My Dear Colleagues

Compliments of the Season and please accept our hearty welcome to the NEC meeting of our great and unparalleled Association. We thank the Almighty for journey mercies particularly for those of you who travelled for this meeting from States of the Federation outside Abuja. It is the Season of goodwill and, on behalf of the National Officers, I sincerely extend our goodwill and Seasons’ Greetings to all our members, represented at this NEC meeting by you, our distinguished NEC members.

It is three months now since we were inaugurated and sworn in as your National Officers on 31 August 2018 and this is our first NEC meeting. This is also the NEC meeting for Quarter 2 of the NBA
2018/2019 Financial Year which, in practice, is calculated from August of each year to the July of the succeeding year. That, understandably, is why our Audited Financial Statement for each year is
prepared as at July of that year. In effect, NBA’s 2018/2019 Q1 spans the period August to October
2018 and Q2 of our Financial Year will span the period November 2018 to January 2019.

Our Constitution stipulates that NEC meetings must be held quarterly and as in every structured institution, this can only be interpreted to mean
every financial quarter. The NEC meeting that was held on 26 August 2018 therefore qualified as our
2018/2019 Q1 NEC meeting and the meeting of today, as I earlier pointed out, is our 2018/2019 Q2 NEC meeting. All properly organized institutions schedule their quarterly Board of Directors’ meetings – the equivalent of our NEC – for such
dates within the quarter as would allow for the preparation and publication of the preceding
quarter’s Financial Statements and this is understandable because, those quarterly meetings
afford the directing minds of the institution the opportunity to take stock and reflect on the
organization’s performance in the preceding quarter for the purposes of mapping their next quarter
activities and indeed the future activities of the enterprise or organization generally.
Going forward, we would schedule our quarterly NEC meetings in like manner, making sure that our
quarterly accounts are ready and circulated for dissection and discussions during those meetings.
That, in large parts, informed the holding of this meeting in this month of December, thereby
allowing a one- month period from the end of 2018/2019 Q1 for the preparation of our Management Accounts for the said Q1 which would be presented at this meeting and published to our
members immediately after this NEC meeting, in fulfilment of our cornerstone commitment to
enthrone transparency and financial rectitude in our body politic. EFCC Investigation of AKSG Fees

Just before reviewing our performance in 2018/2019 Q1, it is perhaps only right that I address the orchestrated social and online media reports of the last 24 hours in regard tomy allegedly being charged to court for money laundering
offences by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (“EFCC”). I have not been served with any such charge neither have I been arraigned before any court on any such charge or at all. It is
however correct that I have been questioned by the EFCC in the last several months in respect of fees
that my Firm had been paid by Akwa Ibom State Government (“AKSG”) between 2015 and 2016 and
also fees that Governor Udom Emmanuel, the Governor of Akwa Ibom State had paid to me for the
benefit of Counsel that worked on his Election Petition Appeal that was decided by the Supreme Court early in 2016.Luckily, I had kept a contemporaneous and detailed
record of my visits to the EFCC offices in Abuja and it would be useful that I quote excerpts there from on the facts of the EFCC investigation for the benefit of you, my colleagues:

“I was invited by the EFCC Bank Fraud Section, vide a letter of 28 May 2018, to provide “clarification” in respect of “a case” that they were investigating. I met with them on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, 04, 05 and 06 June 2018 and their
questioning of me was on two specific issues as outlined below.
(a) “Zenith Bank N300m Inflow
“I was questioned in respect of a N300m cash inflow that came into PUC’s Zenith Bank Account on
14 March 2016 and the subsequent outflows from the account to various Senior Counsel between
22-23 March 2016. I explained that the inflow was payment by Governor Udom Emmanuel in respect of
an Election Petition Appeal that was determined by the Supreme Court and that I served as the
coordinating Counsel in respect of the matter and had engaged various Senior Counsel therefor on his
behalf. The subsequent outflows which were made through bank transfers were the professional fees
which I made on his behalf to those Counsel based on the N300m inflow.

They wanted to know how
the cash lodgment was made into the PUC account and I informed them that the lodgment was made at the instance of Governor Emmanuel (albeit, not necessarily by him) and definitely not by me or any
PUC personnel and that I had no further information, clue or knowledge beyond that.

(b) “N1.110bn Inflows into PUC’s Access Bank Account from AKSG
“EFCC also wished to know the basis for the aggregate inflow of N1,110,000,000.00, paid in 4
tranches, into the PUC Access Bank Account from AKSG between 24 August 2015 and 18 September
2016. I provided an explanation in writing to them showing that these were payments-on-account by
the State in respect of several dispute resolution matters that we were and, in some cases, are still
handling for the State Government.
I backed the explanation up with (a) copies of the PUC Notes of Charges in respect of 3 of the 4 payment tranches, pursuant to which the payments were made and which clearly showed that these
were payments-on-account in respect of various matters that we were handling for the State; and (b)
a non-exhaustive List of 19 matters, none of which was election-related, which we were handling for the
State at all times material to their enquiry and the payments. We pointed out that we were in the
process of reconciling accounts with the State Government in order to determine the outstanding
fees due from the Government to us and that for none of these matters were we previously paid by
the State Government.

