*Says Olanipekun HAS failed To Pay N10 Million Cost Awarded Against Him By The Supreme Court
*Says Olanipekun Misled Supreme Court By Falsely Claiming To Have Filed Brief Before Lower Court When In Fact He Hadn’t
*Urges Court To Disqualify Olanipekun From Participating In Call To Bar Of New Wigs
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A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Lucius Nwosu, SAN has dragged Olusegun Awonuga, Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN, and the Body of Benchers to the Rivers State High Court as 1st,2nd, and 3rd Defendants respectively over the recent attitude of Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN which according to him does not conform with a person worthy of being a member of the Body of Benchers due to his recent attitude, particularly before the Supreme Court.
Nwosu commenced the action via Originating Summons and is seeking “A declaration that the condition precedent set out in S.3 of the Legal Practitioners Act Cap LII regarding the Highest Distinction in the Legal Profession for appointment to the Body of Benchers is sacrosanct within the spirit and intendment of the enactment.”
He wants the court to declare that the 1st Defendant, Awonuga, “being an officer of the court failed in his duty of candour at the apex court by not disclosing that the Appellant in Appeal No.SC 731/2017 indeed had no valid brief of argument at the intermediate court.” He also wants a “declaration that the obligation to maintain the Highest Distinction in Legal Profession by any person including the 2nd Defendant (Olanipekun) so admitted to the 3rd Defendant’s body does not determine upon admission but continues to enure as long as he remains a member of that body.”
Other reliefs sought by Nwosu are as follows:
“A declaration that it is un-edifying for a member of the 3rd Defendant’s body, qua the 2nd Defendant, to be unanimously adjudged as urging upon the Supreme and final court of the Land and indeed any other court a “misleading” argument in his submissions to the effect that his client filed a brief of argument at the court below when indeed he knew or ought to know from the records that none was filed in Appeal No. CA/PH/396/2012 and therefore ran afoul the spirit and intendment of the pre-qualifying pre-condition of “Highest Distinction in Legal Profession” for membership of the 3rd Defendant’s body pursuant to 5.3 of Legal Practitioners Act (LPA)Cap L11.
“A declaration that the 2nd Defendant as lead counsel and an officer of court in the temple of justice whose submissions had provoked tears of anguish in condemnation by a Justice of the Supreme and final Court of the land while reading the judgment thereon, cannot be said to have exhibited the stipulated Highest Distinction in Legal Profession (except in the negative sense) within the spirit and intendment of Section 3 of the Legal Practitioners Act setting up the 3t Defendant.
“A declaration that the 2nd Defendant against whom an unprecedented exemplary colossal cost of N10,000,000.00 Ten Million Naira) was unanimously awarded by the Supreme and final court of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and ordered to be paid personally by him on account of the enomity of his transgression, has run afoul the binding stipulations of S. 3 of the Legal Practitioners Act negating the Highest Distinction in Legal Profession stipulation.
“A consequential order that the 2nd Defendant by reason of prayers (a)to (f) above be disqualified from participating in the primary duty of the 3rd Defendant of admitting and Call to Bar of New Lawyers in Nigeria or for that purpose aspire to the headship of that eminent regulatory body.
“A further consequential order restraining the 3rd Defendant from placing the 2nd Defendant in a position where he twill subscribe to the Certificates of Call to Nigerian Bar or administer oaths and admonitions to new wigs, either as Chainman, Deputy Chairman or member of the 3rd Defendant’s body.”
Nwosu also sought an alternative relief for “An order of this court by reason of the findings of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and the combined questions in 5 & 6 either reliefs c, d, & e which are binding on this court by the reason of stare decisis directing the 3rd Defendant to remove or revoke the 2nd Defendant from his membership.”
The originating summons is supported with a 20 paragraphs affidavit wherein Nwosu decried the recent declining orientation of young lawyers and some other practicing lawyers due to the examples set by senior lawyers who ought to be of good examples to their colleagues, particularly the younger ones. He also stated that the Supreme Court is faced with a situation of helplessness in checkmating the excesses of these senior lawyers and that was led to the institution of this suit before the court.
He also averred that the Body of Benchers has become helpless in checkmating the errant members of their body due to the lack of a mechanism to do so. He stated that the suit was brought to interpret the enabling statute establishing the Body of Benchers given the recent attitudes of some of its members which has been condemned by the Supreme Court such as the attitude of Chief Wole Olanipekun in the case of The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited & Ors. v Chief Osaro Agbara & 9 ors, where the Supreme Court accused him of misleading the apex court that his clients had filed a brief of argument at the court below when from the records of proceedings, he knew that there was no primary brief of argument filed by his clients. And also, in the case of DEGI-EREMINAYO v PDP, the attitude of Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN amongst others provoked tears of anguish from the Supreme Court, where they were fined with a whooping sum of Ten Million Naira.
He further averred that up till now, the Learned Silk is yet to pay the fine going by the confirmation, he got from Chief Chris Uche SAN who was the was appearing for the other party in the case. This act according to him amounts to disobedience of the order of the apex court in Nigeria.
Furthermore, Nwosu SAN stated that all these actions of Chief Wole Olanipekun SAN are inconsistent and does not conform with the stipulation for “Highest Distinction in Legal Profession which is the qualifying factor for being a member of the Body of Benchers under Section 3 of the Legal Practitioner Act and as stated earlier, there is no structure in the Body of Benchers to reproach the erring members of the Body of Benchers and unless there is a sober judicial interpretation and pronouncement on the provisions of Section 3 of the Legal Practitioners Act, these irreconcilable state of affairs will persist and dangerously erode the dignity and integrity of the Body of Benchers.
Meanwhile, the learned silk has filed a Motion on Notice alongside the Originating Summons for an order restraining the Body of Benchers “either by itself as a body institutionally or otherwise or by any other organ or its membership from placing the 2nd Defendant (Wole Olanipekun) in a position where he should preside over The Body of Benchers statutory affairs, meetings, or such other functions such as to Call to the Bar of new wigs (lawyers)or representing it at any functions no matter howsoever described pending the determination of this suit.”
He has also sought for order of accelerated hearing.
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