A suit has been filed against the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, by an Abuja based lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, for allegedly making ‘false’ claim about the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen.
The Minister was said to have said Onnoghen ran a suspicious transaction running into dollars.
This is as Naija News reports that the Federal Government has closed its false declaration of asset case against Onnoghen. 
But in a suit by Jideobi, today with Lai Mohammed as the sole defendant, he noted that the Minister made a statement to make “a caricature of the country’s highest judicial office and turning the entire Judiciary of a nation into a laughing stock.”
The plaintiff, therefore, prayed the court to determine the following:
“Whether or not upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff, the Defendant has failed to maintain a high standard of professional conduct and engaged in conducts unbecoming of a legal practitioner.
“Whether or not upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff this is not a deserving case for this Honourable Court to refer the Defendant to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for disciplinary action?
“Upon the determination of the above question, the plaintiff is, therefore, seeking a court declaration, that upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff, the Defendant has failed to maintain a high standard of professional conduct and engaged in conducts unbecoming of a legal practitioner.
“A declaration of this Honourable Court that upon a dispassionate reading and complete understanding of Rule 1 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 [enacted by the General Bar Council pursuant to the Legal Practitioners Act] vis-à-vis the affidavit of the Plaintiff this is a deserving case for this Honourable Court to refer the Defendant to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for disciplinary action.”
Consequent upon this, Mr Jideobi is seeking an order of court “committing the Defendant forthwith to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee [LPDC] for proper disciplinary action”.
He also seeks a public apology from Mr Mohammed.
“An order of this Honourable Court commanding the defendant to write a letter of apology and address same to the Body of Bencher reversing himself on the false allegation he laid against the Honourable Justice Onnoghen Walter Samuel and cause same to be published on two National Dailies within Seven (7) days from the date of the delivery of judgment herein and consequently file [at the Registry of this Court] an affidavit of compliance with the said publication attached.”
The post Lawyer Sues Lai Mohammed Over A ‘False Claim’ About Onnoghen appeared first on Naija News.
