The factional Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) has asked a Delta State High Court presided over by Justice Anthony Olotu Akpovi to jail NBA President, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau SAN for allegedly disobeying a court order.
In a Form 49 application addressed to Maikyau, the plaintiffs informed Maikyau that the court would be moved to commit him to prison for allegedly disobeying a court order.
A similar process was also addressed to Mr. Ben Oji, the Secretary of the NBA-SPIDEL Caretaker Committee appointed to Maikyau to replace the Executive Committee which was dismissed following an NBA National Executive Council (NBA-NEC) resolution at its meeting in Jos, Plateau State.
Meanwhile, the plaintiffs have filed Form 48 application against Mr. Steve Adehi SAN and Mr. Yakubu Philemon SAN, the Chairman and Alternate Chairman respectively of the Caretaker Committee, asking them to show cause why they should not be committed to prison for holding the controversial conference.
Similar Form 48 processes have also been filed against Messrs Habeeb Akorede Lawal and Charles Ajiboye, the NBA Publicity Secretary and Assistant Publicity Secretary respectively, for their alleged roles in facilitating the conference.
Recall that following an advertised plan to hold an “NBA-SPIDEL Annual Conference,” the plaintiffs (Mr. John Aikpokpo-Martins and Ms. Funmi Adeogun, suing for themselves and on behalf of the dismissed NBA-SPIDEL Executive Committee) had approached the court for an interim injunction stopping the conference.
Though the court granted the plaintiffs’ prayer, NBA and Oji filed sundry applications including a Notice of Appeal to arrest the interim order.
Following arguments which lasted over two hours, the court however declined to lift the interim order. Instead, the judge in a ruling held that “The implication is that my interim order of 9/7/24 subsist (sic) until 30/7/24 the next hearing date.”
The NBA however held the conference yesterday.
City lawyer