The Ignominy At Gombe

By Raymond Nkannebe

Like many Nigerian Lawyers, I share in the collective shame of the odious, highly embarrassing and professionally discourteous acts of two supposed learned gentlemen, who in a fit of emotional outrage reduced our hallowed Temple of Justice into a wrestling bout where they traded blows, instead of refined principles of law which is the hallmark of advocacy at the Bar.

The pictures, some of which have been making the rounds across various chat groups are as horrible as they come. It brings to mind the violent scenes of street-fighting by so-called agbero boys that populate too many a shanty across Nigerian state capitals: blood-stained shirt, bloodied nose, and a desecrated arena of justice. Holy Moses!

The culprits as reported by various media are Messrs John Yuwa and MK Gurumyen. No one seems to know yet, the actual cause of the brawl leading to such shameful display. But it is reported that the fracas ensued in between arguments on what should have been an innocuous “stand-down” application arising from foul use of language by at least one of the feuding parties.

Irrespective  of the causative factor(s), how the gladiator-lawyers descended into such drivel with arrogant and scant regard for the integrity of the Court; the Learned Chief Magistrate; their fellow gentlemen at the Bar, and of course, the Gallery, is a tell-tale sign of their poverty of character; one that should have prevented them from ever qualifying to practice a profession that prizes the highest degree of conduct.

The time-honored tradition at the Bar is for counsel to conduct their case weaned of all emotions and to deploy the endless possibilities within the law to canvass the case of their client. It is not for Counsel to take over the case of the client and to canvass it as though he were crying more than the bereaved. Such a tendency shakes the foundations of decorum and mutual respect upon which law practice is erected.

By Rule 26(1) of our Code of Professional Ethics, lawyers are expected to treat one another with respect and dignity. Clients, not lawyers are litigants. And whatever may be the ill feeling existing between clients, must not be allowed to influence counsel in their conduct and demeanour towards each other.

Our cherished reference to one another as “Learned friend”,is indicative of the comradeship at the Bar. Therefore, counsel ought to be fair and friendly towards his colleagues without prejudice to his determination to advance the client’s case within his/her intellectual limit. As sentiments is not a friend of the Court, the minimum expectations is for counsel not to allow sentiments for his/her client, divert him from a warm relationship with his fellow colleague on the “other side”, no matter the size of his Brief.

On this unfortunate occasion, the two Counsel involved in the macabre dance proved to be impoverished of these fine standards of ethics which has distinguished our cherished profession through centuries. That they are senior members of the Bar, I must say, makes a very bad situation worse, and poses concerns for the legacy to be inherited by younger lawyers from whom such a debased conduct would have been expected.

The legendary Justice Niki Tobi in Ntoe Iso v Eno (1999) 2 NWLR (Pt. 590) 204 , admonished the Bar on the need to exhibit the highest sense of professionalism in the conduct of their client’s case. As the facts of that case, mirrors the the circumstances of the one before us, it is perhaps instructive to quote the late Erudite Jurist. Said him, “it is the best advocacy for Counsel to be completely detached from cases they handle. That is the only way they can find themselves holding tenaciously to the traditions of the profession. In our profession, litigants go in and out of the courts, but counsel are stable and consistent in the Courts. Let no counsel be emotional in any case to the extent that he finds himself in some problem in the real performance of his professional duties”.

So, how does the Bar Hierarchy address this most unprofessional and embarrassing behaviour? In a statement issued by the Chairman of the Gombe Bar- Ahmed Tukur-efforts to reconcile the warring parties after the fleeting tiff met a brick wall and as a matter of fact, was on the verge of escalation. In other words, none of the Learned Counsel involved was immediately remorseful of their highly deprecative conduct. This, to me, highlights the fastly eroding ethics and standards of conduct in the Bar. For context on this, I recall that barely two weeks ago, a Lawyer confessed in open Court to doctoring an enrolled order of Court in his overzealousness to execute the brief of his client.

These successive conducts as well as other remote ones which may not have come to popular attention, in my considered view, should move the Bar to take such display of unprofessionalism with the seriousness it deserves. Consequently, may I invite the National Leadership of the Bar to wade into the matter through the Disciplinary Committee of the Olumide Akpata-led Nigerian Bar Association. This is all the more so, as the efforts of the Gombe-Bar to resolve the issue proved abortive from what one could deduce from Ahmed Tukur’s statement.

Upon establishing a prima facie case of professional misconduct, the Committee must forward same to the Legal Practioners Disciplinary Committee for prosecution and appropriate sanctions subject to the findings of the Committee.

The legal profession is a highly prestigious and honourable one. For it to continue to flourish, such prestige and honour must also not be lacking in its membership. Where such is the case, the Bar must be firm and resolute in wielding the Big Stick against such members. This is my honest belief, and barring the outcome of this particular incident, one hopes that our courts would not be subjected to such undressing of its dignity and integrity by learned counsel in the future.

Raymond Nkannebe, a Legal Practitioner, writes from Lagos.