Body of Benchers crisis gets more interventions

More lawyers are intervening in the ongoing leadership crisis in the Body of Benchers (BOB) to resolve it. The crisis stemmed from a misunderstanding between the Chairman of BOB, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), and the Chairman of the Appointments Committee of BOB, Austin Alegeh (SAN), which took a new twist after the former Chairman of BOB, […]

More lawyers are intervening in the ongoing leadership crisis in the Body of Benchers (BOB) to resolve it.

The crisis stemmed from a misunderstanding between the Chairman of BOB, Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN), and the Chairman of the Appointments Committee of BOB, Austin Alegeh (SAN), which took a new twist after the former Chairman of BOB, Justice Mary Odili, denied being involved in the appointment of Alegeh, a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

The BOB is the legal body of practitioners of the highest distinction in the legal profession which is responsible for the formal call to bar of persons seeking to practice law, as well as disciplining of erring lawyers.

The publisher of Esquire magazine and organiser of Nigerian Legal Awards (NLA), Lere Fashola, called on members of the BOB to resolve their differences amicably as a family rather than wash their dirty linens in public.

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Fashola made the call in Lagos over the weekend at a press briefing to unveil finalists for this year’s awards taking place on July 7, at the Landmark Events Centre, Lagos.

He said, “If benchers who set the standard cannot keep their house in order, then it spells doom for the country.

“I admonish them to find a way to resolve their differences as a family as against washing their dirty linens in public.”

Similarly, Emeka Ngige (SAN) advised parties in the crisis to sheathe their sword and give peace a chance as the continuation of the crisis could send the wrong signal to lawyers and students.

Daily Trust recalls that Alegeh disagreed sharply with the recent reconstitution of the body’s committees by Awomolo and vowed that he would remain the chairman of the appointments committee.

It was gathered that following Odili’s denial, Awomolo issued a query dated June 3, 2024, to the Secretary of the BOB, Mr Daniel Tela, asking him to respond to Odili’s assertion.

Part of Odili’s letter reads: “It is with great shock to read the contents of the letter which in effect means that I, as outgoing Chairman of the Body of Benchers, authorised the said appointment. I could not have embarked on such an appointment of Augustine Alegeh (SAN) as Chairman of the Appointments Committee for the following reasons:

“I had made it known to the administration that I had no interest in reconfiguring the appointments committee during my tenure.

“I could not have embarked on such a process on the day I chaired the last meeting of my tenure, which meant that the appointment would not be presented to the house for approval before the letter to the candidate.

“I could not have entered into the restructuring of the appointments committee without reference to the vice chairman with whom I worked as a team.”

In an elaborate defence, Tela insisted that all the instructions he received from the five different chairmen he had served as secretary of the body were mostly oral, adding that it was the secretariat which always raised letters based on the verbal, SMS or WhatsApp instructions of the chairmen as that of Justice Odili appointing Alegeh chair of the appointments committee.

Setting out his defence, Tela said: “Regarding the appointment of the committee members, I wish to clarify that the secretariat acts only on the directives of the chairman issued orally or in writing.

“I say this on my honour. The secretariat sometimes makes suggestions to the chairman who is the final authority.

“In the instant case, I suggested to the then Chairman, Hon Justice Mary U. Peter-Odili, CFR, JSC (Rtd), DSSRS, that the chairman of the benchers appointments committee should come from the bar given that the previous chairman had served two consecutive terms from the bench.”

He said Alegeh, who was a life bencher and past President of the NBA, was appointed chairman on the chairman’s verbal approval, adding that it was not the first of such verbal or SMS-based approval.

Tela further submitted that what was most important at this stage was finding a solution rather than blame game, adding that it was never too late to make things right for the good of the body.

Meanwhile, Awomolo asked the Federal High Court in Lagos to dismiss the suit filed by Alegeh challenging his removal as chairman of the appointments committee.

The benchers’ chairman argued that Alegeh had no legal right over the affairs of the body, and that appointments were not rights but privileges.