How we checkmated arbitrary removal of governors, deputies, by Olanipekun

Urges judiciary to purge itself of bad eggs
A former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Wole Olanipekun, yesterday, said that the role he and other lawyers played to challenge the removal of former governor of Oyo State, Rasidi Ladoja, in the courts has checkmated the arbitrary removal of governors and their deputies from office.

Ladoja was impeached from office in 2005 and later reinstated after a court pronouncement that described his removal as unconstitutional in 2006.

Olanipekun said that he and other senior lawyers were the ones who defended Ladoja which led to his reinstatement as governor.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria stated this while delivering a keynote address during the opening of the 70th anniversary of the NBA Ibadan branch.

The former NBA President, who said that both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court agreed with them and declared the removal as illegal, said that the decisions had checkmated the recklessness on the part of some legislators all over the country from arbitrarily removing governors and deputy governors from office.

Meanwhile, Olanipekun has called on the judiciary to maintain its integrity by purging itself of bad eggs.

The legal expert urged the Bar and Bench to identify the bad and corrupt ones, bring them to justice, and flush them out of the system lest they rubbish other good practitioners.

He, therefore, called on the judiciary stakeholders to join the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, to sanitise the entire judiciary system.

Besides, he enjoined the Bar to stop all means of attacking judges, especially in the media.

According to him, the Bench should also ensure temperate language for the legal practitioners, always acting nobly, whether in court or not, and behaving honourably with their colleagues.

However, Oyo State Deputy Governor, Bayo Lawal, urged the lawyers to maintain good conduct to project the profession better.

The NBA Ibadan branch Chairman, Ibrahim Lawal, said the week-long anniversary celebrations, which began on Friday, would feature a series of exciting activities.

Also, the Chairman of Law Week and 70th Anniversary Planning Committee, Mutalubi Ojo (SAN), described the Ibadan branch as the foremost association with several landmark achievements.