LSN Controversy: Former NBA General Secretary Suspended  

A former General Secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Nimi Walson-Jack, has been suspended from his role as a member of the NBA National Executive Council (NBA-NEC). The suspension was as a result of his involvement in championing a splinter body for Lawyers, called the Law Society of Nigeria (LSN) few months ago. 

Recall that the NBA-NEC had agreed during its last quarterly meeting in Abuja, that Mr Nimi Walson-Jack, who acted as a Solicitor to the promoters of the new Law Society be stripped of his privileges as past General Secretary, and consequently, be suspended from being a member of the NBA-NEC.

In a swift reaction however, the Former NBA Scribe described the suspension as unconstitutional, saying it violated the letters of the NBA Constitution and his right to fair hearing under the 1999 Constitution.

In a statement, Walson-Jack, in listing what he described as “Litany of Violations,” the former NBA General Secretary said: “The leadership of the NBA, by its resolution, breached the Constitution of the NBA, my fundamental right to a fair hearing, and the right of my Clients to Counsel of their choice. The President of the NBA was the accuser, persecutor, prosecutor, and Judge in his cause.”

He stated that the NBA-NEC “has no power to suspend, expel or remove a statutory member like me, unless the Constitution is amended, an exclusive preserve of the Annual General Meeting”.