“They questioned me on the agreed fees for each of the matters and I told them that there was no such
agreement which explains why the payments were made on account, albeit, there is a reconciliation
process afoot. They asserted that from their experience, fees are always agreed in advance with
counsel prior to engagement. I strenuously refuted that assertion and gave them illustrative instances
where we’ve worked for FGN – the MTN Fine case, for instance – and fees were not agreed in advance
and we haven’t even been paid as I write.

I also gave instances of very established organizations where we’ve experienced the same
circumstances and concluded by informing them that the processes for engagement of counsel and
negotiation/payments of their fees are not standard and immutable but remain the exclusive prerogative
of the client and are at the clients’ discretion.
They asked for our letters of engagements and Iexplained that traditionally, letters of engagements
are not issued to us by the State in these matters; the State merely hands over the processes to us
and requests that we represent the State in thematters or institute required proceedings on behalf
of the State.In any case, I told them that I wasn’t aware that AKSG was complaining howsoever in respect of these fees or denying that we had
provided the services outlined in our letter and even if they were, the court/arbitral records and
processes in these proceedings are available to bear our services out.
“Attention then turned to the payments that PUC made to some senior counsel at all times materials
to the EFCC investigation. Soon after the payment- on-account of N530m by AKSG on 24 August 2015,
we had made some payments to several senior counsel. Similar payments were also made soon
after the payments to us by AKSG of N260m and N280m respectively on 03 December 2015 and 18 January 2016 and the EFCC wanted to know what these payments were made for. I explained that these were the same set of Counsel – comprising
eminent members of the Inner Bar and a host of other members of the outer Bar – that I had engaged to work with me in respect of the Election Petition matter for which payments were made from
the PUC Zenith Bank Account (for the Supreme Court Appeal) and that these payments that were
made from the PUC Access Bank Account were professional fees which I paid to them for their
services at the Tribunal and Court of Appeal. They wanted to know if I was paying them out of the
AKSG payments-on-account and I answered in the negative. I explained that these were independent
transactions and that the AKSG payments-on-account were in respect of my Firm’s professional
services to the State while the payments to the senior counsel were made by me for and on behalf
of Governor Udom Emmanuel, at his request and inexpectation of refunds at a future date.

“The EFCC tried very hard to link the payments to the senior counsel to the AKSG payments-on- account to PUC but I told them that, at each time when the inflows from AKSG came into PUC’s account, the Firm had available funds in its Access
Bank account of not less than N450m (made up, amongst others, of a standing overdraft from
Access Bank) and that the fresh funds always comingled with the existing available funds and it
was practically impossible to separate them by source and attribute subsequent expenditures to
specific preceding inflows or available funds. Theywanted to know why these payments to senior
counsel were made after each of the 3 inflows into the Firm’s account and not prior and I explained that the Firm retained the unquestionable discretion as to when it pays its creditors and that, in any
case, if the payments were made before the AKSG inflows, the same EFCC would’ve been questioning
me as to whether those AKSG inflows were made to fill the hole in our account sequel to the senior
counsel outflows. Such line of questioning, I stressed, was futile, speculative, tendentious, untenable, baseless, incorrect and unrewarding apart from being utterly unfair to me and PUC. I wondered aloud in my Statement why, if they
thought a pattern was established of payments to senior counsel after each AKSG inflow, how come
there was no such payment sequel to the N40,000,000.00 inflow from the State on 18 September 2016 and why I’m not questioned on this.”

For completeness, I have attached to this Address, my letter of 05 June 2018 to the EFCC in which I detailed the 19 arbitral and litigation matters that we had handled for AKSG at all times material to their investigation and the payments to my Firm. Now, the investigation of the professional fees that were paid to my Firm or through us to some other counsel has very serious and far-reaching implications for all of us and the practice of our profession which we, as lawyers and as an association of lawyers, should not ignore. I would
highlight below some of such non-exhaustive implications:
(a) Client-Lawyer Privilege. It has judicially and historically been acknowledged that issues of fees,
as between a lawyer and his client, is a matter of privilege.

The recent decision of the Court of Appeal that was delivered on 14 June 2017 in Appeal Number CA/ A/202/2015: Central Bank of Nigeria v Registered Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association & Attorney General of the Federation affirmed this position. By questioning lawyers on the legitimate fees that they
have earned from clients, the EFCC is breaching the lawyer-client privilege and showing complete
disregard for the judgments of the Courts in this regard.

