Has NBA put constitution drama to rest?
Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on March 27 2017, declared the amended Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) 2015 Constitution as null and avoid, raising dust on the 2016 national executive elections which brought in Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) as NBA president. Delivering judgment in the suit brought by one Olasupo Ojo against the […]
Justice John Tsoho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, on March 27 2017, declared the amended Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) 2015 Constitution as null and avoid, raising dust on the 2016 national executive elections which brought in Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) as NBA president.
Delivering judgment in the suit brought by one Olasupo Ojo against the Incorporated Trustees of NBA, the court held that the amended constitution breached Sections 597 and 598 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), especially as it related to the registration of the amended constitution.
The plaintiff sought the declaration of the court that; “the Amended Constitution of the NBA adopted at the Delegates Conference held in Calabar, Cross River State, on 31st August, 2001 as registered and approved by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) with the provisions of CAMA (2004) is the extant and valid Constitution of the NBA.”
Following the judgment, lawyers were of the view that the implication of the judgment was that it affected all the decisions the body had taken from 2010 and not just the election that brought in the Mahmoud-led executives.
However, while Mahmoud was addressing the press at an occasion to mark this year’s Democracy Day, he said a correspondence had just been received from CAC informing the NBA that the 2015 constitution of the Bar had been approved and registered.
“We hope this will put an end to all controversies and litigations on the NBA Constitution,” Mahmoud said while waving the approved constitution in the air.
Mahmoud added that the suggestion from the High Court judgment was that all that had been done since 2004 by the NBA had been legally wiped off. He said that was something considered as having far reaching implications for the legal profession and that it was capable of throwing the profession into complete disarray, adding that it was for this reason the NBA decided to appeal the decision.
He also said the complaint of the litigants, as he understood it, was not that any of the NBA constitutions was not validly passed or amended by its members and at properly convened general meetings.
“The complaint is that the constitutions ought to have been registered with the CAC. I should point out that the process of registration of the 2015 constitution was initiated by the past administration of Mr. Alegeh. It was delayed but not abandoned. CAMA does not stipulate a time frame for this. The courts have not said that the constitution cannot be registered. So we view this as an irregularity; which can be cured,” he said.
Speaking last week at NBA’s National Executive Council meeting in Lokoja, Mahmoud expressed disappointment with the development in the Lagos branch of NBA that came as a result of the court judgment.
“My attention has been drawn to the development in the Lagos branch which has decided to take a position contrary to the position of the national body. The branch was said to have voted to revert to previous branch bye-laws contrary to the 2015 NBA Constitution,” he said.
He further said this position was taken despite the ongoing efforts of the national leadership of the association to find a resolution to the problem, adding: “This is unacceptable. Any election or activities conducted not in conformity with the 2015 NBA Constitution shall not be recognised by the NBA”.
He called for; “caution against any belligerence that will undermine the unity of the bar. The country needs a strong legal profession with a strong voice and this is not the time for us to consume the association with our internal bickering.
“I urge all of us to tread cautiously. No one is greater than the NBA and every branch must cooperate with the national body; and indeed other branches to work around problems and agree to collective solutions.”
Mahmoud concluded that regardless of the recent developments, “we have also been consulting with the trustees and other stakeholders, including some of our colleagues with grievances to put our heads together as colleagues to resolve all these matters in the interest of the profession and in the interest of the country.”
Most lawyers said they hoped these developments would herald a lasting peace for the association and put to rest the discord on not just the constitution but the animosities generated by the 2016 national election.