NBA, the umbrella body of legal practitioners in the country, said it had, in a letter copied to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, asked Chief Olanipekun to step aside as leader of the BoB.

The call followed a claim by a leading partner in his chambers, Ms. Adekunbi Ogunde, that he influenced judges to deliver favourable judgments for his clients. The NBA said it had, in view of the weighty nature of Ogunde’s claim and the negative impact it has on the overall image and integrity of the legal profession in the country, urged Olanipekun to allow his vice, Justice Mary Odili (ret. ), to preside over the Call to Bar ceremony scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Maikyau noted that he had, in the said letter dated December 4, made the position of the association known to the BoB Chairman. "In that letter, I requested the Chairman of the BoB to recuse himself from presiding over the Call to Bar Ceremony scheduled for December 6 and 7, 2022, for reasons clearly articulated therein."

"I sent the letter to the Chairman and all Benchers by email on December 4, 2022. I also submitted a hard copy of the letter on December 5, 2022, to the Secretary of the BoB along with one hundred and fifty (150) copies of the letter for circulation to all Benchers. "It will be recalled that my predecessor-in-office had, on July 22, 2022, written to the Chairman of the Board of Governors to recuse himself from office on the same grounds set forth in my letter, but the Chairman refused to acknowledge the said letter or bring it up for consideration more than 5 months after its delivery to the Board.

"My present letter is to bring to attention the earlier call made by my predecessor and to emphasise the damage being done to the legal profession by reason of our collective silence over such a devastating issue, with the expectation that the Chairman will see reason to show remorse and for the BoB to ask the Chairman to recuse himself, knowing that no one is bigger than the legal profession."

"At the meeting of the BoB held on December 5, 2022, I drew the attention of the Chairman to my letter and called for deliberations on the same since it directly impacts the propriety of the Chairman presiding over the Call to Bar ceremony, but this was not done nor were the hard copies of the letter distributed to the benchers. "The meeting of the BoB was adjourned to January 2023, on a date to be fixed by the Chairman.   "In the circumstances, therefore, and having regard to my firm persuasion that the matters raised in my letter should have led the BoB to ask the Chairman to recuse himself in the interest of safeguarding the integrity of the legal profession, I am in good conscience unable to attend and participate in the call to bar ceremony." "The NBA under my leadership cannot be part of the ceremony intended by the current Chairman of the BoB for all the reasons stated in my letter under reference." "To do so will be to endorse, celebrate, or condone a practise that I consider unwholesome and unprofessional by virtue of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007."

"The NBA under my leadership remains committed to the protection of the integrity of the bench and the bar and will not shirk that responsibility." "I assure all members of the NBA that the sole motivation for my letter to the BoB is my conviction on the need to salvage the image, reputation, and integrity of the legal profession in Nigeria, which have been negatively impacted by the email by Adekunbi Ogunde, a partner in the law firm of the Chairman of the BoB.

"I congratulate our colleagues, the new wigs, for the great feat they have attained by fulfilling the requirements for joining the noble profession of law. "I pray that God Almighty will keep and preserve them as they contribute their quota to building the legal profession and the nation at large." "The NBA remains committed to the protection of our legal space and shall spare no effort to stop any external incursions or actions amongst members that can destroy our dear profession of law." "Be assured of our support and our preparedness to provide sincere mentorship to you through colleagues who have distinguished themselves in various fields of legal practise and exhibited a high regard for ethics and professionalism." Once more, congratulations! "Long live the legal profession!" the NBA President stated. The BOB is a statutory body that is responsible for the formal call to the Bar of persons seeking to become legal practitioners as well as the disciplining of erring lawyers. Members of the body are categorised into benchers and life benchers. According to the NBA, Olanipekun’s partner, Ogunde, sent an email to Saipem Contracting Nigeria Ltd. to solicit a brief after the Rivers State government preferred charging the company over allegations of $130 million in fraud.

Though the firm of Henry Ajumogobia, SAN, was already defending the company, Ogunde allegedly told the management to consider hiring Olanipekun Co. to take over the case. NBA noted that Ogunde claimed in the email that her principal, Olanipekun, SAN, has more "influence" with judges across all courts. "A quick research on Wole Olanipekun Co. will show that the law firm is the leading litigation firm that has helped other multinationals in sensitive, highly political matters." "It will also reveal that the presence of our lead partner, Chief Olanipekun (SAN, OFR), in the matter will significantly switch things in favour of SAIPEM."

"Chief Olanipekun (SAN, OFR) is currently the Chairman of the Body of Benchers, which is the highest ruling body in the Nigerian legal profession, made up of Supreme Court Judges, Presiding Justices of the Court of Appeal, and Chief Judges of all State High Courts, including the Rivers State High Court. In other words, Chief Olanipekun SAN, OFR, is the head of the entire legal profession in Nigeria. "Wole Olanipekun Co. has also helped other multinationals, such as in the famous cases of the MTN tax dispute, Shell Petroleum, Equinor (former Statoil) dispute, etc., avoid huge pay-outs in more complex, sensitive, and highly political matters," the NBA quoted Ogunde’s email to have read in part.

It insisted that Olanipekun’s resignation will help to salvage the image, reputation, and integrity of the BoB and the legal profession. Meanwhile, in his speech at the Call to Bar ceremony, Chief Olanipekun (SAN) maintained that though the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) is under his chairmanship, he stressed that the committee operates independently and is "not controlled in any way or manner by either the body or its chairman." He said: "Howbeit, may I caution that proceedings before the LPDC should not be politicized, sensationalized, publicized, and advertised in advance or while the proceedings are ongoing by complainants for whatever reason howsoever, as doing so negates the principle of a fair hearing, which all lawyers subscribe to.

"This is apart from the fact that such steps might pre-empt and prejudice the proceedings and decisions of the LPDC." On his part, the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Prof. Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, said the 4,711 new lawyers that were admitted into the bar on Tuesday met all the requirements that were set by the Council of Legal Education.