(b) EFCC’s lack of Locus Standi in Client-Lawyer Contractual Relationship. The fees that are paid by a Client to his lawyer is not only a matter of privilege but is also contractual. As we all know, non-parties to a contract are complete strangers thereto and
lack the locus standi to question and/or determine the propriety of such contract(s). The EFCC stands
in that position in this and other matters of this nature; it lacks the locus standi to question the
basis for the fees. Only the parties to the contract can question the justification for the fees and in this
instance, neither party has raised any such query.

Indeed, neither party reported this matter to the EFCC or invited the Agency to carry out any investigation in regard thereto.

(c) EFCC as Auditor and/or Regulator of Legal Fees. There is no provision in Nigeria’s statute books that constitutes the EFCC into the auditor of legal fees. When the EFCC arrogates to itself the right to determine the basis for a lawyer’s fees, it not only intrudes into a client-lawyer contract which
by its nature is privileged, but also constitutes itself into an auditor of lawyers’ fees. No such position
has been created in our statute books for the EFCC or any other agency for that matter. The EFCC is
also not set up as the regulator of lawyers and their fees and it ought not assume such a position.

(d) Criminalization of Lawyers’ Fees. The EFCC appears to be straining quite hard to criminalize the
fees that are earned by lawyers for their legitimate work. Mine is not the first of these intrusions; we all
recall the case of Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN when the EFCC attempted to forfeit his fees on the
pretext that the funds came from illegal sources. The allegations of the EFCC against me are not any
different, particularly in regard to the
N300,000,000.00 which was paid by Governor Udom Emmanuel to my Firm’s account for the
benefit of his Counsel in the Election Petition Appeal. If these EFCC incursions are not checked,
the Bar and the practice of our profession are doomed.

(e) Independence of Legal Profession and Practice.
The practice of law, as we all know, is founded on the independence of the legal practitioner and his
courage to advocate on behalf of his client to the best of his ability and conviction. That independence and the courage of the advocate are
now being threatened and trampled upon by the EFCC. Lawyers now have to work and walk on tip-
toe, looking over their shoulders to determine whether the EFCC would be coming after them
solely on account of their courage and independence in advocacy.
That does not bode well for the profession or for legal practice generally. My case is not isolated; I
have received incessant reports from lawyers who represent clients against the EFCC whose bank
accounts and legitimate fees have been and are being investigated by the EFCC sequel to their representations of those clients – not any different from my case. Democracy and the rule of law are
threatened when the lawyers’ independence and courage in advocacy are fettered howsoever,whether by the EFCC or any other person or organization,
consequent upon the lawyers’ choice of clients.


Paul Usoro, SAN President
Full text of his speech on his page

https://mobile.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=373498616734041

Why defend yourself at a public forum? Your guilt or innocence ain't going to be determined by NBA, but by the court. I am not a lawyer but I have long been told that law is simply " simple English and common sense"
Common sense should have cautioned Usoro that this act of his is subjudice to the case. Not being a lawyer o had to find out what sibjudice is from Wikipedia:

"it is generally considered inappropriate to comment publicly on cases sub judice, which can be an offence in itself, leading to contempt of court proceedings. This is particularly true in criminal cases, where publicly discussing cases sub judice may constitute interference with due process.
OR "Contempt of Court" which avers ..a substantial risk of serious prejudice(which) can only be created by a media report when proceedings are active. Proceedings become active when there is an arrest, oral charge, issue of a warrant, or a summons.

docadams:
Why defend yourself at a public forum?

He's clean and has nothing to hide.....unlike jubril from Sudan who's doing bojuboju and ojuju calabar with efcc against all his perceived political opponents

Don't talk we already know the truth.


APC EFCC

His only crime is not being a Northern Nigerian Islamic Ummah

docadams:
Why defend yourself at a public forum?

Is it your defend

CityNGR:

He's clean and has nothing to hide.....unlike jubril from Sudan who's doing bojuboju and ojuju calabar with efcc against all his perceived political opponents

You know this man? OLISA METUH


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkcEJyQaia4

Your senseless support pushed him close to his grave.
The lawyer who should have known otherwise, tthrew caution to the wind and joined your maddening chorus, like USORO just did.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ReakkZzHeo

He is regretted that moment of madness
https://www.dailytrust.com.ng/metuh-court-orders-arraignment-of-lawyer-channels-tv-anchors-259181.html

docadams:
Why defend yourself at a public forum? Your guilt or innocence ain't going to be determined by NBA, but by the court. I am not a lawyer but I have long been told that law is simply " simple English and common sense"
Common sense should have cautioned Usoro that this act of his is subjudice to the case. Not being a lawyer o had to find out what sibjudice is from Wikipedia:

"it is generally considered inappropriate to comment publicly on cases sub judice, which can be an offence in itself, leading to contempt of court proceedings. This is particularly true in criminal cases, where publicly discussing cases sub judice may constitute interference with due process.
OR "Contempt of Court" which avers ..a substantial risk of serious prejudice(which) can only be created by a media report when proceedings are active. Proceedings become active when there is an arrest, oral charge, issue of a warrant, or a summons.

but efcc can start doing media terrorism accusing people abi?

did you read the part whetevm he said he hasn't been served any court paper?







