By Our Reporter
Several lawyers have decried what they described as the mischievous stand of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman, Hon. Debo Ologunagba on last Friday’s judgement of the Supreme Court which reinstated Senator Samuel Anyanwu as the party’s national secretary.
The lawyers vowed to report Ologunagba, who is also a lawyer, to the The Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), a panel of senior lawyers responsible for investigating and addressing cases of misconduct among lawyers. This committee ensures that lawyers stick to ethical standards and professional conduct, and uphold accountability of lawyers.
The five justices of the Supreme Court on Friday unanimously set aside the judgements of the High Court of Enugu State, which last October declared Hon. Sunday Udeh-Okoye as national secretary of the PDP, and that of the Court of Appeal, Enugu, which upheld the judgement.
Justice Jamilu Tukur, who delivered the lead judgment, consequently struck out the judgment of the trial court delivered in October last year and also set aside the majority judgment of the Court of Appeal which had in December affirmed the sack of Anyanwu as PDP’s National Secretary.
Few minutes after the judgement was delivered, Ologunagba issued a statement claiming the judgement upheld Ude-Okoye as national secretary.
“Today’s judgment of the Supreme Court reaffirms the standing position of the Party and emphatically settles the emergence of Rt. Hon. SKE Udeh Okoye as the substantiative National Secretary of the PDP having been duly nominated, endorsed and ratified through the internal mechanism of the PDP statutory Organs and bodies in line with provisions of the PDP Constitution (as amended in 2017),” stated Ologunagba.
Curiosly, Ologunagba’s Friday statement appeared to contrast with his earlier statements that were emphatic that the decision to recognize Ude-Okoye was borne out of the party’s respect for the judgements of the Federal High Court and that of the Court of Appeal.
On January 7, 2025, the PDP spokesman had stated: “There were two court orders and on December 24, 2023, after consultation with the PDP National Legal Adviser, it was confirmed that we have received the judgment on the appeal affirming Hon S. K. Udeh-Okoye, as the National Secretary of the party. We are a rule of law compliant party, we believe in this finality of the judicial process.
“We have always respected judicial pronouncement and we will always abide by that culture;. The position of the party has not changed to that; in consistence with our position in the past as rule of law compliant party, we are obeying the order of court; we will follow the processes and ensure full compliance with the pronouncement of the Court of Appeal.”
Ologunagba added: “We have received the judgment of the Court of Appeal that affirmed, Right Honorable S. K. E. Udeokoye, as National Secretary of PDP as as a party, we are bound by that judgment because it’s the judgment from the highest court to date,”
About a month later, on February 13, 2025, Ologunagba told journalists that the position of the PDP had not changed, especially after receiving a memo from a committee the party set up to advise it. The panel was headed by a former minister on the Goodluck Jonathan administration, Tanimu Turaki, SAN.
The national publicity secretary stated: “The NWC, in considering the memo, thoroughly examined the attached documents, namely the declaratory judgement of the High Court of Enugu, the judgement of the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, which pronounced and declared Rt. Hon. S.K.E Udeh Okoye as the national secretary of the PDP; the legal opinion and advice by Dr. Kabiru T. Turaki, SAN, as well as that of the national legal adviser of the PDP.
“After due consideration of the memo and the attachments, the NWC overwhelmingly recognises, acknowledges and confirms Rt. Hon. S.K.E Udeh-Okoye as the substantive national secretary of the PDP in full compliance with and obedience to the judgement of the Court of Appeal, recognising that there is no subsisting or superseding judgement or order from any court of superior authority or hierarchy.
“The NWC has commenced the transmission of its resolution/decision affirming Rt. Hon. S.K.E Udeh-Okoye as the PDP national secretary to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other relevant bodies for recognition in line with the judgement of the Court of Appeal.”
Several senior lawyers who spoke to The Authority expressed disappointment with what they described as “the embarrassment caused the legal profession by the utterances and conduct of Debo Ologunagba Esquire on the judgement of the Honourable Justices of the Supreme Court.”
Said a lawyer, “I know Debo ditched legal practice long time ago for politics. And we all know that nothing is beyond a politician. However, I never imagined that I’d see a day when a lawyer would stand a judgement delivered in an open court by revered justices of the Supreme Court on its head. Must everything be politics?
“I was in the Supreme Court on Fruday for another matter and was supprised, if not shocked, to note that Debo, who is a lawyer and the PDP spokesman, as well as the party’s national legal adviser, Kamaldeen Adeyemi Ajibade, SAN, were both absent in court on a matter that should be of grave concern to them.
“My shock was amplified by that reckless statement Debo put out after the judgement. The statement did a lot of harm to his good self, their Lordships, the reverred justices of the Supreme Court, as well as the legal profession. I won’t be surprised if and when he’d be dragged before the LPDC,” declared the lawyer.
Another lawyer pointed out what he said was the hypocrisy in the spokesman’s position before and after the judgement of the Supreme Court.
“I well recall Debo stating that the reason they wanted Ude-Okoye was to abide by the judgement of the Enugu High Court, and that of the Court of Appeal. That they even tried to swear in Ude-Okoye when the other man’s (Samuel Anyanwu) appeal was pending before the Supreme Court suggested ulterior motive.
“Now that the Supreme Court has set aside the judgment of the Enugu High Court and the Court of Appeal, I had thought that, his personal interests notwithstanding, Debo would have, as a lawyer, counted his losses and moved on.
“Instead, he is running from pillar to post, clutching at straws and issuing statements that will jeopardize his legal career, that is, if he is still interested in practicing after his PDP job ends in December,” the lawyer declared.