The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) says it will
investigate the action of the senior counsel who
represented the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki,
at the Code of Conduct Tribunal on Thursday. NBA General Secretary, Mr Afam Osigwe, told the
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Abuja
that the association would undertake the
investigation to ascertain facts of what transpired
at the tribunal before taking a position. “We got different accounts in the media and would
need the correct details to allow the NBA to react
from an informed position. “From the accounts we got through the media
some said the lawyers walked out while others
said they withdrew. “So, due to the inconsistent choice of words, we
cannot speak on the matter until we get the full
and accurate details,’’ he said. The lawyers, Messrs Mahmud Magaji (SAN) and
Ahmed Raji (SAN), had withdrawn their services as
lawyers representing Saraki at his trial on
allegation of false asset declaration before the
tribunal. They had also staged a walk out with the junior
lawyers who appeared with them before the
tribunal concluded the case. The lawyers openly announced their withdrawal
following their perceived dissatisfaction with the
ruling of the tribunal on their application for stay of
proceedings. They said that they were displeased with the
decision of the tribunal refusing the application to
stay proceeding in the trial pending the
determination of an appeal they filed before the
Supreme Court. Specifically, Magaji had said: “This is a judicial
rascality and I cannot be part of this process. I
therefore withdraw my representation as the
respondent’s counsel.’’ Speaking in same vein, Raji said: “We have pending
application before the supreme court. “I believe that in the hierarchy of court we have
the tail and the head and the tail cannot dictate for
the head as we have seen here. “I also withdraw my services as lawyer to the
respondent.” Meanwhile, a cross section of lawyers in Abuja has
condemned the “walk out’ by the senior counsel,
describing it as a “disgrace to the bar’’. Some of the lawyers who spoke to NAN said the
action of the lawyers was unethical, while some
blamed the judge for not taking appropriate action
to charge them for contempt. Mr Nnanna Oketa said young lawyers were highly
disappointed with the conduct of the senior
advocates, adding that the action was more
political than judicial. “The truth is that what transpired yesterday at the
Code of Conduct Tribunal is to say the least
degrading of our profession; it was terrible and
should not be associated with lawyers. “Lawyers are expected to conduct themselves
appropriately with the highest level of decorum
when they are in court. That is not how we are
trained and we hope that does not happen again. “The truth is that, if your prayer is not granted by
the court, there is a window of appeal if you are
not comfortable with the ruling of the court,’’ he
said. Oketa stressed that lawyers and citizens alike must
be properly guided by the rules of court in their
conduct before the court and a judge. Another legal practitioner, Mr Anthony Ekuma, said
the action of the senior lawyers was “most unruly’’. “What they have done is a violation of Section 30
of the Rules for Professional Conduct for Legal
Practitioners 2007 as amended. “With due respect to the learned seniors, they
should know that notice of appeal does not
constitute a stay in the hearing of a trial before a
court,” he said. Ekuma also condemned the action of the tens of
Senators who accompanied Saraki to the tribunal. The Senator had reportedly raised their voices in
support of the lawyers when they walked out of
court thereby disrupting the proceedings of the
tribunal. “The law is in no respecter of anyone, no matter
how highly placed therefore you are expected to
conduct yourself orderly while in court. “There must be maintenance of decorum in the
conduct of anybody in the court during
proceedings no matter who the person is,’’ he said. NAN recalls that Saraki, who is standing trial in the
tribunal on allegations of false asset declaration,
had appealed to the Supreme Court seeking to
stop the trial. The lawyers had applied to the tribunal to stay
proceedings in the trial pending the decision of the
apex court. The tribunal presided by Justice Danladi Umar,
however, in its ruling upheld the argument of the
prosecution that staying proceeding would
hamper speedy trial. In his ruling, Umar relied on Section 306 of the
Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, which
states that: “An application for stay of proceedings
in respect of a criminal matter before the court shall
not be entertained’’. Similarly, he said that Section 305 (1) of the Act
allows the trial court to exercise its discretion on
stay of proceeding if an issue on the interpretation
of the constitution is raised before an appellate
court. The section reads: “Where a question as to the
interpretation of the Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria arises in the course of trial and
is referred to the Court of Appeal under the
provisions of the constitution, the court before
which the question arose may in its discretion: “(a) adjourn the trial until the question has been
considered and decided “(b) conclude the trial and postpone the verdict
until such time as the question has been
considered and decided, or “(c) conclude the trial and pass sentence but
suspend execution until such time as the question
has been considered and decided “And in any such case the court in its discretion
shall commit the defendant or convict to prison or
admit him to bail in accordance with the provision
of Part 19 of this Act’’. (NAN)

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