#nigerianbarassociation

[jayessentialsblog]

EFCC advises lawyers to refrain from breaking anti-money laundering legislation

On Tuesday, Ola Olukoyede, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, urged lawyers nationwide to constantly do background checks on their clients. He clarified that this was being done to make sure they don't violate any anti-money laundering or counterterrorism financing laws. According to a statement released by the commission's Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the head of the EFCC addressed a panel at the 64th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, or NBA, Conference on money laundering. The statement says, “The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, called on lawyers across the country to always observe due diligence in their practices. “This, according to him, is necessary for them to know the background of their clients so as not to run foul of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing regulations.” Olukoyede also encouraged lawyers to handle themselves in a professional manner. He said, “As lawyers, we are supposed to hold a position of trust in our professional conduct. While we try to comply with international laws and regulations, we should also do what is right for ourselves to protect the sanctity of our profession, which is very key. “It is expedient on you to, at least, know who your client is. You are expected to be paid from a legitimate source. “If you are a victim of crimes, you will understand what I am saying. As lawyers, you must not, in any way, derogate or demean your professional commitment to your clients. “Even a part of the money laundering Act that we have evaluated doesn’t stop me from enforcing the regulations of the EFCC Act and other financial laws in Nigeria.” Read the full article

[legalattorneyblog]

Court Dismisses Hon Nimi Walson-Jack's Suit Against The Nigerian Bar Association.

The court dismissed the PO on the ground that it attempted to examine the substantive issue at an interlocutory stage. The court also held that the justiciability of the action, the status of the claimant, the provision of the NBA constitution, and the internal workings of the NBA, particularly the attendance of the NBA—NEC, cannot be decided without going to the Pleadings, particularly an…

[nigpilot]

APC chieftain backs NBA's call for implementation of judicial autonomy -NigPilot

Director-General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, has thrown his weight behind the struggle by judicial and legislative workers and the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for the entrenchment of judicial and legislative autonomy in the country. Okechukwu, a chieftain of ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), stated that for the first time, some pundits who never commended President Muhammadu Buhari were hailing him for giving life to the real restructuring of democracy in Nigeria through the amendment of Section 121(3) of our Constitution and his Executive Order 10, geared towards compelling Governors to grant autonomy to state legislatures and judiciary. In a statement Tuesday in Abuja, Okechukwu noted that the popular restructuring everybody clamoured for in Nigeria cannot advance democracy, when State Governors act more or less like Emperors, trample on basic tenets of democracy, rig local council elections, enjoy rubber-stamp legislatures and muscle the judiciary. Okechukwu said, “One also hails the resolute and great legislative and judiciary workers and the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA). These are true patriots and crusaders of deepening of the frontiers of democracy in Nigeria, as democracy cannot in the real sense thrive in Nigeria when we operate rubber stamp State Legislatures and non-independent more or less pliant State Judiciary.” “Executive Order 10 has come to really restructure democracy. We only talk of free and fair elections as per INEC, not State Electoral Commission. This is why the NBA a prime actor in the locus in quo stepped into the fray.” He commended the NBA for this noble public interest intervention, adding that most patriots are in total support of the legislative and judiciary workers who have been on a nationwide strike to drive home their point. Okechukwu recalled that Mr President and the 8th National and State Assemblies patriotically assented to the Fourth 1999 Constitution Alteration Bill, which granted financial autonomy and independence to State Judiciary and State Legislatures in June 2018. “Regrettably, nearly two years down the line, we waited endlessly for our dear Emperors to either obey or implement this landmark constitutional amendment meant to further deepen our democracy at the grassroots. “Accordingly, President Buhari has no option but to resort to the executive powers vested on him in Section 5(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which “shall extend to the execution and maintenance of this Constitution, all laws made by the National Assembly and to all matters” and signed the Executive Order 10 in May 2020, to compel reluctant governors to implement the financial autonomy granted State Legislatures and State Judiciary by Section 121(3) of our Constitution.” FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. The content of this Website is made available by the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Publisher. This Website seeks to facilitate the dissemination of informative, with engaging, and constructive news about events in Nigerian, Africa, and Globally as they happen. The "Distributor" of this Information are the Nigerian Pilot Newspaper and Nigerian Pilot Tv brands of Dom Communication, LLC. DISCLAIMER: FAKE NEWS PUBLICATION. This Website NigPilot collects information from several Independent Reporters and may contain unauthenticated and/or copyrighted materials the utilization of which has not generally been explicitly approved or authorized by the copyright proprietor. NigPilot with concern to increase in misleading social media publications, please report any Fake, False, or Misleading News to info@nigpilot.ng for immediate action. FAIR USE NOTICE. In accordance with THE LAW, the material on this Website is included for informational and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond “fair use,” you must obtain permission from the copyright owner or Nigerian Pilot WEBMASTER. For Nigerian Pilot Newspaper Advert Rates Click Here! Read the full article

