Barrister Akpata Olumide,
President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA),
National Secretariat
Plot 1101, Mohammadu Buhari Way
Central Business District,
Abuja FCT,
Nigeria.
Dear Sir,
AN URGENT CALL TO SANCTION CHIEF EMMANUEL O.UTI, CHAIRMAN, NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION( NBA) WARRI BRANCH AND OTHERS FOR USING HIS OFFICIAL POSITION TO FURTHER HIS EGOCENTRIC AND PAROCHIAL INTEREST BY SPREADING FAKE NEWS AND UNPRECEDENTED FALSEHOOD UNBECOMING OF A LEGAL PRACTITIONER AND THE EXALTED OFFICE HE OCCUPY.
1. The attention of the Movement for the Protection of Iwere Homeland, Development and History (MPIHDH), has been drawn to a press release done mala fide on 17th June, 2021which was intentionally and wickedly laced with lies, hearsays, unsubstantiated claims, fake news, with a deliberate intent to mislead the general public, security agents, the Delta State government and to malign, intimidate, and disparage law abiding and peaceful Itsekiri sons and daughters, old men and women who genuinely and peacefully assembled themselves at the High Court in Warri as free citizens to exercised their Constitutionally guaranteed rights to attend an open court proceedings in a matter which touches on their very soul and existence as a people which was personally signed by the Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Warri Branch, Chief Emmanuel O. Uti and his secretary which we attached hereunder for your personal perusal.
2. Ordinarily, we would not have bothered to write you this open petition if Chief Emmanuel Uti and his cohorts had written this press release in his personal capacity as a private citizen or in the name of his law firm in his representative capacity to earn his living and professional fees for performing his legal obligations to his clients. We are however constrained to write this open petition because in a subtle and dubious attempt to promote his own selfish interest and to achieve an already premeditated and sinister objective of trying to mischievously truncate the smooth burial rites of the demised Olu of Warri, Ogiame Ikenwoli the 20th Olu of Warri and the coronation activities lined up towards the coronation of Omoba Itsola Emiko the Olu of Warri designate come August 21Ist, 2021 by the special grace of God, he chooses without any atom of civility and honesty expected of his exalted position to hide his real motives and use the sacred platform of the reputable NBA Warri Branch to misled the public while covertly carrying out the evil agenda of his confidants and allies who have denied the Itsekiri people anything good over the years who are parties to the suit, the subject matter of his ill willed letter. As a group that will never sit aloof and watch while unscrupulous elements try to use the hallow and sacred chambers of the court the last hope of the common man and the name of the NBA to cause and perpatrate the miscarriage of justice through the backdoor, we have a legal obligation and a moral duty to expose Chief Emmanuel Uti and his sponsors to the entire world to stop him from further usage of the NBA Warri Branch to promote his own misdeeds and bring the prestigious name of the organization and it's members to total disrepute hence this letter.
3. As you can vividly see in the his letter, he falsely alleged that the High Court 4 Warri was attacked unprovoked and invaded by "THUGS/HOODLUMS ARMED WITH DANGEROUS WEAPONS" and they disrupted the court proceedings. This is a blatant lie deliberately fabricated to hoodwink the gullible and to send the wrong signal about what happened on that fateful day calculated to heat up the polity unnecessarily so as to intimidate law abiding Itsekiri sons and daughters from attending future court proceedings in order to achieve a dubious aim in favor of his close allies who are part and parcel of this suit. It is interesting to know that the venue of this particular court, venue of the proceedings is perhaps one of the most secured places in Warri as it host the Area Command and the A Division of the Nigerian Police. The Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy, the DSS and other security agencies are also within the precinct of this court. How come was it possible for armed thugs and hoodlums to invade a court premises as alleged by the NBA Executives and none of the purported thugs and hoodlums wielding "DANGEROUS WEAPONS" were arrested and no single casualty or injuries was recorded among the judicial staff, lawyers, litigants and others within the court premises? How come thugs and hoodlums invaded the court premises with dangerous weapons and no single news media, television or radio stations reported the story in a city such as Warri? This again clearly show that the NBA Chairman that is expected to
" Uphold and observe the rule of law, promote justice and foster the cause of justice, maintain a high standard of professional conduct, and shall not engage in any conduct which is UNBECOMING of a legal practitioner" as conspicuously provided for under section 1of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007, has committed a gross misconduct and a serious abuse of his office due to greed and his personal relationship with some of the cabals in the suit haven't worked for them before and up till this very moment as their legal counsel a situation that has conspicuously led to a serious CONFLICT OF INTEREST against the provision of section 17 of the same rules of conduct expected of a legal practitioner.