You 're jyst trying to sound clever. but you ain't

Aisha and yusuf buhari rakes in billions of naira monthly without having a proper job. EFCC when will u go after them.

lordkush:
but efcc can start doing media terrorism accusing people abi?

did you read the part whetevm he said he hasn't been served any court paper?









You 're jyst trying to sound clever. but you ain't

OK Mr Clever. When shit start hitting the ceiling, ye all will be miles away. The accused Judges acted more than this, where are they now?

docadams:
Why defend yourself at a public forum? Your guilt or innocence ain't going to be determined by NBA, but by the court. I am not a lawyer but I have long been told that law is simply " simple English and common sense"
Common sense should have cautioned Usoro that this act of his is subjudice to the case. Not being a lawyer o had to find out what sibjudice is from Wikipedia:

"it is generally considered inappropriate to comment publicly on cases sub judice, which can be an offence in itself, leading to contempt of court proceedings. This is particularly true in criminal cases, where publicly discussing cases sub judice may constitute interference with due process.
OR "Contempt of Court" which avers ..a substantial risk of serious prejudice(which) can only be created by a media report when proceedings are active. Proceedings become active when there is an arrest, oral charge, issue of a warrant, or a summons.

You're intelligent Broh.. But being a supporter of the APC is a frontal attack your intelligence. Can you explain contempt of court in a case that's not in court?

MadamExcellency:
His only crime is not being a Northern Nigerian Islamic Ummah

This hatred that your forefathers have sown inside you is the reason you and your brethren will be governed forever by those you have so much hatred and bitterness for.

efighter:


This hatred that your forefathers have sown inside you is the reason you and your brethren will be governed forever by those you have so much hatred and bitterness for.

But we are doing better in every spheres of life than average Nigerians.

We are simply the best in ingenuity and resourcefulness

[s]

docadams:
Why defend yourself at a public forum? Your guilt or innocence ain't going to be determined by NBA, but by the court. I am not a lawyer but I have long been told that law is simply " simple English and common sense"
Common sense should have cautioned Usoro that this act of his is subjudice to the case. Not being a lawyer o had to find out what sibjudice is from Wikipedia:

it is generally considered inappropriate to comment publicly on cases sub judice, which can be an offence in itself, leading to contempt of court proceedings. This is particularly true in criminal cases, where publicly discussing cases sub judice may constitute interference with due process.
OR "Contempt of Court" which avers .a substantial risk of serious prejudice(which) can only be created by a media report when proceedings are active. Proceedings become active when there is an arrest, oral charge, issue of a warrant, or a summons.

[/s]Since you admitted the bolded, you should desist from commenting on issues you have zero knowledge of or better still consult a lawyer before commenting. I showed this post to one of the lawyers at my company's legal department and they are still laughing at your beer parlour analysis. One mumu was even aplauding your post. Paul Usoro's address to the NBA of which he chairs is in order.

Yorubaskullmine:
[s][/s]Since you admitted the bolded, you should desist from commenting on issues you have zero knowledge of or better still consult a lawyer before commenting. I showed this post to one of the lawyers at my company's legal department and they are still laughing at your beer parlour analysis. One mumu was even aplauding your post. Paul Usoro's address to the NBA of which he chairs is in order.

If you are so comfortable with your stance why display inferiority complex.

300 million in cash, wow.

I think there is a need for NBA, FMJ, NJC and other regulators of the legal profession to come together and develop a pricing template to guide legal fees charged by lawyers that renders legal services to state governments and federal government agencies. I cannot understand the kind of legal services this guy is providing to Akwa Ibom state that the state had to pay him N300million in one instance and another N1.1billion in another instance. Are there no competent lawyers again in Akwa Ibom ministry of justice? What is even the annual budget of the state ministry of justice that the governor can afford to pay a single lawyer N1.1billion legal fees?

It is very obvious that the NBA president is a conduit pipe for laundering Akwa Ibom state funds. The fact that there is always an outflow to some certain individuals anytime the payments are made says it all. EFCC should investigate the matter properly and prosecute Paul Usoro. Lawyers are seriously a big part of the endemic corruption killing this country.