Affix NBA’s stamp and seal for authenticity, Judge tells lawyers

An Enugu High Court Judge, Justice H.D Eya, has told lawyers appearing before him to always affix the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) stamp and seal or show evidence of payment of the requisite fees to documents as the rules demand.

He stated that the NBA’s stamp and seal on documents and briefs distinguishes it from those prepared by legal practitioners and laymen, adding that such was in line with Supreme Court decisions.

The judge stated this, while ruling on a motion to file fresh amendments in the N267 million suit instituted by the former Vice Chancellor of the Nnamdi Azikiwe University (NAU), Awka, Anambra state, Prof Ilochi Okafor against an engineering firm NACENN Nigeria Limited.

Okafor, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had dragged the engineering firm to court for terminating his appointment as their solicitor in the garnishee proceedings arising from outstanding judgment debts owed the company by the federal government. He had claimed that the amount was the bill he incurred for representing the company in the various meetings and actions he undertook over the process before his appointment was terminated.

At the resumed hearing in the matter, however, Counsel to the firm, Chinelo Echetalu had opposed the fresh amendments on the ground that the documents lacked the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) seal and stamp.

Relying on order 10, rules of the court, she had stated that, “the stamp and seal is an identity that differentiates us from others,” adding that Okafor, as a Senior Advocate, who had filed arguments on point of law, by refusal to affix the seal and stamp, makes him a litigant.