Seven lawyers face tribunal over conflicting court orders on former PDP Chairman, Secondus

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and six other lawyers are to stand trial before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) over their alleged participation in the issuance of conflicting orders by a court in the cases involving the former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President, Mr. Olumide Akpata, who revealed this on Monday in Abuja noted that a committee inaugurated by the association to examine the lawyers involved submitted its report last month.

Akpata, who withheld names of the lawyers, said the NBA would, within the next two weeks, refer the erring legal practitioners to the LPDC for trial.

“They are about seven in number. We are going to file a petition at the LPDC, and this will happen within the next two weeks.

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“You will get their names when we file the petition. They are seven lawyers from across the country. There is a Senior Advocate among them,” Akpata said

The NBA President also spoke on plans for the 2022 Justice Sector Summit scheduled for Abuja on January 25 by the NBA in collaboration with other organizations.

He said the summit is intended for stakeholders in the nation’s justice sector, including the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo; Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Ibrahim Muhammad, Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, among others to examine the many challenges affecting the Judiciary and come up with workable solutions.

“The Justice Sector Summit 2022, which is themed: “Devising practical solutions towards improved performance, enhanced accountability,” is organized by the NBA and the Justice Research Institute (JRI) in collaboration with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and the Justice Reform Project (JRP).

“We are expecting the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN; the Senate President, Sen. Ahmad Ibrahim Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Hemi Gbajabiamila; My Lord the Chief Justice of Nigeria and other Justices of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

“The Chief Judges of the some of the High Courts and other Judges; the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN; Senior Advocates of Nigeria and senior members of the Bar; as well as other special guests.

“Put differently, anyone who is genuinely interested in the improvement of the justice delivery system in Nigeria and who is desirous of the establishment and maintenance of an effective, fair, humane, accessible, and accountable justice sector in Nigeria is expected to be in attendance tomorrow (January 25),” Akpata said.

Chairman, Summit Planning Committee, Dr. Babatunde Ajibade (SAN) said the summit would focus on three specific areas – the existing appointment process in the Judiciary, the problem of funding, and the challenge of delay in the judicial process.