News Desk
The opposition Labour Party (LP) has petitioned a legal practitioner, Monday Mawah to the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee over what they described as malicious damage of the party’s image by spreading falsehood and misrepresenting court judgement.
In the petition signed by Obiora Ifoh, National Publicity Secretary of the party, the LP called for the commencement of disciplinary action against Mr. Monday Mawah explaining that it was unprofessional of him to go on national television to spread falsehood and misinform the public on the pronouncements of the court.
Their prayer include: “We call on the Committee to immediately commence the process of disciplining Mr. Monday Mawah for infamous conduct infringing on the provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct, to wit; Part V (Relations with Court) and Part IV (Improper attraction of business), especially Rules 31 (Duty of lawyer to court and conduct in court); 32 (candid and fair dealing), 33 (trial publicity), 39 (Advertising and soliciting) and 47 (Instigating controversy and litigation).
“Lawyers like Mr. Monday Mawah pose a grave threat to the bar and the bench in a society of impressionable and gullible laymen like Nigeria. He should be disciplined lest innocent Nigerians begin to take his words with more than a pinch of salt”.
The party explained that it was surprised and taken aback that a member of the revered legal profession, threw caution to the winds and embarked on a voyage of spread false news to bring both the bar and the bench to opprobrium.
“On 24th August 2023, while the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja was delivering its judgments in Appeal Numbers CA/OW/CS/200/2023 and CA/OW/CS/201/2023, to wit: Sir Basil Maduka v Labour Party & 2 Ors and Labour Party v Sir Basil Maduka & 2 Ors, respectively, one Mr. Monday Mawah, a legal Practitioner, of Templum Solicitors of 84 Obafemi Awolowo Avenue, Abeokuta, Ogun State with Abuja address as Suite 87, 3rd Floor, Trinity House, Mabushi, Abuja, who is not a counsel in the matter and was not in court when the judgments were delivered, went on air on Channels Television and falsely, maliciously and with intent to deceive, confirmed to the whole world that the decision of the Court of Appeal in the two appeals was that the purported Lamidi Apapa- led faction of the Labour Party was declared as the authentic leadership of the Labour Party and that the Court had ordered that the names of candidates that emerged as winners in the purported primary election conducted by the Lamidi Apapa-faction be forwarded to INEC to be imputed as the Candidates of the Labour Party for the 2023 Gubernatorial elections fixed for later in the year.
“The said Mr. Monday Mawah falsely stated in the interview that the Court if Appeal had upheld the decision of the trial court, which the court never did.
“This utter falsehood as openly stated on live television by the said Mr. Monday Mawah was contrary to the decisions of the Honourable Court in its judgments in the appeals. In the Basil Maduka’s appeal, the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja dismissed the appeal simplicita and held that the Appellant had no locus standi to institute the proceedings” LP stated.
LP said that the Court held that the appeal was not necessary, as the decision of the trial court was in its favour and that the mere comments of the trial judge in its judgement did not constitute an appealable decision and should be discountenanced.
“Sir, it is quite unbecoming that a lawyer of Monday Mawah’s apparent ripe years at the bar should be allowed to continue to practice as a legal practitioner in Nigeria after putting out such riotous lies, which has now had the far-reaching ripple effect of painting the judiciary as a confused institution.
“By his conduct, Mr. Monday Mawah contravened Part IV and V of the Rules of Professional Conduct, which deals with a Lawyer’s Relations with the court and improper attraction of business” he said.
Techrectory Abuja with agency report
