Following an alleged misconduct rocking Wole Olanipekun & Co. Chambers, Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and Chairman of Body of Benchers (BoB), has said that he was angry with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
Olanipekun said this in a media chat on Sunday, he said that he did not understand why the President of the NBA, Mr Olumide Akpata, would write him a letter requesting him to step down as Chairman of BoB and circulate the same document on social media without serving him a copy more than 24 hours after same had been released to the public.
BOB is a professional body concerned with the admission of prospective students into the Nigerian Law School, NLS. Members of the body are called Benchers.
“As we talk, I am yet to get a copy of the letter. People have been calling me but I can’t react to a document that I have not seen”, he stressed.
Ms. Adekunbi Ogunde, a partner at Wole Olanipekun & Co. Chambers had sent an email to Saipem Contracting Nigeria Ltd soliciting a brief after the Rivers State government preferred charges against the company over allegations of $130million fraud.
Though the firm of Henry Ajumogobia (SAN) is defending Saipem, Ogunde told the management to consider hiring Olanipekun & Co.
The partner informed the CEO Francesco Caio that Olanipekun has more “influence” with judges across all courts.
“We are aware that another law firm is currently in the matter but you will agree that highly-sensitive and political matters require more influence,”she wrote.
“We are happy to work with the current lawyers to achieve the desired results. Chief Olanipekun SAN, OFR, will significantly switch things in favour of SAIPEM.”
Ogunde included that Olanipekun chairs the BoB comprising “Supreme Court judges, presiding justices of the Court of Appeal and chief judges of all state High Courts, including the Rivers State High Court.”