As soon as the 7 corrupt judges were arrested last week a group of Senior Advocates of Nigeria under the aegis of past presidents and current President of Nigerian Bar Association hurriedly addressed a press conference in Lagos. In defending the detained judges, the club of NBA presidents was silent on the fact that the suspects had turned their official quarters to a bureau de change as millions of naira and hundreds of thousands of dollars were seized by the department of state security officials. In attendance at the press conference were Wole Olanipekun SAN, J. B. Daudu SAN, Olisa Agbakoba SAN, Augustine Aleghe SAN and Abubakar Mahmoud SAN. Others include Olaolu Ali SAN, Dele Adesina SAN.
As soon as the text of the press conference was published in the media the respected human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana SAN issued a powerful statement to counter the influence peddling of the club NBA presidents. While blaming the National Judicial Council and the Nigerian Bar Association for their failure to call corrupt judges to order Mr. Falana said that all corrupt lawyers and judges are known to the lawyers' society. He made a veiled reference to the hypocrisy of the NBA which has a penchant for defending the human rights of rich and powerful individuals in the society.
Although the Nigerian Bar Association has not reacted to Mr. Falana's attack another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr. Joseph Okutepa has supported Mr. Falana's position by stating that some lawyers usually shun the courts manned by corrupt judges. He asked the leaders of the bar to address the arroyos allegations of judicial corruption levelled against the judges instead of diverting attention over the manner of arrest. Other Senior Advocates who have dissociated themselves from the self-serving statements of the NBA Presidents include Professor Itse Sagay, Dr. Fidelis Odita, and Chief Jibola Aribisala. Professor Sagay did not hesitate to point out that those who are defending the judges are corrupt lawyers.
However, Mr. Jiti Ogunye who is not a SAN has accused Mr. Mike Ozekhome SAN of spreading ignorance by saying that a search warrant can only be executed from 6am-6pm in any part of Nigeria. He referred the lousy lawyer to the relevant provision of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 which stipulates that a search warrant can be conducted at any time of the day including Saturday and Sundays. He also said that Mr. Ozekhome goofed by saying that the DSS officials acted illegally by breaking the doors in the house of Justice Adeniyi Ademola. Mr. Ogunye carefully read the provision of the law which permits the police and security personnel to break the doors and windows in the house of any criminal suspect who refuses to allow a search to be conducted. Since it was a live program on Channels television Mr. Ogunye was able to expose the grand ignorance and mischief of Mr. Ozekhome.
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