CJN, Justice Walter Onnoghen, says some desperate legal practitioners have been caught submitting forged documents in a bid to qualify for nomination as senior lawyers
- He says the judiciary will be independent and will resolve electoral disputes without fear or favour as the country prepares for the 2019 general elections
- Legal committee withdraws Ehighelua's nomination over reported misconduct
The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, has disclosed that some lawyers forged court judgments in a desperate bid to qualify for nomination as Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).
Onnoghen made the disclosure on Monday, September 24, when speaking at a special court session of the Supreme Court to mark the commencement of the 2018/2019 legal year and swearing in of newly conferred SAN, The Tribune reports.
The CJN said the lawyers were caught when they submitted the forged judgments as part of the requisite conditions submitted to the Legal Practitioners and Privileges Committee (LPPC) for scrutiny.
He said the desperate legal practitioners were arrested soon after the LPPC uncovered the fraud.
“I have to point out the fact that in the just-concluded exercise, some applicants were found to have engaged in dishonourable conduct such as forgery of judgment, resulting in their being reported to the police for investigation and possible prosecution.
“I would like at this point to thank the distinguished members of the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee tasked with this assignment of scrutinising over 4,000 judgments, trial proceedings and publications and at the same time conduct disciplinary proceedings on petitions received against Senior Advocates of Nigeria,” he said.
Onnoghen also said the judiciary will be independent and will resolve electoral disputes without fear or favour as the country prepares for the 2019 general elections.
In a related report, a lawyer, Ikhide Ehighelua, has been withdrawn from the nomination of the coveted rank of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria by the Legal Practitioners’ Privileges Committee (LPPC).
The committee also barred Ehighelua from applying for the rank of senior lawyer for the next five years starting from 2019, The Punch reports.
The legal body disclosed in a statement issued on Thursday, September 20, that it took the decision following a petition accusing Ehighelua of obtaining an ex parte order of interim injunction in a manner that violated the guidelines for the conferment of SAN rank.
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