December 05, (THEWILL) – The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Maikyau SAN, has written to the Chairman, Body of Benchers, Chief Wole Olanipekun, to step aside and not preside over the call to bar ceremony of the Nigerian Law School, scheduled for Tuesday, 6th & Wednesday 7th December, 2022.
This is in connection with the NBA’s call for Olanipekun to recuse himself, in relation to the scandalous email by a former partner in his firm, Ms Adekunbi Ogunde, to SAIPEM, an expatriate company, claiming that her principal, Olanipekun, uses his office as BoB chairman to influence Judges and get favourable judgements for his clients.
Maikyau described the continuous silence by the Body of Benchers to the ‘indictable letter’ of Ogunde, as ‘disgusting, and a betrayal of the confidence Nigerians have in the legal profession.’
In the 10-page letter dated Dec. the 4th, 2022 titled, A CALL TO SALVAGE THE IMAGE, REPUTATION AND INTEGRITY OF THE BODY OF BENCHERS AND THE LEGAL PROFESSION, AND FOR THE CALL TO BAR CEREMONY SCHEDULED FOR 6 AND 7 DECEMBER 2022 TO BE PRESIDED BY, HONOURABLE JUSTICE MARY PETER ODILI, JSC, RTD – THE VICE CHAIRMAN BODY OF BENCHERS and copied to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola and to all Benchers, Maikayau requested that Justice Mary Peter Odili, should instead, preside over the call to bar ceremony.
Maikayau’s letter is coming on the heels of a similar letter by the immediate past President of the NBA, Olumide Akpata, who had also asked Chief Olanipekun to recuse himself from the Chairmanship of the BoB to restore confidence in the body.
The request was rebuffed by the body who kept mum over the letter.
