The factional General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, Nigeria, Rev. Prof. Pual Emeka, has dragged a legal practitioner, Eleazar C.N Igbokwe, (Esq.) of “Mastersons Solicitors”, Port-Harcourt, to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
The Pastor has also taken his grievances against the lawyer to the Attorney General of the Federation over alleged professional misconduct and felony.
Rev. Emeka accused Igbokwe of deliberately misquoting the content of a court ruling, thereby misinforming the public against him in a publication he carried out in a national newspaper.
The embattled General Superintendent has been in a protracted legal battle since 2014 to upturn his suspension by some leaders of the church.
In a petition to the NBA and the Attorney General of the Federation, dated 7th February, 2018, Emeka, through his attorney, Mr Ifeanyichukwu Okonkwo, accused Igbokwe of fragrantly violating Rule 32(3) (F) Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007.
The petition, a copy of which was made available to DAILY POST in Enugu, also urged the legal authorities to investigate and discipline Igbokwe for allegedly violating Rule 32(1) with regard to “CANDID AND FAIR DEALING”, which according to him required that, “In appearing in his professional capacity before a Court of Tribunal, a lawyer shall not deal with the Court otherwise than candidly and fairly”.
The petitioner insisted that Igbokwe also violated Rule (3) (f), to the effect that “In appearing in his professional capacity before a Court or Tribunal, a lawyer shall not – Knowingly misquote the content of a paper, the testimony of a witness, the language of the argument of the opposing counsel, or the language of a decisionor or a textbook.”
He insisted that Igbokwe knowingly misquoted the content of a Supreme Court Decision in the case of Rev. Prof. Paul Emeka vs. Rev. Dr. Chidi Okoroafor and 18 Others (2017) 11 NWLR (PT. 1577) 410.
While attaching the relevant evidence and particulars, the petitioner stated that the misquotation was made in a national newspaper published in August 24, 2017.
“Please do not hesitate to call on the undersigned of this petition to expatiate or furnish you with further information, during your investigations of this case of professional misconduct and breach of the Criminal Procedure Act, Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Okonkwo pleaded.
When contacted, Barr. Igbokwe said Rev. Emeka had lost.
According to him, “Paul Emeka went to court and lost and lost woefully. If they wrote to the Bar Association, the Bar will call me and will show me their petition.
“If they wrote to federal Attorney General, I am not responsible to the federal Attorney General. I am only responsible to the Bar Association.
“I don’t work for government, I work for myself. People should wake up. People should clean their head. Please tell them if they have lawyers working for them, they should educate them.
“Who is Paul Emeka? He has been driven out. We sent him out of the church; so, what he is going about doing will not help him,” Igbokwe quipped.
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