Will Osigwe Advance Cause Of Justice As NBA President? – By ALEX ENUMAH

It is an understatement to say Mazi Afam Osigwe is taking over the helms of affairs at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the umbrella body for lawyers, at a time the nation’s judiciary appears to be at its lowest. Although, lawyers and judges over the years have been accused of one form of corruption or the other in the course of justice dispensation, however, no other time the Bar and Bench have seen such disdain and disrepute like the 2023 pre and post election litigations. From states to federal elections, most Nigerians see current office holders as the choice of the judiciary rather than that of the electorates.

Unfortunately, this perception seem not to be changing soon going by the ongoing litigations surrounding the Rivers State House of Assembly. Within the last six months or thereabout one cannot count the number of conflicting and contradictory court orders issued by courts of coordinate jurisdiction. Only few weeks back, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice OlukayodeAriwoola, had summoned the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court and that of Kano State, over conflicting and contradictory orders in the Kano emirship tussle.

While this is commendable, it is regrettable that the bar has yet to take any step against lawyers fond of filing frivolous applications or engaging in forum shopping.

Before Justice Ariwoola, previous CJNs including Justice Walter Onnoghen and Tanko Mohammad had welded the big stick when judges were found derailing.

However, the NBA only promises to “investigate” and “not hesitate to deal” with erring members, without matching words with action.

A lot of people believe that the judiciary would have been spared some of its current ridicules, if erring lawyers were dealt with, the same way the National Judicial Council (NJC) handles erring justices.

There is no gainsaying the fact that Osigwe would also be inheriting an NBA with a bartered image owing to the leadership crisis rocking the association. The NBA under YakubuMaikyau (SAN) is currently in court with the chairman of the NBA Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL), Mr John Aikpokpo-Martins, who was sacked for engaging in activities that allegedly undermined the authority of the NBA President. The sacked executives are however challenging the powers of the NBA council to remove them from office.

Besides Maikyau had few days back issued a disclaimer against Aikpokpo-Martins and NBA-SPIDEL Secretary, FunmiAdeogun over their position on the Police Central Motor Registry Information System (CMRIS) certificate. The Maikyau-led NBA based their action on the grounds that both Aikpokpo-Martins and Adeogun, alongside other executive of the NBA-SPIDEL, had been sacked by NBA leadership, hence lacked, “authority whatsoever to issue a statement on behalf of the NBA-SPIDEL or any section or forum of the NBA”.

Although, the NBA acknowledged the need for the police to rescind its directive on the issuance of the CMRIS as earlier demanded by SPIDEL, its grievances was that Aikpokpo-Martins and Adeogun ought not to have made any demands from the police since they have been removed from office.

Only last year, Maikyau also had a tough time with some members of his executive, who had accused him of running a one-man show, as well as spending a whopping N700 million on conference bags used at the NBA 2023 Annual General Conference. Maikyau, while fighting back had accused his predecessor, MrOlumideAkpata of fraud over the launch of the NBA portal. Indeed, the 2023 conference could best be described as a “No holds barred” movie of Learned Colleagues, joyfully washing their dirty clothes in the full glare of the public.

The issue of unity is another challenge Osigwe and his team of newly elected officials would have to contend with. Over the past few years dissatisfied members of the NBA have indicated readiness to pull out and form a parallel association of legal practitioners in the country.

Meanwhile, it is not yet clear whether MrChukwukaIkwuazom (SAN) who came third in the election would go to court to challenge Osigwe ‘s emergence as winner of the NBA presidential election. Few hours to the announcement of Osigwe as winner, Ikuazom had announced his withdrawal from the race, citing alleged manipulation of the electoral process.

According to an Abuja based legal practitioner, Mr Emmanuel Ekwe, “A winner has emerged but the process leading to MaziAfamOsigwe’s emergence is subject to audit. Until the audit is conducted to see the level of transparency in the conduct of the election, I may not be able to congratulate him”.

Ekwe, however, observed that moving the association forward would be a herculean task in view of the fact that he has to first unify the NBA. He said, “This election has caused a major division among members of the Bar. After the unification, another hurdle for him to cross is to ensure that the rule of law is respected in Nigeria especially by government agencies.

“By and large, I hope to see an NBA where the welfare of lawyers is paramount and not compromised in any manner”.

Another lawyer from the Benin branch of the NBA, Mr Andrew Lawani, pointed out that majority of Nigerians hold erroneous views of the legal profession and it is high time this perspective was corrected. He expressed confidence in the ability of Osigwe to bring about the much needed change that would restore the glory of the profession.

“Majority of the people have this erroneous impression that lawyers are part of the problem of this country, this notion is very wrong, so the new President of NBA, MaziAfamOsigwe has to return the Bar to its core values of objectivity and pursuit of the noble goals for the good of all Nigerians”, he said. Lawani like Ekwe and other lawyers also charged the incoming administration to place value on the overall interests of the legal profession and it’s members over and above all other considerations. He said this is very important because some lawyers feel that their interests and welfare are not being cared for at all.

“Lastly, the emergence of MaziOsigwe is a good omen for the legal profession at this time, first he has the experience and know the inner workings of the profession because he was once General Secretary of the Bar, Chairman of Abuja Branch(Unity Bar), he is a man of integrity and he can speak truth to the powers that be where necessary.

“I will also add that MaziOsigwe represents a proactive and all inclusive Bar where everyone will have a sense of belonging and carried along in the affairs of the legal profession, I have no doubt in my mind at all that he will take the Bar to greater heights during his tenure”, he added.

Recall that the NBA electoral committee had on July 21, 2024 declareOsigwe, a former General Secretary of the NBA as the president-elect. The Chairman of the NBA Electoral Committee, MrOluseunAbimbola (SAN), disclosed that Osigwe scored 20,435 votes cast in an online election which held on Saturday.

While Chairman of the NBA-Institute of Continuing Legal Education Governing Council, TobennaErojikwe, came second with 10,998 votes, Ikwuazom (SAN), came third, with 9,018 votes.

Meanwhile, a total of 40,451 lawyers were said to have participated in the election.

Since joining the Nigerian Bar 25 years ago, Osigwe has held key elected, ad hoc and appointive positions at both branch and national levels of the NBA. As a member of the NBA Abuja Branch, he served on numerous committees, including the NBA Abuja Law Reporting Committee (2003-2005) and the Committee on Continuing Legal Education (2004-2006, 2008-2010).

Osigwe has also served as alternate chairman for the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the NBA Annual General Conference 2012 and held other notable positions.

He has also been the Publicity Secretary of NBA Abuja (2006-2008) and chairman of the branch (2010-2012).

He became the first chairperson of chairpersons of NBA branches in the FCT in 2012. As the general secretary of the NBA (2014-2016), he contributed to significant initiatives, including introducing personalised NBA adhesive stamps, e-voting, universal suffrage, and uniform bye-laws.

Osigwe in his acceptance remarks posted on social media platforms last Sunday, assured of his determination to advance the cause of justice, uphold the rule of law, and foster a vibrant and inclusive legal community.

How he marshals his plans with action in realizing his goal of reforming the legal profession and by extension the judiciary is only a matter of time.