4. The NBA is a professional body which has been at the forefront of the advocacy for the protection of the Fundamental Rights of Nigerians and the promotion of the principles of natural justice, equity and good conscience.It is a body of great men and women who have laid down their lives and paid a lot of sacrifices to make sure that things are done properly and everyone is personally accountable for their actions at any given time. It is very embarrassing to say the least to see a legal practitioner who ought to protect law abiding citizens who peacefully attended a court proceedings been openly designated as "THUGS and HOODLUMS ARMED WITH DANGEROUS WEAPONS, a negative nomenclature and profiling attributable to only criminals elements and those who have decided to make Nigeria ungovernable and have sent many defenseless citizens to their early graves. This negative classification of our fellow Itsekiri brothers and sisters, old men and women whose only offence was to come to court to show solidarity to a cause they know will affect their collective destiny and that of unborn generations to come, is a clear violation of the rights of our people to the Right to Dignity of Human Person as enshrined under section 34 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended). Itsekiri people are well known for their peaceful and law abiding nature. For Chief Emmanuel O. Uti to use the NBA Warri Branch sacred platform to insult our people and label them as criminals, thugs and hoodlums, he has decided to descend into the boxing arena as an active participant in the current attempt to drag Itsekiri nation back to Egypt and therefore cannot enjoy any immunity or protection he ought to receive as an occupant of his exalted office. He must be prepared to swim and dance in the mud with the swines without mercy.
5. We make bold to declare without any form of ambiguity that contrary to Chief Emmanuel Uti's false claim, there is NO SINGLE TUSSLE whatsoever about the succession to the ancient and pristine Throne of the Olu of Warri as God Almighty, our ancestors and the Itsekiri people have clearly chosen their Olu designate in the person of Omoba Itsola Emiko as announced in Itsekiri ancestral headquarters, Ode-Itsekiri Olu on 5th April, 2021 before the Itsekiri General Assembly. What is at play is yet another evil attempt by his clients and personal friends who are parties to the suit on whose behest he hurriedly wrote this divisive letter without a general meeting of other members of his organization or consensus ad-idem as is the norm and custom of the NBA before putting out such a sensitive letter in order to completely raped the Itsekiri ethnic nationality of everything good under the sun by trying to use the court to cause confusion and to deny the Olu designate Omoba Itsola Emiko his birth right to the ancient throne of his forefathers because Chief Emmanuel Uti's friend and clients claimed the Olu designate mother is a Yoruba woman and so cannot be crowned the Olu of Warri. What a discriminatory ideology devoid of anything we know the members of the Nigerian Bar Association stands for in the protection of the fundamental rights of every single individual in a democratic society such as ours where the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the grundnorm and fonts et origo of our laws. The ties between the Itsekiri people and the Yoruba nation is a special one and nobody can use his selfish plots to separate the umbilical cords that binds us together.
6. We find it very sad to see that the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Warri Branch and his Executives can be at the forefront of trying to use the court or their exalted offices to throw a spanner in the wheel of progress of the Itsekiri people who have unanimously chosen their Olu designate Omoba Itsola Emiko as the 21Ist Olu of Warri simply because those who have plundered our common wealth and rendered the Itsekiri ethnic nationality poor and poverty stricken have decided to manipulate facts by insisting he cannot be Olu since his mother is a Yoruba woman, a clear violation of his Constitutional right to freedom from discrimination. It is such a disgrace and a shame worthy of general condemnation to see that it is the NBA platform that is been utilized to promote this unconstitutional quest. More worrisome is the fact that a learned silk such as Barrister Akpofure SAN, would be seen engaging in this backdoor plot to promote discrimination when he ought to use his wealth of legal experience to fight for the cause of those who some powerful forces of darkness has formed an evil alliance to deny his Fundamental Rights simply because they can foot his legal bills. It is not too late for him to retrace his steps and save his hard earned reputation.
