legal diary News

As the Nigerian Bar Association Annual General Conference 2026, themed “Beyond Limits,” draws closer, attention is drawn to one of the distinguished speakers set to enrich the conference with his wealth of knowledge and experience — Dr. Emmanuel Oluwafemi Olowononi (PhD, LL.M, BL). Called to the Nigerian Bar in 2006 with Second Class Upper Division, Dr. Olowononi has distinguished himself as a legal practitioner, academic, author and specialist in Sports Law, Intellectual Property, Entertainment Law, Commercial Transactions and Legal Education. In 2016, he was appointed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria as a Notary Public of the Supreme Court of Nigeria . He currently serves as Head of Corporate Law Practice at the Nigerian Law School, Abuja Headquarters , and has previously served as Deputy Director, Team Lead of the Commercial Transactions Law Course and Coordinator of the Bar Part One Programme. Beyond the classroom, Dr. Olowononi is the founder of the Institute of Ca...

Sometimes in early July, 2026, a client, Mr. Jubril Muhammad Zayyan engaged my services with respect to his Bank accounts at Opay and First Bank which he discovered was restricted as he could not effect any withdrawal nor carry out e-channels services.  Upon perfecting the brief by paying my legal fees, I promptly wrote letter dated 13th July, 2026 to Opay requesting them to furnish our Law Firm with a copy of the Court Order (if any) which empowered them to place restrictions on our client's account. By the same letter, we also drew their attention to recent judgements of the Federal High Court to the effect that lower courts (Magistrates, Area and Customary Courts) have no jurisdiction to grant orders freezing or placing restrictions on Bank accounts. A copy of my letter is herewith attached. No response was received from any of the Banks, thus prompting me to visit Opay office in Jabi, Abuja personally with the acknowledged copy of our letter and requesting for a fol...

NBA NYANYA-KARU BRANCH CONDEMNS HARASSMENT AND ARREST OF BRANCH TREASURER, MONDAY ISAH ADAH, ESQ., IN THE COURSE OF PROFESSIONAL DUTY The Nigerian Bar Association, Nyanya-Karu Branch, Abuja, unequivocally condemns the harassment, intimidation and arrest of the Branch Treasurer, Monday Isah Adah, Esq ., by officers of the Nigerian Police Force attached to the Police State Headquarters, Lafia, Nasarawa State, while he was carrying out his professional duties at Magistrate Court No. 3, Lafia. The Branch is reliably informed that Mr. Adah was performing his professional duty as counsel when he questioned the authority of police officers who sought to re-arrest his client within the court premises. Rather than address the issue through lawful and appropriate means, the officers allegedly subjected the lawyer to harassment and subsequently arrested him.                Monday Isah Adah, Esq .,          ...

NBA ABUJA BRANCH CONDEMNS THE ARREST, HARASSMENT AND DETENTION OF LAWYERS IN THE COURSE OF PROFESSIONAL DUTIES The Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja Branch (Unity Bar), strongly condemns the arrest, handcuffing, harassment and detention of *Mr. Simon Eromosele, Esq.*, a member of the NBA Abuja Branch (Unity Bar), on the 14th of August, 2026, while carrying out his legitimate professional duties as Counsel. From the account presented to the Branch, Mr. Eromosele was at the OPay office in Jabi, Abuja, to follow up on a formal request made on behalf of his client concerning debit restrictions placed on the client’s OPay account, and to seek disclosure of the legal basis for the restriction, including the production of any court order purportedly authorising it. Rather than being permitted to complete that professional engagement, Mr. Eromosele was reportedly arrested, handcuffed and taken first to the Utako Police Station and subsequently to the IG Monitoring Unit at Force Headq...

NBA ABUJA BRANCH CONDEMNS THE ILLEGAL ARREST AND DETENTION OF SIMON AROMOSELE, ESQ. IN THE COURSE OF THE DISCHARGE OF HIS LAWFUL PROFESSIONAL DUTIES The Nigerian Bar Association, Abuja Branch (Unity Bar), strongly condemns the illegal arrest and detention of one of its members, Mr. Simon Aromosele, Esq., today by officers of the Inspector General of Police Monitoring Unit, Force Headquarters, Abuja, in connection with the discharge of his lawful professional duties. Mr. Aromosele was arrested for writing to OPay Bank on behalf of his client, requesting the lifting of a restriction on his client's account or the production of the court order authorising the restriction. The Investigating Police Officer, DSP Gambo Adamu of the IGP Monitoring Unit, Force Headquarters confirmed during an interaction with the Branch's officials that the only act for which Mr. Aromosele was arrested and detained is the writing of the said letter on behalf of his client. The Branch str...

Mr. Shuaib Agbarere Mustapha, SAN, Chairman of the Inauguration and Planning Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abuja Branch, has congratulated Learned Silk, Yakubu Philemon, SAN, on his successful inauguration as Chairman of the Abuja Branch (Unity Bar). In his congratulatory message, Mustapha, SAN, described the inauguration as a significant and memorable occasion for the Abuja Branch, expressing his appreciation to God and to all members of the Branch whose support and cooperation contributed to the success of the event. He congratulated Philemon, SAN, on the confidence reposed in him by members of the Branch and wished him a successful and impactful tenure as Chairman. Mustapha, SAN, noted that assuming leadership of the Abuja Branch is a great responsibility and urged the new Chairman to remain committed to the ideals of unity, service, inclusiveness and professional excellence. He particularly commended Philemon, SAN, for his vision of “United Witho...

Distinguished legal practitioner and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, SAN , has congratulated Yakubu Philemon, SAN , on his successful inauguration as Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Abuja Branch, popularly known as the Unity Bar . Philemon, SAN, was formally inaugurated alongside the newly elected members of the Branch Executive Committee on Friday, August 7, 2026, following his successful election to lead the Branch for the next two years. In his congratulatory message, Ubani, SAN, described the occasion as a significant milestone and expressed confidence in the ability of the new leadership to provide purposeful, inclusive and progressive leadership for the Branch. He commended Philemon, SAN, for the confidence reposed in him by members of the Branch and urged him to remain committed to the ideals of service, unity, accountability and professional excellence throughout his tenure. Ubani, SAN, particularly noted the ...