THE Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has ordered all lawyers to boycott the court of Oluwadare T.O., a chief magistrate at the Ikole Magistrate Court in Ekiti State for issuing an order to freeze a bank account and arrest any lawyer who approaches the bank with a “lift order without police permission.”
A “lift order” is a court decision that removes a previous restriction on someone’s assets, such as bank accounts or property.
The NBA issued the boycott order at the end of its National Executive Committee (NEC) on Thursday, February 6.
The body of lawyers led by its president, Afam Osigwe, described Oluwadare’s order as a grave violation of legal ethics and due process that would not be condoned.
In a series of tweets on X, the NBA president also said a formal petition would be filed against the magistrate before the chief judge of Ekiti State to relieve him of all judicial duties.
Osigwe added that the Judicial Service Commission of Ekiti State would also be petitioned to investigate and take disciplinary action against the magistrate.
“If it is confirmed that the applicant in the case is a lawyer, the NBA will petition the appropriate authorities for disciplinary action.
“The NBA will also write to the chief judges of Nasarawa and Kogi States to address the growing concerns over fake and outrageous court orders emanating from those jurisdictions,” the NBA stated.
The group noted that it remained unwavering in its commitment to upholding the rule of law and protecting the independence of the legal profession.
It warned that any attempt to intimidate lawyers or subvert due process would not be tolerated.
Oluwadare’s court order, which he granted on January 23, on a case between the inspector general of police (IGP) Kayode Egbetokun, and both Keystone Bank and Nineteenth Kid Estate Residents Association, went viral on social media on Wednesday, February 5, sparking outrage.
The magistrate had ordered that Keystone Bank provide certified true copies of the account opening package, statement of account from November 1, 2024, to date, and certificate of identification for the Nineteenth Kid Estate Residents Association to the assistant inspector general of police, Zone 2 Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos State.
He also ordered the bank to place a post-no-debit (PND) on the account and deactivate all internet/electronic transactions on it, and that the PND should not be lifted if the suspect had not reported to the police and arrested [sic] any persons who come with a lift order without police permission.
Recall that another judge, Inyang Ekwo, of the Federal High Court in Abuja on October 8, 2020, in a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1635/2019, ruled that magistrates lacked the power to freeze bank accounts.
Ekwo also declared that banks should not act on “bankers’ orders” served on them by the police to freeze or place a post-no-debit on personal accounts.
The judge ruled in favour of five siblings who sued their brother and several banks for freezing their bank accounts.
The siblings claimed that their accounts were frozen after their brother petitioned the police, and they were arrested and detained.
The banks had frozen the accounts based on a “banker order” from a magistrate court, but the judge ruled that magistrates lacked the power to make such orders under Nigerian law.
A reporter with the ICIR
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