Judge Mary Odili, a former Supreme Court justice and the most recent chairman of the Body of Benchers (BoB), has denounced the selection of Mr. Augustine Alegeh, SAN, a former NBA president, as the chairman of the BoB’s selection Committee.
In a June 3, 2024, letter to Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, SAN, her successor, Justice Odili stated that she was unaware of the appointment, contrary to what Daniel Tela, the Secretary of the Body of Benchers, had asserted.
“I have just got a copy of the letter signed by Tela, Secretary, Body of Benchers on the above titled subject dated March 28, 2024,” the letter seen was stated.
“I read the letter with great shock, as it appears that I, the departing Chairman of the Body of Benchers, approved the aforementioned appointment.”For the following reasons, I could not have appointed Alegeh, SAN as Chairman of the Appointment Committee: “During my tenure, I had expressed to the administration my disinterest in changing the composition of the Appointment Committee.
“Since the appointment would not be submitted to the House for approval prior to the letter to the candidate, I could not have started such a process on the day I presided over the final meeting of my term.
“Without consultation with the vice-chairman, who I collaborated with closely, I would not have taken on the reorganisation of the Appointments Committee.” “To shed light on the situation, which is obviously embarrassing for both you, Chairman of the Body of Benchers, and me, I am recording the above viewpoints (Mary Odili).
“Therefore, I demand that the anomaly be fixed and that my participation in Alegeh, SAN’s appointment as the chairman of the Appointment Committee be terminated. She continued, “I want to be absolutely clear that I did not make that appointment.”
BoB is the legal body of practitioners with the greatest distinction in the legal profession. It is in charge of disciplining incompetent solicitors and formally calling those aspiring to the bar. One of the main committees of the BoB that screens candidates for the august body’s membership is the Appointment Committee (Mary Odili).
On April 1, 2024, Awomolo succeeded Justice Peter-Odili as head of the Board of Directors. She reorganised some committees, including the Appointment Committee, which had been led by Justice Umaru Abdullahi, a former president of the Court of Appeal, for two terms that ended in February 2024.
Mary Odili
Upon taking office, Awomolo gave Daniel Tella, the secretary of the organisation, instructions to write letters to the newly appointed members of the Appointment Committee, which is chaired by Prof. Yusuf Ali, SAN. However, Mr. Alegeh, the former NBA President, appeared before a Federal High Court in Lagos to request that Chief Awomolo recognise him as the legitimate chairman of the Appointment Committee after Prof. Ali, SAN was named the committee’s new chairman (Mary Odili).
