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HIGH COURT OF THE FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY, ABUJA. PROCEDURAL STEPS
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CASES/JUDGMENTS ON ETHICS [PROFESSIONAL & CORPORATE] LAW (3)
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| TITLE | MAIN ISSUES |
| MBONU V. MBONU | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Counsel – Where counsel on both sides did not show the proper diligence required – Attitude of court thereto – Duty of Counsel to know the nature and office of legal presumption invoked and exactly what needs to be proved as their foundation |
| MENAKAYA VS. MENAKAYA | ETHICS – JUDGE:- Right to exercise an undoubted freedom to make comments relevant to the issues before him – Need to restrict such to measured comments, not those which look dissertational in nature ETHICS – JUDGE:- Appellate Court justice using many pages of his judgment to hurl insult on the person and professional integrity of counsel appearing before it for act done pursuant to the brief or instruction of client – Duty of judges to civil and restrained in their judgment |
| MOELLER V. MONIER CONSTRUCTION COMPANY (NIGERIA) LTD | ETHICS – COURT: Attitude of courts to sexual relations with prostitutes – Attitude of courts to insinuation of racism |
| MRS FOLASADE OYEWOLE V. MRS. VICTORIA LASISI | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Competence of counsel – Mistake of counsel in the institution of a case – Where it affects locus standi of client – Attitude of court thereto – EFfect ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Incompetence of counsel – When would be binding on client – Justification – Whether undermines Constitutionally guaranteed freedom to elect counsel of choice |
| MRS. CHRISTIANA CHISA TAFRI & ANOR V. EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF RIVERS STATE & ANOR | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Wrongful death cases involving high net worth institutions and organisations – Duty of claimants’ counsel to consider and advise claimants properly concerning proposals to settle claims out of court – Duty to handle case professionally instead of making unnecessary recourse to sentiments where evidence and established legal standards need to satisfied |
| MRS. COMFORT AKINMOSIN V. MRS. AJOKE MAKINDE & ANOR | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER: – Whether it is the responsibility of counsel who had handled a matter for a client previously, to apprise her of originating processes in all other matters |
| MRS. FOLUKE MUDASIRU & ORS. V. ANDREW OBINNA KALU ONYEARU & ORS. | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER: – Recovery of professional fees – Whether fees charged against individual clients can be levied against an entire estate in administration if clients are trustees of said interest |
| MRS. NURA IDOWU LAYENI & ORS V. MR. TOLULOPE ODEBIYI & ORS | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONERS: Filing of appeal processes – Application for extension of time to cross appeal and leave to raise point of law in the grounds of appeal – duty to do same in prescribed time – Whether ignorance of the law is not an excuse or defence for failure to cross-appeal within the prescribed period – Onus to satisfy the twin mandatory pre-conditions necessary to sustain an application for leave to file processes out of time – When court may not grant the application ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER: Amended statement of claim in the lower court when signed in the name of a law firm – Relief sought to set aside the decision of the lower court and the striking out of the statement of claim – When application is deemed improperly filed |
| MYERS V. ELMAN | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Solicitor – Alleged unprofessional conduct – Conduct of case left to managing clerk – Inadequate affidavits of documents – False to knowledge of clerk – Whether solicitor can be made personally responsible for costs. |
| NAFIU RABIU V. KANO STATE | ETHICS – COURT – PROSECUTION: Need for trial COURT to evaluate and interpret evidence properly – When prosecution needs to press home point as to inadequate sentencing – Attitude of appellate courts to failure theret |
| NDI OKEREKE ONYUIKE V. THE PEOPLE OF LAGOS STATE & ORS | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER – PROSECUTOR: – Need for prosecution to draft and lay information before the court which is not incompetent – Confused count of charges – Effect |
| NEWSOM V. ROBERTSON (INSPECTOR OF TAXES) | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Tax assessment – Professional business carried on at home – Whether expenses travelling between home and chambers deductible for income tax purposes |
| NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION V. CLIFCO NIGERIA LIMITED | ETHICS- LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Role of after taking full control of a case – Implications for client – Failure to object to admission of evidence – Acquiescence to arbitral procedure – Effect – Whether precludes client and counsel cannot on appeal from complaining about denial of fair-hearing |
| NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION V. LUTIN INVESTMENT LTD | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITONER:- Senior Advocate – Levelling a charge/accusation of misconduct against mutually agreed upon arbitrator for giving a decision – When deemed made in very bad faith and unjustified in all the circumstances of the case – When can amount to impugning or casting aspersion on the integrity of the arbitrator – Attitude of court thereto |
| NSOFOR V. STATE | ETHICS – TRIAL JUDGE: – Need for High Courts which are the triers of facts, since we have no jury system, “to systematically and painstakingly subject all facts contained both in the accused’s statement to the Police, and evidence in Court to pitiless and scrupulous scrutiny” – When judgment in the High Court from which the appeal ultimately arose is deemed not to “resonate with legal erudition and intellectual consideration” – Attitude of Supreme Court thereto |
| NTAH V. QUEEN | ETHICS – PROSECUTION: Failure to elicit relevant evidence as to key ingredients of sustaining the charge of murder |
| NWAGBO IGWE AND ANOR V. THE QUEEN | ETHICS – PROSECUTION – COURT:- Absence of prosecution during homicide trial – Take-over of prosecution’s duty by trial judge – Effect on the whole proceeding |
| NWOKOCHA V. ATTORNEY GENERAL OF IMO STATE | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Bad cases where counsel has nothing to urge – Resort to the invocation of lack of fair hearing so as to bamboozle court with a view to moving the Court away from the live issues in litigation – Attitude of court thereto |
| NYESOM V. PETERSIDE & ORS | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER – STAMP/SEAL: Position of the law as regards failure to affix the Nigerian Bar Association stamp/seal to a legal document |
| OBADENEJI OMOHODION V. COMMISSIONER OF POLICE | ETHICS – JUDGE:- Effect of wrong construction of evidence by trial judge – Findings of fact by trial judge not supported by evidence on record |
| OBI V. THE QUEEN | ETHICS – PROSECUTION:- Need for prosecution to establish necessary elements needed to ground conviction – effect of failure thereof |
| OBIOZOR V. NNAMUA | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Arguments of counsel – Duty to base them on the facts as contained in the record of the proceedings of a court – Duty of counsel to refrain from putting the facts differently and arguing on the basis of the distorted facts – Attitude of courts to counsel who argue that certain facts are not true and yet rely on them as admissions of facts in favour of case |
| ODUNTAN AND 3 ORS V. GIWA AND 2 ORS. | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Absence at appellate proceedings after being served – Effect |
| ODUSOTE V. ODUSOTE | ETHICS – Appearance and withdrawal of Counsel – Whether Counsel can be discharged in the absence of the appellant |
| OGBAMGBA V. QUEEN | ETHICS – POLICE: – Failure of Law Enforcement – Lackadaisical attitude towards the apprehension of offender or the safe custody of evidence required for prosecution in its custody – Attitude of court ETHICS – PROSECUTION: – Information – Error in information pleaded – Unnecessary amendments to information – Attitude of courts thereto |
| OGBUNYIYA AND OTHERS V. OKUDO AND OTHERS | ETHICS – JUDGE:- Judge promoted or elevated to higher office – Duty towards ongoing cases – Giving judgment without jurisdiction due to elevation to another office – Effect |
| OGUNREMI V. QUEEN | ETHICS – PROSECUTION:- Charging an alleged offence of rape under a section of the law which does not deal with rape – Whether nullifies proceedings even where no miscarriage was alleged ETHICS – JUDGE:- Failure to take a fresh plea after amending charge against accused – Effect thereof |
| OJIEGBE V. UBANI | ETHICS – LEGAAL PRACTITIONER: Court’s attitude to a legal practitioner putting himself into a situation in which he cannot be ‘counsel’ in the true sense of the word, because he is in substance a party |
| OJO V. GHARORO | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER: – Handling of cases relating to medical negligence – Nature of proof counsel is required to furnish – Effect of failure to furnish same |
| OJO V QUEEN | ETHICS – CUSTOMARY LAW: Total abandonment and ostracism of a person allegedly suffering from illness – Murder resulting from deep frustration and feeling of abandonment |
| OLA V. ALAKA | LEGAL PRACTITIONER:– Professional misconduct – Whether a legal practitioner who prepared a testator’s Will and appeared on behalf of the executors is guilty of professional misconduct under rules 10(b) and 26(a) of the Rules of Professional Conduct in the legal profession. LEGAL PRACTITIONER:– Legal practitioner engaged in drafting a Will by a testator – Whether owe a duty of service to the beneficiaries of the Will. LEGAL PRACTITIONER:– Professional misconduct by a legal practitioner – What qualifies as same. |
