Unknown to the Nigerian people, the current Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Bayo Ojo runs a "secret" legal practice based in the UK with a law firm known as "Solicitors Direct". Investigations by Saharareporters have revealed that some of the “official” trips by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Bayo Ojo (who uses his full name -Christopher Adebayo Ojo-in the offshore transactions) to the United Kingdom for which he might have received fat allowances were not official after all. This is because, for some time now the Attorney-general has been secretly defending allegations of professional misconduct levied against him by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal of the Law Society of England and Wales in the matter of Christopher Onyeka Agwu, Christopher Adebayo Ojo and In the Matter of the Solicitors Act of 1974; No. 9337-2005.

According to the findings of the Tribunal obtained by Saharareporters, which was released on February 28, 2007, and signed by I.R Woolfe, Chairman of the Tribunal, Chief Bayo Ojo was initially charged alongside with one Christopher Agwu for various degrees of professional misconduct including: failure to produce accounting records to investigating officer of the Law society, that the books of the Accounts of the firm of solicitors Direct jointly owned by Chief Bayo Ojo and Christopher Agwu were not properly written up contrary to Rule 32 of the Solicitors Accounts Rules 1998, that both solicitors failed to comply with conditions of their practicing certificates, that they both failed to comply with professional undertakings etc.

However, during its hearing on December 14th, 2006, Chief Bayo Ojo who attended the Tribunal’s sitting in company of his attorneys, Messrs Kendal Freeman denied that he had any involvement in the running of the partnership, Solicitors Direct.

He further argued that he first met Mr. Agwu in 1998 while they were both attending seminars in London with a view to becoming qualified as solicitors in England and Wales. At that time, he had been involved, on behalf of commercial clients in arbitration in London and was trying to build up his practice in international arbitration. Mr. Aguw was also a Nigerian attorney but already based in London. It was at that time that Mr. Agwu suggested that it would be helpful to both of them to become involved in the partnership.

According to Chief Ojo, even though, he agreed to form the partnership with Mr. Agwu, he rarely visited the firm’s office in London during the period he was named as a partner. He told the Tribunal that in dealing with the current disciplinary proceedings, he became aware of the earlier proceeding in which both of them had been sanctioned for unprofessional practice although, according to him, his former partner, Mr. Agwu, had mentioned it to him that the Law Society was taking actions against both of them in connection with some ethical issues. The attorney-General therefore urged the Tribunal to dismiss the allegations against him.

In accepting the attorney-general’s defense, the Tribunal dismissed the Charges but substituted them with a new single charge – That Mr. Bayo Ojo permitted his name to be held out as a partner in Solicitors Direct, conduct unbefitting a solicitor. Chief Bayo Ojo pled no contest to the new charge and was found guilty of professional misconduct by the Tribunal.

At the end of its sitting the Tribunal found all the allegations to have been substantiated against Mr. Agwu and found the single new allegation to have been substantiated against Chief Bayo Ojo.
While Mr. Agwu had his name removed from the Roll of Solicitors, the Tribunal Ordered that the Respondent, Christopher Adebayo Ojo of c/o Colin Joseph, Kendall Freeman, One Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1JB, solicitor, do pay a fine of £2,000.00, such penalty to be forfeit to Her Majesty the Queen, and it further Orders that he do pay a contribution of £4,000.00 to the overall costs of and incidental to this application and enquiry fixed in the sum of £17,929.00.

This new development might pose a very serious challenge to Chief Bayo Ojo’s membership of the International Law commission and his position as the Attorney-General of the Federation. Efforts made by Saharareporters to reach the Attorney General to get his views were futile as at the time of going to press.

http://www.saharareporters.com/www/report/detail/?id=250

The Bayo Ojo's Saharanews farce


These are the quotes from the tribunal's report. The AG was NEVER indicted for professional misconduct as Sahara News is propagating. This is just the News type of sensationalism.

"Finally, may I close by saying once more that Mr Christopher Ojo was never involved in the running of Solicitors Direct. I alone was responsible for the running of the firm. The firm had a multi-national status as recognised by The Law Society but Mr Ojo was based in Nigeria. He earned no income and paid no tax or NI contributions within jurisdiction. Please let me know if the files in your possession or letter from any client reveal that Mr Ojo at any time acted for anyone or was a signatory to any account. He simply did not act for anyone”. Agwu

"Having considered the explanations given, the Tribunal consented to the withdrawal of all of the allegations against Mr Ojo. It accepted that he should deal with the single allegation set out above and noted that he admitted such allegation." UK Tribunal

"It was accepted that on the face of the limited papers available relating to the practice, which ceased on intervention, was no evidence of any active part played in Solicitors Direct by Mr Ojo." UK law tribunal

"It was noted that Mr Ojo had written to Mr Agwu on 31st May 2005 resigning from his position in Solicitors Direct with immediate effect. He had also written a letter to The Law Society indicating that he did not seek to renew his practising certificate. That letter was not received by The Law Society until 3rd October 2005 and it was accepted that Mr Ojo had sent the letter to Mr Agwu for onwards transmission and Mr Agwu had not dealt with the matter promptly." UK Law tribunal

The Tribunal’s Decision and its Reasons
52. The Tribunal accepted Mr Ojo’s explanations. He himself accepted that he was naïve to allow his name to be associated with the firm of Solicitors Direct when he was not an active partner and was not exercising any control. The Tribunal accepted that Mr Ojo was duped by Mr Agwu at a time when he had made informal enquiry and had no reason to suppose that Mr Agwu was anything other than a man of integrity.
53. Mr Ojo is a solicitor qualified in England and Wales and the responsibilities which he must bear, having achieved such qualification, could not be abdicated. The Tribunal gave Mr Ojo credit for taking the trouble to attend before the Tribunal, to give his detailed explanations and the Tribunal took into account the not inconsiderable degree of personal embarrassment that these proceedings had brought to Mr Ojo. The Tribunal considered that it was right in all of the circumstances that Mr Ojo should pay a financial penalty of £2,000.00.

Is he a minister of Justice? what is malami for?