7. We therefore call on you to immediately call Chief Emmanuel Uti and his co- travellers to order and WARN him to stay clear of the Itsekiri people and their ancient throne. He should be adequately sanctioned for intentionally misinforming the general public about what transpired in the court on that fateful day. He cannot hide under the freedom of expression to promote lies and confusion capable of disturbing the relative peace and order in Warri which has been achieved through a lot of bloodshed and hardwork. He has by his action proven without any shadow of doubt, that he is a serial liar, a busy body and a meddlesome interloper who have decided to pervert the cause of justice. He lacks the moral rectitude to write such a provocative letter as he failed to come to equity with clean hands haven't allowed his personal relationship and Interest to becloud his sense of judgement and has also decided to be a judge in his own case, a stance that violate the two major pillars of natural justice. Chief Emmanuel O.Uti's hands are soiled. His integrity and credibility has seriously being impeached by this ignoble action. He must be shown the way out since there is a serious conflict of Interest in the way and manner he handled this issue. If nothing tangible is done to bring him to book, we will be left with no option than to commence an action against him for violating the rights of our people to dignity of human person and lying against them for possessing illegal and dangerous weapons which he has the onus to prove in court, right to personal liberty, right to fair hearing, right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, right to freedom of expression, right to peaceful assembly, right to freedom of movement, and right to freedom from discrimination as clearly provides for under Ss, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41 and 42 of the 1999 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended). His call to militarize the court and his call on the Inspector General of Police, the Director of the DSS, the Commissioner of Police, Delta State without calling on the Divisional Police Officer of the A, Division of the Nigerian Police, Warri and the Area Commander of the Nigeria Police, Warri who are closer to the venue of the court, speak volume of the varacity of his claims. His rush to make such wild allegations from what he called "reports he received" clearly shows how he decided to use inadmissible evidence in the instant case, hearsay evidence, to send the wrong message that Warri and the courts within it, are not safe. He is an alarmist paid handsomely by those who do not wish Itsekiri nation well. He does not deserve to continue to hold such an exalted office in trust for hundreds of responsible men and women in the legal profession in Warri Branch. He must be removed to save the name of the organization and the trust and confidence the public respose on it to enable the NBA to enjoy the public support that is vital to the achievement of it's set objectives in Warri.
8. While we anticipate your swift response towards this open petition, we promise that no amount of intimidation, blackmail, repression and falsehood deliberately cooked by Chief Emmanuel Uti and his sponsors shall deter our people from peacefully attending subsequent court proceedings whose outcomes is germane to their collective interest as a people and bonafide citizens of Nigeria. As a people, the Itsekiri ethnic nationality have collectively resolved NEVER to accept any draconian law that consistently promote the whimps and caprices of wicked men as it concerns our ancient throne and no amount of the gathering of the likes of Chief Emmanuel Uti and his sponsors will change that fact. Kindly accept the warmest esteem of our highest consideration.
Your faithfully,
Comrade Aderojor Ologhojoba James,
National President,
Movement-MPIHDH,
Warri, Delta State,
Nigeria.
Comrade Lucky Ayomike Okonedo,
National Secretary,
Movement-MPIHDH,.
Warri, Delta State,
Nigeria
Cc.
1. Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN)
Attorney General and Honorable Minister of Justice of the Federation,
Abuja FCT, Nigeria.
2. H. E. Sen. Dr. Arthur Ifeanyi Okowa,
Executive Governor of Delta State,
Government House, Asaba.
3. The Inspector General of Police,
Loius Edet House,
Abuja FCT, Nigeria.
4. The Director General of DSS,
Abuja FCT, Nigeria.
5. The Commissioner of Police,
Delta State, Asaba.
6. The Area Commander,
Nigerian Police, Warri.
Delta State,
Nigeria.
7. The Divisional Police Officer
A Division Warri,
Warri, Delta State,
Nigeria.
8. The Chairman,
Legal Practitioner Disciplinary Committee,
Abuja FCT Nigeria.
9. The Chairman,
The Nigerian Bar Association ( NBA),
Delta State, Asaba.