April 20, 2008
The disciplinary committee of the Body of Benchers today disbarred two lawyers from practicing law within the Nigerian legal jurisdiction for failing to substantiate allegations made against Supreme Court justices of collecting N5 billion from the former Governor of Delta State, James Onafefe Ibori in the famous ex-convict case.
The lawyers had written petitions and filed writs in making the allegations only to deny before the disciplinary committee of the Body of Benchers that they ever accused the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais and other justices of the Supreme Court of collecting bribes.
The trial of the two lawyers had taken different twist since 2004 until last March 2008 when a newly constituted committee sat and concluded the trial. The new disciplinary committee with Gboyega Awomolo (SAN), the chief judges of Sokoto and Zamfara states, and two justices of the Court of Appeal as members was headed by Justice Umaru Eri. The trial had to start afresh in March 2008 as the affected lawyers protested against the composition of the old panel.
Saharareporters spoke with Dele Oye who prosecuted the case against Moses Oddiri and Andrew Oru, he told our reporter that when the matter came up they (The two lawyers, Andrew Oru and Moses Oddiri) couldn’t substantiate their allegations.
Messrs Oru and Oddiri were part of a group of people who diligently prosecuted a legal challenge over the candidacy of James Ibori in 2003, as they convinced Nigerians through their “Derivative Front” that a Bwari Area Court in Abuja convicted James Ibori for stealing building materials from a construction site. The case was later decided in favor of James Ibori by a panel of Supreme Court justices who ruled that the “James Onafefe Ibori” convicted in 1995 was not the same person as the then governor of Delta State fueling speculations that the justices were bribed to deliver a judgment in favor in James Ibori.
Even as the Supreme Court ruling gave James Ibori a clean bill of health, information supplied in an affidavit supplied by the Metropolitan Police in the UK to the EFCC during James Ibori's recent trial before a Federal High Court judge in Kaduna showed that James Ibori was twice convicted and fined for stealing building materials at a Wickes Home Improvement chain in London and also for credit card fraud in the early 1990s.
Dele Oye, who served as a prosecutor in the cases of the two lawyers denied that the trial of the two lawyers had anything to do with James Ibori shady past, he said, “Even if they (Supreme Court justices) took bribes, the two lawyers should have applied to the National Judicial Council to lay their complaints against the justices.
Legal analysts told Saharareporters that petitions against Supreme Court justices to the NJC doesn’t stand a good chance of success as the justices wield enormous power in determining the outcome of such complaints. It will be the second time lawyers will openly accuse Justice Uwais of corruption while in active service.
The lawyers had written petitions and filed writs in making the allegations only to deny before the disciplinary committee of the Body of Benchers that they ever accused the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais and other justices of the Supreme Court of collecting bribes.
The trial of the two lawyers had taken different twist since 2004 until last March 2008 when a newly constituted committee sat and concluded the trial. The new disciplinary committee with Gboyega Awomolo (SAN), the chief judges of Sokoto and Zamfara states, and two justices of the Court of Appeal as members was headed by Justice Umaru Eri. The trial had to start afresh in March 2008 as the affected lawyers protested against the composition of the old panel.
Saharareporters spoke with Dele Oye who prosecuted the case against Moses Oddiri and Andrew Oru, he told our reporter that when the matter came up they (The two lawyers, Andrew Oru and Moses Oddiri) couldn’t substantiate their allegations.
Messrs Oru and Oddiri were part of a group of people who diligently prosecuted a legal challenge over the candidacy of James Ibori in 2003, as they convinced Nigerians through their “Derivative Front” that a Bwari Area Court in Abuja convicted James Ibori for stealing building materials from a construction site. The case was later decided in favor of James Ibori by a panel of Supreme Court justices who ruled that the “James Onafefe Ibori” convicted in 1995 was not the same person as the then governor of Delta State fueling speculations that the justices were bribed to deliver a judgment in favor in James Ibori.
Even as the Supreme Court ruling gave James Ibori a clean bill of health, information supplied in an affidavit supplied by the Metropolitan Police in the UK to the EFCC during James Ibori's recent trial before a Federal High Court judge in Kaduna showed that James Ibori was twice convicted and fined for stealing building materials at a Wickes Home Improvement chain in London and also for credit card fraud in the early 1990s.
Dele Oye, who served as a prosecutor in the cases of the two lawyers denied that the trial of the two lawyers had anything to do with James Ibori shady past, he said, “Even if they (Supreme Court justices) took bribes, the two lawyers should have applied to the National Judicial Council to lay their complaints against the justices.
Legal analysts told Saharareporters that petitions against Supreme Court justices to the NJC doesn’t stand a good chance of success as the justices wield enormous power in determining the outcome of such complaints. It will be the second time lawyers will openly accuse Justice Uwais of corruption while in active service.
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