We are in exclusive possession of a petition by CONCERNED MEMBERS OF NYANYA/KARU BRANCH OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION to NBA President, accusing the Branch Chairman of numerous offences, including abuse of NBA constitutional provisions.
The Petition reads; PETITION AGAINST MR. AUGUSTINE IBOLO’S CORRUPTION, ABUSE OF OFFICE, HIGH HANDEDNESS, FLAGRANT VIOLATIONS OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE NBA CONSTITUTION AND UNIFORM BYE-LAWS RESULTING TO IMMINENT BRANCH CRISIS IN NYANYAIKARU.
Prayers sought:
1. We the undersigned therefore, commend the president to immediately intervene in such ways as to avert balkanization of the Nyanya-Karu branch premised on the petition contained herein.
2. We request that a neutral caretaker committee be assigned to Nyanya Karu branch with the mandate of conducting a free, fair and transparent election to usher competent branch officers for the branch or in the alternative, that the NBA constitute a neutral electoral committee to oversee the election into offices of the branch executive committee.
3.That an independent audit of the entire account of the branch be done and rendered in line with constitutional provisions.
BACKGROUND.
1. It is with deepest sense of reverence that we the undersigned financial members of the Nyanya Karu Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, respectfully bring to your urgent attention concerns threatening the integrity and functionality of our esteemed branch and association.
2. Our noble Branch was created by the National Executive Council of the Bar as led by the then President, Mr. Olumide Akpata on the 9th day of June 2022. A Care TakerCommittee as led by Mr. Steve Emelieze was appointed for the Branch. The said committee, after one year of the creation, conducted election into Executive positions for the Branch on the 17th day of June 2023. That election introduced Mr. Augustine Ibolo as Chairman of the Branch as he was sworn in, together with his executive committee on the 23rd day of June 2023.
3. Dear sir, it may interest you to know that since this inauguration, so many anomalies have occasioned the interest and short life of this potentially great branch which we seek your urgent intervention.
VIOLATIONS OF CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS.
4. Since Mr. Ibolo took leadership of the Innovative Bar, we regret to state that he has completely jettisoned compliance with/to the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION UNIFORM BYE-LAWS FOR BRANCHES and has conducted his leadership not as a democratically elected officer but more like a dictator and a dragon lord.
5. Mr. President sir, since the inception of the Ibolo led administration, members, both in general meetings and officially in writing, have demanded the financial status report of the Branch and he repeatedly refused to present the said account and or report. His refusal is with prejudice to all provisions of the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION UNIFORM BYE-LAWS FOR BRANCHES. Mr. Ibolo and his executive has failed and or refused to comply with all stipulated provisions as regards the running of the Branch’s finances. Mr. President sir, to be more explicit, Mr. Ibolo led administration has jettisoned the following provisions of the Uniform Bye-Laws;
a) Mr. Ibolo led administration since its inauguration, has never at any time presented any written or oral report of the Income and Expenditures of the Branch. This is in flagrant violation of Section 12 (4) of the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION UNIFORM BYE-LAWS FOR BRANCHES which provides thus: “The Treasurer and the Financial Secretary shall present a written report of income and expenditure and the bank balances at every monthly meeting of the Branch Executive Committee and of the Branch”.
b) Mr. Ibolo led administration has never in about two years of its leadership presented to the Branch in her General Meetings, any budget and the Branch in her General Meetings, has never approved any money for the expenditure neither has the General meeting ratified any spending of the Ibolo led administration. What this means is that, the said administration has been incurring expenditures without approval and/or ratification in total violation of Section 12 (5) of the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION UNIFORM BYE-LAWS FOR BRANCHES which provides: “No expenditure shall be incurred for any purpose unless such expenditure has been approved generally by the General Meeting of the Branch in the annual budget or any supplementary budget of t66he Branch. All disbursement of funds already approved in any annual budget or supplementary budget shall be approved by Branch Executive Committee; provided that in any case of clear emergency, the Branch Executive Committee may authorize an unbudgeted expenditure (the limits of which are to be determined from time to time by the General Meeting) and afterwards seek the ratification of the General Meeting”.
c) Mr. President Sir, the present administration led by Mr. Ibolo has never since its inception, presented any audited report of the Branch’s financial standing in total violation of Section 12 (11) of the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION UNIFORM BYE-LAWS FOR BRANCHES provides: “The Branch shall at its General Meeting in the month of April of each year appoint a fit and proper person who shall be an Accountant or a firm of Accountants to audit the accounts of the Branch for the preceding year and to present his/her report to the Branch at its Annual General Meeting for consideration and approval”.
d) 12 (11) of the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION UNIFORM BYE-LAWS FOR BRANCHES provides:“The Branch shall at its General Meeting in the month of April of each year appoint a fit and proper person who shall be an Accountant or a firm of Accountants to audit the accounts of the Branch for the preceding year and to present his/her report to the Branch at its Annual General Meeting for consideration and approval”.
CORRUPTION, FINANCIAL MISAPPROPRIATION AND ABUSE OF OFFICE.
