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Maina: NBA fumes! *Orders withdrawal of Maina’s ‘disdainful’ patronship
Totally scandalised, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), on Friday, commenced immediate action to punish Bamidele Ojo, Chairman and other members, fingered in the award of Patron to Abdulrasheed Maina, a man convicted for stealing N2billion belonging to pensioners.
Recall that Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had convicted the Pension Reform Task Team, (PRTT) boss, on November 8, 2021, for looting part of the fund deposited in the coffers of the body, in a case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Abang, who found Maina guilty of all 12 counts of the charge against him and his company, Common Input Property and Investment Limited, had ordered that the sentence would run concurrently, with effect from October 25, 2019, the day he was arraigned.
But in what appeared a brazen action by the local branch of the lawyers’ body in Abuja, the former pension’s authority boss, was decorated a patron, a development that has been raising much dust in informed quarters.
In a clear show of outrage, by the parent body, the NBA, conveyed its total rejection of the award, via a statement by Afam Osigwe, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), describing the gesture as as disdainful.
Osigwe, President who indicated that the NBA would commence disciplinary proceedings against Ojo and his cohorts, ordered immediate withdrawal of the appointment, vowing that the body would never hesitate to take firm and decisive institutional actions against any conduct that undermined its integrity, accountability, and respect for the judicial process.
The statement read: “The Nigerian Bar Association views with disdain the purported appointment of Abdulrasheed Maina, who was convicted for stealing over N2 billion in pension funds, as ‘Grand Patron of NBA Garki Branch’ by the Chairman of NBA Garki Branch, Anthony Bamidele Ojo.
“The purported appointment not only paints the legal profession and the NBA in a bad light but also makes a mockery of the Government’s fight against corruption, as well as the Association’s motto of promoting the rule of law.
“Equally reprehensible was the decision of the Chairman to make comments about Abdulrasheed Maina’s appeal, currently believed to be pending at the Supreme Court.
“While the NBA respects Mr Maina’s right to exhaust his right to appeal against the conviction, the Bar will NOT under any guise comment on such an appeal or be seen to try to sway public opinion in his favour. These actions portray the Chairman of NBA Garki and, indeed, any person who endorsed his putrid actions as condoning corrupt practices.
“The Bar fails in her duties to society and the cause of justice when it condones, encourages, and or fails to take definite actions to eliminate corruption and corrupt practices.
“The Association will not, under any guise, lend its platform, name, or institutional credibility to influence public opinion or judicial proceedings in respect of cases that are sub judice or take steps that may be perceived as laundering the image of any person convicted of criminal offences. Any attempt to do so constitutes a grave violation of professional ethics and a direct affront to the rule of law.
“In view of the foregoing, the Chairman of the NBA Garki Branch, Mr. Bamidele Ojo, is hereby directed to immediately withdraw any purported appointment of Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina as a Patron of the Branch and to forthwith cease and desist from issuing statements, comments, or representations on behalf of, or in support of, Mr. Maina or any other litigant in respect of cases pending in court.
“The NBA views this conduct as a serious breach of professional responsibility and institutional discipline. Accordingly, disciplinary proceedings will be commenced against the Chairman of the NBA Garki Branch for actions inconsistent with the Constitution of the NBA, the Rules of Professional Conduct, and the core values of the legal profession.
“Integrity, accountability, respect for the judicial process, and the preservation of public confidence in the legal profession are foundational values of the Nigerian Bar Association. Any conduct that undermines these principles will attract firm and decisive institutional response.
“The NBA therefore disclaims the purported appointment of Abdulrasheed Maina as ‘Grand Patron of NBA Garki Branch’ by the Chairman of the Branch, Anthony Bamidele Ojo. The NBA strongly condemns his actions and reiterates that the Bar must use its power to stop corruption.”
The echoes of the drums rolled out to celebrate the rescue of the 44 teachers and students, kidnapped from some schools in Oyo State, after 56 days in the bush, would surely be disrupted abruptly, with the divergent echoes of a fresh abduction, this time coming from Kogi State.
