Chinedu Agu, an Owerri-based human rights lawyer, poet and former Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Owerri Branch, has faulted the procedure adopted in the move to impeach the Branch Chairman, Dr. Mazi Udegbulem, insisting that the process did not comply with the mandatory provisions of the NBA Uniform Bye-Law for Branches.
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Agu, in a statement issued on Saturday, September 26, 2026, following the Branch’s Monthly General Meeting, said his review of the Uniform Bye-Law showed that the procedure adopted during the meeting was defective and could not validly sustain the removal of the Chairman.
According to him, although a motion for Udegbulem’s removal was moved by Chukwuemeka Anyanwu and supported by Ikechukwu Umah, Article 13 of the Uniform Bye-Law sets out specific steps that must be followed before an elected Branch officer can be removed before the expiration of his tenure.
He said any proposal or motion seeking the removal of a Branch officer must first be reduced into writing, clearly state the grounds for the proposed removal, be signed by at least five financial members of the Branch and be forwarded to the Branch Secretary not less than 21 days before the General Meeting at which the motion is to be considered.
Agu added that the affected officer must also be formally notified in writing by the Branch Secretary at least 14 days before the meeting, while the proposed removal must be specifically listed on the agenda of the meeting.
Citing Article 13(1)(f) of the Uniform Bye-Law, Agu said an elected Branch officer or member of the Branch Executive Committee can only cease to hold office upon removal by a two-thirds majority of financial members present and voting at a General Meeting of the Branch.
The provision, according to him, states that an elected officer of the Branch or member of the Branch Executive Committee shall cease to hold office where he or she is removed by a two-thirds majority vote of financial members present and voting at the General Meeting.
Agu further relied on Article 13(6) and (7), which require that any proposal to remove an officer before the expiration of his or her tenure must be in writing, state the grounds for removal and carry the signatures of at least five financial members before being forwarded to the Secretary at least 21 days before the meeting.
He said the Bye-Law also places an obligation on the Branch Secretary to notify the affected officer in writing of the receipt of such a proposal at least 14 days before the General Meeting and to include the proposal on the agenda.
On that basis, Agu maintained that the impeachment process initiated at Saturday’s meeting was procedurally defective because, in his view, the mandatory safeguards contained in Article 13 were not followed.
He argued that the appropriate course of action would be to commence the process afresh and comply strictly with the procedure prescribed by the Uniform Bye-Law, in order to guarantee due process, fairness and adherence to the governing rules of the Association.
Agu further stressed that the removal of a Branch officer does not become automatic merely because allegations have been made against the officer.
According to him, a valid removal requires a properly convened General Meeting, participation by financial members who are eligible to vote, and the support of not less than two-thirds of the financial members present and voting.
He warned that any purported removal carried out without satisfying those requirements would remain vulnerable to challenge on procedural grounds.
“It is important to state this legal position clearly, as we cannot, as lawyers, be seen to perpetuate a constitutional error,” Agu said.
He therefore called for the procedure prescribed by the NBA’s governing rules to be commenced afresh and followed strictly.
Agu’s statement, however, did not disclose the specific allegations or substantive grounds upon which the move to remove Udegbulem was initiated. His intervention was limited to the procedure which, he argued, must be complied with before any valid removal can take place.
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