Lagos judge under fire over lawyer’s replacement

A litigant, Tope Atobatele, has filed a suit against Justice Lateefah Okunnu of an Ikeja High Court over alleged debriefing of his lawyer without his consent. In the suit, the litigant alleged that his lawyer, Kabir Akingbola, who represented him in a matter, was debriefed by Justice Lateefah Okunnu without his consent. Following the controversial debriefing of his lawyer and subsequent replacement from the Office of Public Defender (OPD), Atobatele filed an action against Justice Okunnu and four others to seek redress over the alleged denial of his constitutionally guaranteed right to fair hearing. Sued are the Attorney General of Lagos State, the Chief Judge of Lagos State, the Prosecutor in charge No ID/37C/2011 and one, Temitayo Agbelu. Among other reliefs, the claimant is asking the court to declare that the unilateral debriefing of his lawyer and an appointment of another for him by the trial judge is an imposition and a breach of his right to counsel of his choice. The applicant is also praying the court to declare that the court does not have the power to debrief his lawyer without his consent.

Specifically, the claimant asked the court for an order of perpetual injunction restraining all the defendants in the suit from taking any further step in charge No ID/37C/2011 – between the people of Lagos State and Gabriel Opewumi and others without his lawyer taking part in the proceedings. The application is supported by a 14-paragraph affidavit deposed to personally by the applicant who averred that from the inception of the case he had briefed Mr. Kabir Akingbolu to handle his defence. The deponent averred that his co-defendant in the criminal trial also approached Mr. Akingbolu and briefed him to take up his defence. According to the deponent, the defence lawyer, sometimes in 2014, on behalf of the two of them filed an application asking the court to disqualify itself from the matter. “The court took the said application to disqualify itself since June 2014 and for reason known to the court, it fails to deliver ruling on the applications.

“That on 12 March, 2015 when the matter came up before the court, my lawyer, Kabir Akingbolu, was not in court but sent a letter for adjournment, informing the court of the demise of his father and mother and that he had traveled to Ekiti for the burial which was scheduled to take place around that time. “That the court however unilaterally appointed another counsel for me even when I informed the court that I do not need a lawyer, that I have my own lawyer who has sent a letter for adjournment to court, giving reason for his absence,” he stated.

The deponent further stated that on April 22 when the matter came up, the court told his lawyer, Mr. Akingbolu, that he could no longer represent him because the court had appointed another lawyer for him from the Lagos State Office of Public Defender (OPD). According to the deponent, he was duly informed by his choice lawyer that the decision to arbitrarily and unilaterally debriefed his choice counsel and imposed another one on him was in breach of his constitutionally guaranteed right to fair hearing. Justice Okunnu has since revoked the bail of the applicant and sent him back to prison custody following his rejection of the new lawyer from the OPD.