6. Mr. President sir, Allegations of financial malfeasance erodes integrity. This has been the concern of the members of the Nyanya Karu branch on the unaccounted funds in the custody of Mr. Ibolo led executive.
a. The branch through well-meaning members in one of its meetings, raised the sum of over N2,000,000.00 (two million naira) for the establishment of Young Lawyers Quarters of the branch. Sadly, the said YLF Quarters for which the money was raised has never been established nor has the money been accounted for till date. This refusal has persisted despite repeated demand for same.
b. At its April 2024 meeting, the branch hosted Mr. Yakubu Philemon SAN and other prominent bar men who together with members of the branch donated to launch the NBA Nyanya Karu Cooperative. A laudable initiative aimed at assisting members of the branch who require assistance in that regard. The sum of about N3,000,000.00 was realized from that launching but till date, the Ibolo administration has refused to account for the monies. Repeated demands to him have met with antagonism, insults, verbal threats of reporting such member to disciplinary committee amongst other methods of intimidation.
c. A Law Week Committee for the purpose of coordinating the organization of a law week celebration for the branch was put in place and instead of allowing the said committee to perform its constituted duties, Mr. Ibolo assumed sole administration for the law week event and has refused to give account of monies realized during the event till date. This refusal is despite repeated demands. Mr. Ibolo’s financial malfeasants is endless.
d. The members are not allowed to make decisions and or opinions in general meetings in line with S.11 of the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION UNIFORM BYE-LAWS FOR BRANCHES as decisions are ALWAYS foisted on members with accompanying threats of referring dissenting voices to disciplinary committee. This is certainly not how to sustain democratic ethos in the NBA.
e. First Schedule to the Bye Law, order 11 of the Standing Orders of the said schedule provides for the order through which the Branch could arrived at a resolution when it provides thus: “In the event of a proposition to proceed to the next business or for progress being moved and seconded, it shall after the proposer and seconder of the motion have been heard, be put to vote if agreed to, the matter under debate shall immediately be put to vote. Once a subject has been discussed and voted or ruled upon, it shall not be re-introduced during the meeting”. Further, Order 12 of the First Schedule to the Bye Law provides that only when a motion is moved and seconded should it be worthy of debate thus: “No motion or amendment shall be discussed unless it is seconded provided that proposals of the Branch Executive Committee or the report of any Committee of the Branch shall be taken as having been moved and seconded. No second amendment or rider shall be voted or ruled upon until the first amendment is disposed of”. These provisions do not mean that when a motion is moved and seconded, it becomes a resolution for the branch. There is therefore, never a time when the Branch adopted a zoning formula which was imposed on the branch by the Ibolo Electoral Committees.
BRANCH CRISIS.
7. Mr. President Sir, the most recent experience which seems to be causing upheavals in the branch. Section 9 of the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION UNIFORM BYE-LAWS FOR BRANCHES provides that Standing Committees “shall be established for the Branch by the General Meeting”. Mr. Ibolo arrogated to himself this duty and claimed to have established for the branch the standing committees envisaged by the cited provision. Specifically, Mr. Ibolo created for the branch an Electoral Committee without recourse to the General Meeting of the Branch.
8. Worse still and in addition to non-compliance with the section 9 of the Bye-law, Ibolo appointed as Chairman one Kennedy Okara Bello who is not a member of the branch and has never attended any of the Branch Monthly General Meeting since the creation of the Branch.
9. The Committees published a purported electoral Guideline which are in all fours at variance with section 14 the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION UNIFORM BYE-LAWS FOR BRANCHES.
10. The said Committee monetized the nomination and or nomination forms for electable offices of the branch which is very much in violation of the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION UNIFORM BYE-LAWS FOR BRANCHES. Ibolo pegged the forms for Chairman at NGN100, 000.00k and that of the Secretary at NGN50, 000.00k while the rest was left at NGN20, 000.00k.
This monetization is against the spirit of the of the NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION UNIFORM BYE-LAWS FOR BRANCHES especially section 16 (5) which provides that that “Upon the close of nominations, the Electoral Committee shall cause ballot papers to be printed for the election with funds to be provided by the Branch”. This provision clearly shows that the funding of the electoral committee shall be the Branch we believe that it means further, that the election should not be used as a fund-raising campaign.
11. The said electoral committee, as directed by Mr. Ibolo, promulgated for the branch a compulsory zoning of the electable positions of the Branches even when same was not a resolution arrived at, voted for, by the branch at any of her branch General Meeting. There is never a time when the Branch adopted a zoning formula which was imposed on the branch by the Ibolo Electoral Committee.
12. We must emphasize that these actions if allowed, is illegality carried to its crescendo and capable of undermining the administration and leadership of the branch. It is shocking that despite genuine calls for a review in line with the law, the Executive committee has continued in a rather predetermined decision to plunge the entire election process and by extension, the entire Nyanya/Karu branch to unmitigated chaos. The ripple effect of this will be astronomically catastrophic and may engulf the entire branch for a long time.
It becomes distressing that rather than pursue the honourable path of constitutional integrity, the committee led by Mr. Ibolo would continue to embark on unconstitutionality despite several calls to review his decision and guidelines. One would wonder what interest he is out to perpetuate.
13. Mr. President sir, Mr. Ibolo refuses to listen to voices of reasons, censors without reservation, opinions of the members of the Nyanya-Karu branch as long as such opinion does not represent his agenda.
He has constituted himself as a tyrannical administrator both on the Whatsappplatform where he takes down posts that do not align with his interest and at offline physical meetings. Members can no longer express their views without being threatened and so many members have left the branch for fear of being victimised.
