In what could be described as dog-eating-dog, two lawyers, Ahmad Bawa and Gidado Aliyu-Gidado, have dragged the Kano branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), for allegedly disqualifying them from contesting an election.
Joined in the suit as defendants are the Chairman and Secretary of the Electoral Committee, Isma’il Abdul’ziz, and Zainab Bello.
The lawyers are asking the court to determine whether the NBA has the power to disallow or disqualify lawyers, who have paid their mandatory current bar practice fee and have a 10-year post-call standing, from contesting an election based on their succeeding anniversary.
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Bawa and Aliyu-Gidado said they had filed the suit for themselves and on behalf of all concerned members of the NBA in the Kano branch, affected by the release of the guidelines for the NBA Kano Election, 2024.
The applicants, through their counsel, Muhammad Muhammad, approached the Federal High Court, Kano with an ex-parte application with a sole prayer as follows:
“An order of interim injunction restraining the Defendants either by themselves, their appointees, their privies, assigned members, committees, group by whatever name called from disallowing and disqualifying Lawyers who have their mandatory current Bar Practising Fee as lawyers for 10 years post call standing to contest election on the basis of succeeding Anniversary, pending the hearing and determination of the Applicants’ motion on notice before the court”.
After hearing the ex-parte application, the presiding judge, Justice Simon Amobeda, refused to grant the prayer.
The judge, however, ordered that the respondents be put on notice for them to appear in the next adjourned date.
Amobeda, similarly, ordered that the order and processes should be served on the respondents before next adjourned date.
He adjourned to June 6 for hearing.
Daily Nigerian
