Eti-Osa Lawyers’ Forum Disown ‘NBA Lekki Eti-Osa’, Says It Represents Desperation And Passing Off

The members of Eti-Osa Lawyers’ Forum rising from an emergency Executive meeting on Sunday 21st October 2019, have dissociated themselves from the recent announcement by the NBA Lekki Lawyers Forum to the effect that they had changed their name to become NBA Lekki- Eti-Osa Lawyers Forum.

This they said is a condemnable attempt to mislead the well-meaning public that there is a fusion between the NBA Lekki Lawyers Forum and the Eti-Osa Lawyers’ Forum.

They restated for clarity that the Eti-Osa Lawyers Forum has been in existence for the past seven years, and was formed out of the Eti-Osa Stakeholders Forum which then combined professionals, including Lawyers as well as other Eti-Osa socio-cultural Associations who actually came together in 2009 and requested the then Governor of Lagos State, Governor Babatunde Fashola, to create a Judicial Division for Eti-Osa as a way of bringing justice closer to the people.

They described as unfortunate, the attitude of a group that wasn’t even in existence at that time now wanting to claim the credit of the efforts and agitations of the community.

The now rested NBA Lekki Lawyers Forum, now styled NBA Lekki Eti-Osa Lawyers Forum has for the past year engaged in a media blitz centred around the naming of the new Court Complex located at Badore, Ajah, Eti-Osa LGA as Lekki High Court or Lekki Judicial Division while also flaunting what they claim to be their high level contacts in the Government.

The NBA Lekki Forum /NBA Lekki Eti-Osa Forum have, in their desperation gone to the extent of visiting the new Court Complex at night, and taking pictures in front of the designated NBA Office, in an attempt to deceive the public that they the (NBA Lekki Lawyers Forum, now transformed to NBA Lekki-Eti-Osa Lawyerd Forums) have been given the office as the recognised NBA Branch present in the Eti-Osa environs.

Eti-Osa Lawyers Forum categorically state that: “we have nothing to do with this and there’s nothing in the publication that suggests we are part of them.

We have now been vindicated as people now know better. We stated earlier that the promoters of Lekki Judicial Division in a court located in Eti-Osa community cannot succeed. The change or transformation from NBA Lekki Lawyers Forum to NBA Lekki Eti-Osa Lawyers Forum only further highlight the confusion of the promoters. Eti-Osa is Eti-Osa, Ibeju-Lekki is Ibeju Lekki. Even when Epe Judicial Division serves both Epe and Ibeju-Lekki, it is simply named after the locus, EPE, and not Epe -Ibeju-Lekki in order to prove its coverage areas. Those who are obsessed with Lekki but do not know the area well enough, and cannot formally demand for, and await the actualisation of the Ibeju Lekki Judicial Division like we did years ago in respect of Eti-Osa, but would rather have Eti-Osa Court named to fit into their fantasy, are merely being unrealistic. They are attempting to rewrite history and mislead the public.

We are are not yet an NBA chapter until necessary protocol is finalised and we are not misrepresenting ourselves to the public or passing off as one. We are simply Eti-Osa Lawyers’ Forum for now. We cannot afford to desecrate the ethos of the Nigerian Bar Association.

Like we always say, the State Government knows the proper thing and they will do what is proper and legal, it is the realisation of the futility of the call for Lekki Judicial Division in this new Court that is making them switch or transform as if they didn’t think through it when they started the call about two years ago.

We are also not aware of any coalition for a protest or demonstration anywhere for now”.

The Eti-Osa Lawyers’ Forum therefore enjoined all their members to disregard the new Association, as they were merely passing off as Eti-Osa Lawyers’ Forum which has been the authentic group on ground since the last seven years.