The Rivers State Judiciary has responded to criticisms over the decision of Justice Chinwendu Nwogu to jail a lawyer, Mrs Lovinah Ugbana Benjamin, for three days for contempt of court.
This reaction followed a statement by the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, titled ‘Judges Must Not Bully Lawyers Or Abuse Power To Punish For Contempt As a Tool For Intimidation Of Lawyer’, which raised concerns about how the judge handled the case.
A statement signed by the Chief Registrar of the Rivers State High Court, David D. Ihua-Maduenyi, said it was important to clarify what really happened and correct what it described as misleading information.
According to the statement, Mrs Benjamin, who was representing the defendants in the case, tried to mislead the court in her final written address by presenting facts and evidence that did not exist.
“The Learned Counsel when confronted by the court, admitted that what she stated in her final written address was not true and she was unapologetic,” the statement read.
The statement further explained that the judge followed due process before finding her guilty of contempt.
It added that although the law allows up to three months’ imprisonment for such an offence, the judge reduced the sentence to three days after pleas from lawyers.
Ihua-Maduenyi also disagreed with the NBA’s position that such matters should always be referred to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, LPDC, saying that is not a fixed rule.
