations in resolving complex commercial disputes through litigation and ADR. This includes disputes in the downstream oil and gas sector, maritime/shipping sector and general business/commercial issues. His passion for law practice has resulted in remarkable contributions to the study and practice of law through advocacy and juridical articles on diverse legal issues.
A reformist, Chijioke was a major consultant in the making of the extant Fundamental Rights (Enforcement Procedure) Rules 2009 initiated by the Olisa Agbakoba SAN led-Nigerian Bar Association and issued by Hon. Justice Idris Legbo Kutigi, CJN. During the era of Hon. Justice Umaru Abdullahi, PCA, he also framed the reformed Election Petition Rules as a consultant to the Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS), the initiator of the reform. The reform introduced frontloading and other innovations into electoral disputes litigation following the national outrage that greeted the Anambra State governorship election dispute between Mr. Peter Obi and Dr. Chris Ngige, which lasted over three years.
Chijioke is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). He is currently the Chairman of the Public Interest Litigation and Advocacy Committee (PIALC) of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch. He is an active member of the International Bar Association (IBA); a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (ICMC), a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) and a Member of the Nigerian Maritime Law Association (NMLA), among others. He has received numerous awards for his contribution to law and social development.
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