| OLUWATUYI & ANOR V. OWOJUYIGBE & ANOR | ETHICS-LEGAL PRACTITIONERS:- Originating processes – competency – Rule in Nweke v. Okafor – Legal effect of a non-legal practitioner signing originating processes such as the writ of summons and the statement of claim on behalf of a litigant |
| OSWALD HICKSON COLLIER AND CO (A FIRM) V. CARTER-RUCK | ETHICS – SOLICITOR:- Client – Fiduciary relationship – Entitlement to act for client – Clause in partnership deed precluding outgoing partner of firm acting for client in future – Whether clause contrary to public policy |
| OTTER V. CHURCH, ADAMS, TATHAM & CO. | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- When a solicitor undertakes to advise his client with regard to specific piece of property or estate – Nature of duty created – Duty of solicitor to fully to inform himself of the nature of the property with which the client is concerned – Effect of failure thereto – Estate administration services – measure of liability of solicitor – How determined |
| OWE V QUEEN | ETHICS – RELIGION: Murder motivated by Biblical story of Sampson – Effect of improper contextualization of religious teachings |
| PRINCE JOHN OKECHUKWU EMEKA V. LADY MARGERY OKADIGBO & ORS | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER: – Need for counsel to always identify the ratio decidendi of a judgment and not the obitar dicta – Need for counsel to be caution in citing and relying on a case unless the facts are on all fours with the particular case under consideration – Attitude of court to failure thereto |
| REV. KING V. THE STATE | ETHICS – PROSECUTION: – Defective Information – Validity of the trial of appellant on the amended information when the original information is undated, uninitialed and unfiled and the propriety vel non of the lower Court’s failure to consider and resolve the issue in the appellant’s brief ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER: – Failure to develop an issue for determination from grounds of appeal – Importing of word not in the record of court below and making same a pillar of an issue for determination at the appellate level – Attitude of court thereto |
| SARAKI V. FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Intimidation of a sitting court or a tribunal through the procurement of rival order parlayed as a stay on the process of the other – Propriety of – Attitude of court thereto |
| SAVANNAH BANK OF (NIGERIA) LTD v. STARITE INDUSTRIES OVERSEAS CORPORATION | ETHICS – LEGAL COUNSEL:- Mistake or negligence of counsel – Attitude of court thereto – Whether court will allow client of negligent counsel to suffer consequence – How treated |
| SHINKAFI & ANOR V. ABDULAZEEZ ABUBAKAR YARI & ORS | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Multiplication of causes and cases as well as deliberate waste of the time of the court or clients – Forum shopping – Duty of counsel to refrain therefrom – Attitude of court thereto |
| TAOFEEK ADELEKE V. THE STATE | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Whether a counsel who stands by and allows Exhibits to be tendered smoothly to become evidence without any objection can be heard to later complain about same |
| THE REGISTERED TRUSTEES OF THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH V. MRS. EMMANUEL I. OLOWOLENI | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Case Management requirements – Pleadings – “There can be no gainsaying the fact that the game of advocacy in court is one which demands maximum vigilance throughout the progress of a case. A prudent and industrious counsel should be ever vigilant to any important development during the progress of the case he has been briefed to prosecute or defend which impels him to take, change, or amend a procedural step in order to achieve the desired result for his client. The result of the inadvertence or lack of vigilance of learned counsel for the appellants in this case was that the appellants’ case … was quite an unequal match to the respondent’s case” |
| THE STATE V. IYABO ALBERT | ETHICS – PROSECUTION:- Frivolous and spurious appeal – Need for prosecution to refrain therefrom – Attitude of court to failure thereto |
| TONY ANOZIA V. MRS PATRICIA OKWUNWA NNANI & ANOR | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER: Senior member of the bar – Abuse of court process –Claim founded on an obscene and reprehensive immoral foundation tending towards scandal and blackmail which a sound lawyer would be ashamed to associate with – Attitude of court thereto |
| UBANI V. THE STATE | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Extra-judicial threat made by lawyer pursuant to matter over which court has jurisdiction – When given effect to by clients of lawyer – Attitude of court – Whether a despicable conduct most undeserving of a lawyer |