[rnnonline]

It is an anomaly to have a unitary judiciary in a federation - Gov. EL-Rufai

The Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai,  has called for the decentralization of the Judiciary. The Governor made the call when Olumide Akpata, national president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), paid him a courtesy call on Tuesday, in Kaduna. The Governor stated that he is a major advocate of the decentralization of the Judiciary noting that it is abnormal to have a unitary Judiciary in a federal system. His words: “It is an anomaly to have a unitary judiciary in a federation, I am one of the major advocates of the decentralization of our unitarist judiciary to a federal one,” “We are pushing for the creation of state judicial councils that will handle the appointment of high court judges in states because that is the only way that we will be able to take our fates in our hands. “I believe that we have enough lawyers in the public and private sectors in Kaduna state to get 20 judges tomorrow if the state judicial council screens them and makes their recommendations. “But we are constitutionally constrained as we speak. “I have been making cases for the national judicial council to double the number of high court judges in Kaduna state, which will reduce the caseload to about 100 per judge, which is still too high. “I am happy that the national assembly has started the process of removing the bottleneck and I urge the Nigerian Bar Association to openly support it.” Governor El-Rufai noted that decentralizing the judiciary will give more opportunities for qualified lawyers in the private and public sectors to be part of the judiciary. The governor also said “bringing in outsiders always brings innovations and new ideas to improve the system”. “I do not believe that the only path to being a high court judge is to be a magistrate or state counsel,” he said. “There are many other paths as other countries have shown and have produced excellent judges at all levels.” Read the full article

[smoshblog-blog1]

Thugs beat up NBA chairman, Sylvester Adaka and other lawyers at the court of appeal in Rivers State

Today, suspected thugs reportedly beat up Sylvester Adaka, chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other lawyers at the court of appeal in Port Harcourt, Rivers state.   According to reports, Adaka and the other lawyers had stormed the court to disrupt proceedings when the suspected thugs swooped on them. They had arrived to enforce the order of the NBA, calling on lawyers to boycott court sittings to protest the suspension of Walter Onnoghen, chief justice of Nigeria.   However, suspected thugs and litigants reportedly beat them up and subsequently chased them out of the court room. “While we were there in court, a couple of thugs in the court premises attacked the lawyers there, the thugs zeroed in on me and a couple of lawyers. If not for the intervention of my colleagues around, I don’t know what would have happened. The court was sitting and continued sitting even after the attack on us and we felt that in an atmosphere that was charged like that, the court should have at least reasoned to allow tempers cool” Adaka told journalists. A.A. Gumel, one of the appeal court judges, condemned the invasion by the lawyers.  “This is incivility. We will not be intimidated. We will do our work. We are here to do a solemn job and we will give justice,” he was quoted as saying.   “The bar is entitled to respect the bench and the bench should carry the bar along. If the ethical behaviours handed to us by our fathers are maintained, we will make headway. It is about all the courts and administration of justice and not just the Appeal Court in Rivers State.” Read the full article

[adetokun]

And my favorite cousin has been also called to Nigerian Bar too... Flying off into the air like an eagle... You are blessed dear... #CallToBar #NigerianLawSchool #NigerianBarAssociation #BodyOfBenchers #CouncilOfLegalEducation #Abuja #AbujaInternationalConferenceCentre (at International Conference Centre, Abuja)

[adetokun]

It's all smiles now... Victory at last... There's no need for long Epistle... God alone is worthy.. My Brother is officially a LAWYER.. #CallToBar #NigerianLawSchool #NigerianBarAssociation #BodyOfBenchers #CouncilOfLegalEducation #Abuja #AbujaInternationalConferenceCentre (at International Conference Centre, Abuja)