Alleged Misconduct: NBA President Shuns Call To Bar Ceremony Presided Over By Olanipekun

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Yakubu Maikyau, on Tuesday, declined to participate in the call to bar ceremony presided over by the Chairman, Body of Benchers, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN).

In a statement, the NBA president said to do so would be to endorse, celebrate or condone a practice that he considered unwholesome and unprofessional, by virtue of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007.

The NBA president’s action comes two days after he wrote a letter to the Chairman of the Body of Benchers asking him to step aside and not preside over the call to bar ceremony.

He cited allegations of professional misconduct against Olanipekun in the wake of the scandalous email by a former partner in his firm, Ms Adekunbi Ogunde to SAIPEM, an expatriate company claiming that the senior lawyer uses his office as Board of Benchers chairman to influence judges and get favorable judgements for his clients.