Reports indicate that the gunmen, struck on Tuesday at the Government Secondary School, Odo-Ekina, in Dekina Local Government Area of the state, abducting four students, the school principal and a National Examinations Council (NECO) ad hoc staff member.
Authorities of the Kogi State Police Command, who immediately unleashed their operatives in hot pursuit of the abductors, said the attack occurred at about 5:25 p.m. while the students were writing their NECO examination.
Saliu Oyiza Afusat, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) and spokesman of the command, said a combined team of police personnel and other security agencies has launched a search-and-rescue operation following the incident.
Informing that one of the students was actually rescued immediately, she said efforts were ongoing to secure the release of the remaining victims and apprehend the attackers, adding that Naziru Bello Kankarofi, the state Commissioner of Police, alongside the Brigade Commander and the State Security Adviser to the Governor, Commodore Jerry Omodara (Rtd), were already on the way to the scene for an on-the-spot assessment.
Oil prices are expected to go down now with the announcement of Donald Trump, US President that he will no longer impose a 20 percent “safe passage” fee on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The POTUS, hinged his reversal of the decision on the intervention from some Gulf countries, who pleaded with him not to toe the line due to the massive economic impact the decision would make on the region.
Indeed, oil prices had shot up immediately Trump announced the new levy on Monday while declaring the US ‘the guardians of the Hormuz strait,’ a measure which he said was to pay for the cost of guarding the volatile area in order keep supply of oil flowing.
Reports said that Gulf allies of the US worked frantically to get Trump on the phone in time to talk him out of the idea altogether, while a flurry of appeals came from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar.
In response, the POTUS, posting on his Truth Social platform, wrote: “Based on highly productive conversations with Middle East leadership, I have decided to replace the 20% United States Reimbursement Fee with Trade and Investment Deals that the various Gulf States will be making into the United States.”
Trump, who said the investments would be “MASSIVE but, at the same time, extraordinarily good for them, and their future,” added that the deals would see factories, plants, and equipment pour into the US at “Historic levels.”
The Gulf nations have committed to invest trillions of dollars in the US, though it remains unclear how much of that they will actually spend over the next several years.
Meanwhile, the US continues to bomb Iran in what appears to be a resumption of active conflict between both countries, despite an ongoing roadmap to end the conflict.
Reports say operatives of the Osun State Police Command, and those of the Department of State Services (DSS) had tracking the trail of Adeniyi Adeyemi, controversial Director General of the Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council (PFIPC), for weeks, before he was eventually pulled out of his hole on Tuesday.
However, the duo, were said to have pulled back after failing to track him through his mobile phones, which he had reportedly switched off for about two days, making it difficult to locate him, leaving the stage for the members of the Police Intelligence Response Team (PI-RT) led by Moses Lohor, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
Lohor, said to have previously served as the Commander of the Anti-Kidnapping Squad of Osun State, and reported to have been involved in high-profile security operations and controversies, after taken over fielded his men to pick up signals from their well-oiled signal networks.
Regarded by many Osun residents as one of the key security officers who contributed significantly to the peace and stability enjoyed in Ilesa and other parts of the state during his tenure, he was said to have relied on his contacts before his transfer out of the state, said to have raised concerns from the public about the security situation he would be leaving behind.
His exit from the state was said to be hinged on an incident in 2024, in which he allegedly shot one Iyanda Alowonle, then Chairman of Osun State Motor Transport System, in the stomach at the police station in the state prompting an order for his arrest by then Inspector General of Police (IGP).
His effort was said to have paid off when he successfully tracked down the controversial PFIPC, boss, who was seen on Tuesday evening, in a shot video on social media undergoing interrogation, and eventually handed him over to Ibrahim Gotan, Commissioner of Police in the state.
The PUNCH quoted one of the sources as saying: “The arrest (of Adeyemi) took place on Tuesday morning by the IRT squad, who immediately moved him to Abuja. After he was arrested, he was taken to Ibadan and from there to Abuja.”
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