Some senior lawyers in the country have described a letter written by the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Olumide Akpata to the Chairman, Body of Benchers (BOB), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) over the infraction of a partner in his chamber as tacky and disrespectful.
The NBA President had asked Olanipekun to resign as the Chairman of the BOB over the action of a partner in his law firm, Ms Adekunbi Ogunde, who solicited a brief from SAIPEM Contracting Nigeria Ltd, which had already engaged the law firm of Henry Ajumogobia (SAN).
Akpata had described the action as violation of the rule of professional practice and dragged Ogunde before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC).
He had urged the LPDC to sanction lawyers and consider whether Wole Olanipekun & Co. partners were not liable to be disciplined for the infraction.
In their commenting on the letter and the general handling of the matter, some prominent senior lawyers, including Chief Bennbella Anachebe (SAN), Chief Mike Ahamba (SAN) and Chief Samuel Okutepa (SAN) said Akpata could have exhibited better judgement.
They insisted that the NBA President should have first reached out to Olanipekun and other elders of the Bar before turning the matter into a media circus and disrespecting Olanipekun.
In his reaction, Chief Anichebe said the letter was written with underlining mischief. “I will think as a former President of the Bar, he ought to have made personal contact with him alongside other senior members of the Bar.
“I have it on good authority that Chief Olanipekun has not sighted a copy of the letter and the same has been released to the press.
“The fact that a junior in the Chamber of Chief Olanipekun wrote a letter and the content was considered to have violated the rules of practice does not justify asking Chief Olanipekun to resign.’’