Abure Petitions against Lawyer for False Interpretation of Judgement

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Labour Party has dragged a legal practitioner, Monday Mawah, to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for alleged  malicious damage of the party’s image through spreading falsehood, using various mass media forum.

In a petition signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, Obiora Ifo to the Chairman, Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, the party alleged that Mawah falsely manipulated the judgment of the Court of Appeal by spreading false informal through the mass media.

The spokesman of Labour party said, “The party was surprised  and taken aback that a member of  the revered legal profession has thrown caution to the winds and has embarked on a voyage to spread false news to bring both the bar and the bench to opprobrium.”

He said in a  Court of Appeal judgments with 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, Mr. Monday Mawah, a legal Practitioner, went on air on television programme  and “falsely, maliciously and with intent to deceive, confirmed to the whole world that the decision of the Court of Appeal in the 2 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.”

Ifo further said Mawah falsely stated in the interview that the Court of Appeal had upheld the decision of the trial court, which the court never did.

“This utter falsehood as openly stated on live television by  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.

“In the Labour Party’s appeal, 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 consist an appealable decision and should be discountenanced.

“In none of the 2 appeals did the Honourable Court proclaim the Orders that the said Mr. Monday Mawa had gone to town with and had impetuously proclaimed on live television to the whole world.” 

In view of this, the Labour party prayed “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)”