Justice A.R. Mohammed said that the NBA NEC’s action, ratifying Joyce Oduah’s suspension was “an affront on the authority of the court” and therefore set it aside.
*The matter was therefore adjourned to August 31, 2022 for a hearing of the substantive suit.
By Bob MajiriOghene Etemiku
Abuja, Nigeria – As a follow up to our investigative story of an in-fighting in the Nigeria Bar Association, (NBA), involving the suspension of the organization’s General Secretary, Joyce Oduah which was published on August 17, 2022, we hereby provide an update.
Following her suspension, Joyce Oduah went to court to challenge the legality of such action. While the case was in court, the NBA’s National Executive Council (NEC), on August 21, 2022 ratified her suspension.
Alltimepost.com had earlier learnt that the High Court in Aba and the Federal High Court in Abuja where she challenged her suspension as General Secretary of the NBA had struck out her case against the legal body, as reported by Channels Television on August 19, 2022.
After the report by Channels television, Alltimepost.com Abuja correspondent reached Olumide Akpata, NBA president, while he was in Lagos attending the 62nd Annual General Meeting/Conference of the NBA for comments.
According to Akpata, the matter was not struck out as reported by the media. “Joyce Oduah and her people had gone to two courts, one in Aba and the other at the Federal High Court Abuja. Their attempt was to get interim injunctions from both courts but both courts refused to grant those interim injunctions.”
“In effect, both courts have asked her to put all parties on notice so that we can all come back and be heard. She and her agents want Ex parte, that is, they did not want us involved to state our side of the story. So the matter is still very much in court. Both matters are not struck out, in spite of what’s all over the place,” Mr. Akpata told Alltimepost.com.
In a telephone conversation, Joyce Oduah confirmed the position of Akpata that the matter is still in court. Alltimepost.com learnt that while the matter before the Federal High Court in Abuja was filed by Joyce Oduah, the one at the Abia State High Court was filed by another lawyer in that state, sympathetic to her cause.
Some lawyers hold the view that the NBA-Joyce Oduah’s matter will likely become an ‘academic’ exercise. Bar Uche Kingsley Ewurum is one such lawyer. “I believe it was an error on the part of the applicant to approach the courts.
“As things stand, the matter has been adjourned till the 23rd of August, 2022 for the hearing of a substantive suit. By that time, the current national executive council of the NBA would have handed over to the incoming executive.
“Because of that, it makes the entire case an academic exercise because there would be nothing before the courts to determine by the time the matter is called up for hearing,” Bar Ewurum told Alltimepost.com.
Even though pronouncements on matters like this often have future legal consequences and precedence, Bar Ewurum disagreed.
“Yes, there will be pronouncements, yet those pronouncements will end up becoming ‘obiter dictum’, something said as a byword and of no consequence. It will have no effect whatsoever. It will be only good for journals and magazines,” Bar Ewurum said.
With the commencement of the AGM in Lagos, Mr. Akpata’s tenure, together with his EXCO, (that includes Joyce Oduah) comes to an end. A new exco will take the reins in running the NBA.
When the matter eventually came up for hearing on Tuesday August 23, 2022 in Abuja Court 3 under Justice A . R. Mohammed, the issue for contention was whether the NBA National Executive Council (NEC), erred when it went ahead to validate the suspension of Joyce Oduah even when the matter is in court.
Counsel for Oduah, Ayotunde Ogunleye, accompanied by over a dozen lawyers argued that “there was a serious infraction with utter disregard for the proceedings brought before the court.”
According to Ogunleye, once parties have asked the court to determine a matter, parties in the suit cannot resort to self-help as the NBA has done. Ogunleye cite Trustees of Apostolic Church vs Olowoleni, Ojukwu vs Military governor of Lagos State.
He therefore asked the Judge to nullify the August 21st decision of the NBA-NEC, and order parties involved in the suit to revert to status quo, that is reinstate Joyce Oduah as General Secretary of the NBA.
Godwin Omoaka (SAN), appearing for the NBA argued that since the NEC is the supreme decision-making body of the NBA, it did no wrong with the ratification of the suspension that the NBA executive committee had slapped on Oduah.
He said that in deciding to uphold the suspension of Oduah, it first rejected her outright removal as General secretary of the NBA as a gesture of discipline and responsibility.
In delivering his ruling, Justice A.R. Mohammed said that the NBA action was “an affront on the authority of the court” and therefore set aside ratification of the NBA – NEC’s suspension of Oduah. The matter was therefore adjourned to August 31, 2022 for a hearing of the substantive suit.
Lawyers on both sides of the divide have given two different interpretations of the ruling of August 23rd 2022. For the team representing Oduah, A. R. Mohammed’s ruling is a sound rebuke of the NBA for impunity.
“The beauty of what has played out today, the setting aside the ratification of the suspension of Mrs. Joyce Oduah, the General Secretary of the NBA, is that it entrenches the rule of law over and above the rule of force,”
For Omoaka however, Mrs. Joyce Oduah remains suspended as General Secretary of the NBA in spite of the order of Justice A. R. Mohammed.
“The decision of the National Executive Committee, NEC of the NBA to suspend Oduah has not been set aside…what was set aside was the ratification of the National Executive Council, NEC of the NBA.
“What the Oduah people challenged was the ratification of the NBA instead of the actual suspension of Joyce Oduah. The suspension proper will be what will be heard on 31st of August 2022.” Omoaka said.
As the matter stands, Mrs. Joyce Oduah’s position as General Secretary appears to hang on the scale of the decision to be taken on August 31, 2022, and the status of her position after August 26, 2022 when the tenure of the Akpata-led EXCO will expire.
