[b]Aondoakaa stripped of SAN title
By OLA AGBAJE, Lagos and Godwin Tsar, Abuja
Friday, October 08, 2010


•Aondoakaa
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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Former Attorney-General of Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Chief Michael Aondoakaa lost his privilege as the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on Thursday over sundry allegations of abuse of office and privileges, during his tenure as the nation’s chief law officer.

The body of Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC) suspended indefinitely, the former AGF following a petition sent by the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) where detailed abuses allegedly perpetrated by him, were highlighted.

In what appears like a landmark decision, the LPPC’s indefinite suspension of Aondoakaa was the first time in the history of legal practice in Nigeria that a SAN would be stripped of his title. Specifically, Aondoakaa was accused of deliberately abusing his office by stalling several high profile cases of Advanced Fee Fraud involving notable Nigerians through fraudulent manipulation of the judicial process.

He was also accused of fraudulently terminating some of the 419 cases in court by issuing unjustified Nolli Prosequi to withdraw charges against the accused persons including a legal practitioner, Moses Odiri and business tycoon, Jimoh Ibrahim. The petitioner averred that in some cases, trial had reached advanced stage before the AGF stepped in, thereby serving as obstacles to the anti-corruption crusade of the government he served.

According to the petition signed by the CDHR president, Olasupo Ojo, Aondoakaa was accused of deliberately misleading the Federal Government through the issuance of fraudulent legal opinion on cases of money laundering of international dimension involving the former Governor of Delta State, Chief James Ibori currently being detained by Dubai authorities.

The petition averred that Aondoakaa abused his office when he issued legal opinion to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua government which tends to suggest that the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) can not engage in mutual cooperation with the British Metropolitan Police on supply of evidence materials for the prosecution money laundering suspects. He was accused of deliberately misleading foreign countries on the prosecutional autonomy of EFCC by suppressing the truth and fact about its independence and power to engage foreign countries on cooperation on issues that have to do with money laundering.

CDHR also averred that the ex AGF stifled the probe of multimillion dollar Halliburton bribery scandal by sending a letter to the French authorities to divert attention from the true position of the case.[/b]



http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/oct/08/national-08-10-2010-018.htm

He is a total disgrace to the judiciary, to himself, to his family and to the country at large .

He is a total disgrace to the judiciary, to himself, to his family and to the country at large .