NBA Strips Former Abia Attorney General And Commissioner For Justice Of SAN Title

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The immediate pasr Attorney General and Commissioner for  Justice, Abia State , Uche Ihediwa, has been temporarily stripped of the rank of “Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, pending the outcome of an investigation into allegations of professional misconducts leveled against him by the Nigerian Bar Association NBA.

This  was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday, July 17, 2024, by the Secretary of the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee LPPC, Sarki Bello .

The suspension order was reached at the 163rd General meeting of the Council held on July 1, 2024, where a petition written against  Ihediwa ,by  NBA was said to have been extensively deliberated upon.

According to the statement ,the National President of NBA ,Yakubu Maikyau, had, in December 2023, petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria CJN, and the  LPPC, concerning alleged professional misconduct by Ihediwa.

In the petition, the NBA president complained that the former Abia Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice ,in the immediate past administration of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu had, at the International Bar Association Conference in Paris, in 2023 conducted himself in a manner unbefitting of his status as a SAN.

Specifically, the petition alleged that Ihediwa, at the said Conference, openly admitted that individuals used to  bribe their ways through in the appointments of Judges in Abia State, during his tenure as the State Attorney General.

Ihediwa was said to have revealed that during his time as a member of the State Judicial Service Commission ,legal practitioners were  offering bribes to the tune of N10 million to  influence the appointments of Judges.

For choosing the international Conference, instead of reporting to the appropriate authorities, to announce such a heist ,the NBA insisted Ihediwa acted unprofessionally, and in such a way not in tandem with his status as SAN.

The NBA, also, complained that such professional misconduct as exhibited by Ihediwa adversely affected the administration of Justice in Nigeria,as the open pronouncement tended to ridicule the system before the global audience.

In the petition, the NBA ,emphasised that it is the duty of every legal practitioner to report any perceived breach of the extant rules to the appropriate authorities for necessary disciplinary actions .

Of particular concern to the NBA was the fact that all efforts made to get the cooperation of Ihediwa, with a view to investigating and possibly prosecuting the culprits were all rebuffed by Ihediwa.

The LPPC in the statement said Ihediwa has been suspended from enjoying the use of the title of SAN, as well as its privileges until the conclusion of the work of an investigation committee.