The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Branch Elections Appeal Committee (North) has disqualified two candidates, Victor Giwa and Ogechi Duruaku, from contesting in the forthcoming NBA Garki Branch elections. The decision was reached during a meeting held on June 8, 2024, via WhatsApp conference.
The committee, chaired by Abdul A. Ibrahim SAN, received a petition from AG Samuel Esq on May 28, 2028, alleging that the two candidates did not attend the required number of five branch meetings within the previous twelve months, as stipulated in Article 12(1)(b) of the Uniform Bye Laws guiding the election.
In their responses, both Victor Giwa and Ogechi Duruaku claimed to have attended more than five meetings between March 2023 and March 2024. The Electoral Committee also stated that, according to their records, both candidates met all the requirements, including attendance at five branch meetings during the specified period.
However, upon further investigation, the Appeal Committee discovered that the Electoral Committee had extended the qualification period to 13 months, from March 2023 to March 2024, which contradicted Article 14(1)(b) of the Uniform By-Laws. The verification process revealed that both candidates had only attended four meetings from March 2023 to February 2024.
The Electoral Committee Chairman and the NBA Garki Branch Chairman were unable to provide any resolution from the Association permitting them to extend the qualification period to enable candidates to meet the minimum requirement.
Based on these findings, the Appeal Committee unanimously decided to disqualify Victor Giwa and Ogechi Duruaku from vying for election, in strict compliance with the provisions of Article 14(1)(b) of the Uniform By-laws for branches, Third Schedule part 1 of the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association.
The decision was signed by Abdul Atadoga Ibrahim SAN, Chairman, and Oluronke Adeyemi, Secretary, on June 8, 2024.
In response to the Appeal Committee’s findings, Chidi Odinkalu, a prominent lawyer, took to social media, stating, “It was also found as a fact and the electoral committee admitted that they extended the period of computation to March 2024 to enable the two candidates pass….?! This is the nonsense that takes place in @NigBarAssoc branch elections – working to pre-determined outcomes.”
