Mr. Adesina Ogunlana, one of the candidates disqualified from contesting for the office of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) by Electoral Committee of the NBA has filed an action in court challenging his disqualification.
The suit with No. ID/4015 GCM/2020, filed before Honourable Justice Oyebanji of the Ikeja High Court, Lagos State, against six Defendants, including the NBA, Mr. Paul Usoro SAN, MR. Jonathan Taidi, members of the ECNBA and the immediate past Chairman of the NBA Ikeja Branch, is praying the court for the following
“An Interlocutory Order directing and compelling the Defendants, to include the name of the Claimant/ Applicant in the list of candidates to contest for the Office of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association in the 2020 National Officers’ Elections and allowing same to contest pending the determination of the Motion on Notice in this matter.”
“Or Alternatively
“An Order of injunction, restraining the Defendants from conducting elections into the office of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, without including the name of the Claimant as a candidate on the 29th and 30th July, 2020 or on any other date pending the determination of the Motion on Notice in the matter.”
He cited the following as grounds for his application:
- The 4th and 5th Defendants/respondents’ electoral body, the Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) claimed to have disqualified the claimant contesting the election because his Nomination Forms did not include a letter of Good Standing from the 6th defendant, the then Chairman of his branch, the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association as required by the constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association.
- The claimant brought an Appeal based on the objection raised by the 4th and 5th Defendants as stated earlier above in paragraph 1 but his appeal was dismissed based on a completely different issue, and which is applicable to the appeal or case of the claimant.
- The ground of dismissing the Appeal founded in section 8(3)(c) of the NBA Constitution 2015(as amended) vis-a-vis the issue raised and the absence of any evidence to show that the report of the insurance committee if Ikeja Branch of NBA has been set aside “is disjointed from the ground of Appeal itself, which is based on the Appeal against disqualification for absence of letter of Good Standing in the Nomination packet of the Claimant/Applicant.
- The Claimant /Applicant will suffer irreparable loss if this honourable court declines the order sought.”
It would be recalled that the ECNBA had in its Statement No. 007 published list of candidates who were given provisional clearance to contest while announcing the disqualification of Mr. Ogunlana and 18 other candidates for various reasons.
Mr. Ogunlana had issued a statement expressing his dissatisfaction and vowing to appeal the ECNBA’s disqualification. With his continued exclusion few days before the election scheduled to hold on 29th and 30th of July, 2020 and the present suit, it is obvious that his appeal before the ECNBA was not favourable.
The suit comes up on 24th July, 2020 for hearing of Ogunlana’s application.
The motion paper
Copies from Ogunlana’s facebook wall