A Nigerian lawyer, Bob James, has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, seeking the suspension of Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), from the Body of Benchers following his public altercation with a naval officer in Abuja.
The call for disciplinary action comes after a viral video surfaced on November 11 showing Wike confronting a naval officer over a disputed plot of land in the capital city. According to James, the minister’s behaviour amounted to “dishonourable public conduct” unbecoming of a senior lawyer and member of the prestigious Body of Benchers.
In the petition, James said Wike’s actions fell far below the ethical standards expected from anyone occupying such a revered professional position.
“The troubling aspect of this ugly scenario is that Mr. Wike is not just a senior lawyer but a member of the Body of Benchers,” he wrote.
“There is no precedent in the history of the legal profession in Nigeria where a bencher publicly deploys vulgar language or exhibits the kind of aggression associated with motor park touts.”
He stressed that the Body of Benchers — responsible for the call-to-bar process and the discipline of legal practitioners — must uphold the same standards it requires of new lawyers. Allowing such conduct to go unaddressed, he argued, would undermine the moral authority of the institution.
James cited global and local precedents to support his petition. He referenced the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in England, which considers offensive comments made inside or outside the legal practice as grounds for misconduct. He also pointed to the Court of Appeal decision in Ayorinde v. Kuforiji (2007) 4 NWLR (Pt 1024) 341, where Justice Amina Augie held that lawyers must “guard their tongues and pens in and out of court.”
The lawyer warned that Wike’s presence at the next call-to-bar ceremony would send the wrong signal to new lawyers.
“They would simply dismiss the panel as a group of jokers,” he said.
“If new wigs are told that benchers discipline erring lawyers, they would likely respond, ‘except the erring lawyer is a Wike.’”
James urged the CJN to order a full-scale investigation into the confrontation and suspend Wike from the Body of Benchers pending the outcome. He insisted that the integrity and reputation of the legal profession were at stake.
“If an investigation confirms that Mr. Wike used such foul language in public, then he is not a fit and proper person to remain on the Body of Benchers,” he concluded.
