Why Barrister Festus Keyamo Should be sanctioned For His Unethical Conduct

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By Tayo Adelaja

Published: April 16, 2010

ODUA YOUTH FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE (OYFGG),

Address: No 10, Kuburat Abiola way, Oregun, Ikeja, Lagos

Telephone numbers: 07023387772, 07040601007, 07058308359

E-mail: Oduayouth@yahoo.com

 
The President,

Nigerian Bar Association,

National Secretariat,

 
Dear Sir,
Why Barrister Festus Keyamo Should be sanctioned For His Unethical Conduct
I write on behalf of ODUA YOUTH FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE (A non-governmental organization fighting for good governance, rights of oppressed citizens and for the right things to be done in Nigeria) to draw the attention of your highly dignified association to the disgraceful and unethical conduct of one of the black sheep of the legal profession in person of Festus Keyamo. There is no gainsaying that is unbecoming conduct has been attracting opprobrium to the entire legal profession. It is public knowledge that Keyamo has being using his column in The Sun news paper not only to insult and bring people down, but also to prejudge cases pending in courts. He has also being using the same column to black mail and intimidate judges handling cases involving his collaborators masquerading as clients. The freedom to speak one’s mind is not only an aspect of individual liberty, but is also essential to the common search for truth and the well-being of society as a
whole. I am here concerned with the opinion expressed by a supposed lawyer and a self righteous critic, Festus Keyamo in his column (page 15) in The Sun newspaper of Sunday, February 7, 2010 hereby attached. He said and I quote: “So when I fight in court, I fight in public too because that is where the real justice lies. The justice of the people” It beggars believe that a so called “learned friend” could mislead the reading public he suppose to educate by saying mob justice is the real justice. Any perceptive observer of Keyamo’s activities in the media would know that his intention is less than noble, his motive out rightly selfish and his objective wholly distractive. Or how on earth can any one, let alone a “learned friend” who believes in the sanctity of the rule of law and due process who be calling on the acting president to intervene in a case that Is subjudice i.e. purported forgery of certificates by the comptroller-general of customs, Abdulahi Dikko. Another prove of Keyamo’s total disdain for rule of law and due process is the way and manner he “used” his new friend and “patron”, EFCC chairman, Farida Waziri to re arrest a man, Kenny Martins that two different courts of competent jurisdiction have exonerated of all the trumped up allegations Keyamo leveled against him. It is on record that Keyamo found EFCC chairman, Farida Waziri a willing and ready tool after the head of the appropriate security agency that suppose to deal with such issues i.e. purported forgery of documents, The Inspector General of police refused to do his illegal bidding .i.e. re arrest of Kenny Martins. The consolation of this petitioner lies in the fact that Kenny Martins, through his lawyer, Akinlolu Olujimi has taken EFCC to court claiming N100 million damages. I believe it is high time the NBA take necessary disciplinary actions against Keyamo to protect his hard earned reputation and to serve as a deterrent to other lawyers who might be tempted to think that the path of infamy he (Keyamo) is treading to make money is the right one. Every profession has a way of checking individual excesses, since no matter the training, one’s personality is bound to reflect in what so ever one sets one’s heart to do; so also is the case in one’s occupation. As diction remains the most important tool of a lawyer so also does his character. The character of a lawyer should naturally distinguish him from the rest of the society, not just his black suit. He is expected to be moderate and decent. He is not expected to draw unnecessary attention to himself. His principles are meant to be endearing and x-ray his level of integrity. He should be a perfect gentleman any where he find himself; and he must be worthy of emulation. Though the character of Nigerian lawyers is appreciable, a good number (The likes of Keyamo) remains the black sheep. As
versatile as law is, a lot of lawyers have taken undue advantage of the profession. Keyamo is a good example. Silence, they say, is an acknowledgement of guilty. This explains why Keyamo has not been able to defend his name against all my startling revelations on him in reputable newspapers like The Nation, THISDAY and Sunday Tribune in the last five months. Photo copies of the newspapers containing my allegations against him and some of his own write-ups in his column prejudging cases are hereby attached for your association’s perusal and necessary action.
Thank you.

Yours truly in the service of the nation,

 Lanre Aminu

National Coordinator, ODUA YOUTH FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE

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