BENIN CITY- Arising from her alleged highhandedness, disrespectful and insubordination, members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Benin Branch, have commenced indefinite boycotting of Edo State High Court 6, Benin City, Presided over by Honourable Justice Helen Adesuwa Courage-Ogbebor.
This was contained in a statement signed by the Branch’s chairman, Pius Oiwoh and secretary Andrew Lawani and made available to newsmen in the state capital recently.
The statement informed that the decision to boycott Justice Courage Ogbebor’s Court was taken on Monday evening at the monthly meeting of the Benin NBA, held at the Bar House Complex, Benin City.
It was disclosed at the lawyers’ crucial meeting which was attended by Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), benchers, elders and leaders of the Bar, as the general house the review of complaints of lawyers against the female judge was the second of such review within a period of two months by the NBA against the judge.
The Statement read in part: “With regard to the incessant harassment, intimidation, outright insult and deliberate embarrassment to counsel appearing before the lordship, including SANs and very senior members of the bar, in the presence of clients and would-be clients, we resolved unanimously to immediately and totally commence an indefinite boycott of High Court 6, High Court of Justice, Benin City, presided over by the Hon. Justice Courage-Ogbebor.”
“Consequently, all members of the Benin Bar are by this notice directed to embark on a total boycott of the said court and are not permitted to carry out any business in the said court, till a subsequent review of this directive by the general meeting.
“Take notice that any member who flouts this directive, under any guise, shall be liable to be blacklisted at the branch and made to face its disciplinary committee.”
It was also scooped from some lawyers in Benin that there had been complaints about the activities of Justice Courage-Ogbebor, including a situation where she recently delayed a SAN, while instructing him to wait till the end of the sitting, which they said was against the normal practice.
The displeased lawyers reiterated that once SANs were in the court, no matter how many they were, they would first be attended to, as a mark of honour and respect for them, saying Justice Courage-Ogbebor was always treating SANs with disdain.
This development brings to the second time the NBA Benin branch is boycotting Court in Benin City.
It will be recall that NBA Benin earlier boycotted Honourable Justice Oni-Okpako’s Court over alleged humiliation melted on a counsel.