| UDO AKPAN UDOFIA V. THE STATE | ETHICS:– Duty of counsel defending an accused in a murder trial – Decline in professional responsibility – Propriety of sending NYSC lawyers to represent accused person |
| UGURU V. THE STATE | ETHICS – JUDGE:- Duty to be impartial – Whether judge should not do anything to give the impression that he wants a particular person punished by all means – Attitude of appellate court to failure thereto |
| UKAH & ORS V. CHIEF CHRISTOPHER A. ONYIA & ORS | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER – RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT:- Purpose of the Rules of Professional Conduct – Whether a lawyer is forbidden to practice as a legal practitioner while personally engaged in the business of a commission agent ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:– The Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) made pursuant to S.11 (4) of the Legal Practitioners Act (LPA). S. 11(4) of the Legal Practitioners Act – Whether not enacted for the purposes of determining the validity or otherwise of commercial transactions but made purely for disciplinary purposes – Effect of Rule 55(1) of the RPC as to the means of enforcing the provisions of the RPC – Whether only the relevant disciplinary committee under the RPC has the jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of the RPC |
| UKPE IBODO & ORS. V. IGUASI ENAROFIA & ORS. | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Error or negligence leading to non-compliance with requirement of court rules – Duty of court to ensure substantial justice |
| UKUT V. QUEEN | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER – APPEAL:- Counsel asserting there is nothing he can argue in favour of convict – propriety thereof |
| UMUNNA V. QUEEN | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Propriety of bringing a perfectly hopeless appeal with nothing to urge |
| UNIVERSITY OF ILORIN V. OYALANA | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:– Counsel –Absence from court – Whether there is a duty on Counsel to find out what happened to his case |
| UWECHIA V. THE NIGERIAN PROPERTIES COMPANY LIMITED | |
| VESA FOODS AGENCIES LIMITED & ANOR v. ACCESS BANK PLC | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITONER:- Duty of competence – Signing of processes – Requirement to sign same in name of legal practitioner and not name of law firm – Effect of failure thereto |
| VULCAN GASES LTD. V. G.F. IND. A.G. | LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Counsel – Authority of counsel in relation to the conduct of action – Extent of LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Counsel – Authority of counsel to compromise client’s case – Extent and scope of LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Counsel – Where agrees to order or judgment in disregard of client’s limitations – Power of court in respect thereof. LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Counsel – Where consents to an order or judgment contrary to his client’s clear instructions – Effect of. |
| W. E. A. MACAULEY V. JUDGES OF THE SUPREME COURT OF SIERRA LEONE | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Sierra Leone – Legal Practitioner – Striking off Roll – Reasonable Cause – Partially civilized Country – Importance of Integrity of Bar – Supreme Court Ordinance (Sierra Leone), 1924, s. 57. |
| WEST CONSTRUCTION COMPANY LTD. V. SANTOS M. BATALHA | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Adjudication – Need to be in pursuit of justice. |
| WHITEMAN V. HAWKINS | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Solicitor, Action against, for Negligence – Failure to ascertain existence of a charge upon the land Measure of Damages |
| WILLIAMS V. FRANKLIN | ETHICS:- Solicitor and Client—Fiduciary relationship—Sale of land by Client to Solicitor—Duty to Client. |
| YARZABAINA V. KANO N. A. | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER:- Failure of counsel to call evidence to counter admission before a sharia court |
| YAW NGOROH AND KWESI GYAN V. THE KING | ETHICS – LEGAL REPRESENTATION:- Lawyer representing two co-accused – Duty of counsel where evidence of co-accused contradict each other – Attitude of court thereto |
| YESUFU ABODUNDU V. THE QUEEN | ETHICS – COURT: Visit to locus in quo – Need to observe applicable principles – Effect of failure thereof |
| YONGE V. TOYNBEE | ETHICS – LEGAL PRACTITIONER: Solicitor – Retainer to conduct Defence to an Action – Lunacy of Client – Determination of Solicitor’s Authority – Steps in Action taken by Solicitor in ignorance of Determination of Authority – Implied Warranty of Existence of Authority – Liability of Solicitor personally to pay Plaintiff’s Costs – Practice – Appeal – “Matter of practice and procedure” – Judicature Act, 1894 (57 & 58 Vict. c. 16), s. 1, sub-s. 4. |
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