RE: LETTER FROM JUDICIARY ENUGU STATE HEADED THE NEED TO INTRODUCE THE PRODUCTION OF TAX CLEARANCE CERTIFICATE AS A REQUIRMENT FOR FILING OF PROCESSES IN COURT DATED 7th February, 2024.

A BETRAYAL

OPEN REJOINDER BY NBA ENUGU BRANCH

The sin of betrayal is an act of conspiracy and equivalent in consequence as the act.

Beyond mere betrayal, the above letter from the judiciary Enugu State to Chairmen of NBA in Enugu State depicts the Judiciary of Enugu State as having acted like Judas and a vehicle conveying garbage of injustice, oppression and exploitation once again targeted against lawyers in Enugu State.

The letter can at best be an uncouth executive legislation combined with judicial administrative recklessness and should not have come from the exalted office of the Chief Judge of Enugu State no matter the pressure.

The letter from judiciary conveying intention of the Chairman of the Board of Internal Revenue Enugu State is an attempt to regulate the right of Lawyers to practice law in Enugu State out proper enactment and violation of the fundamental right of litigants to have a lawyer of their choice and a hindrance to access to justice.

Furthermore, the letter is an affront to the rule of law and Legal Practitioners Act which makes clear provisions on what is required of lawyers before they can practice law in Nigeria.

Also, the Legal Practitioners Act did not make provision and did not contemplate the requirement of a Lawyer to present a tax clearance certificate before he can file processes or appear in courts.

It therefore, follows that the practice of law by lawyers in Enugu State cannot be regulated and access to justice cannot be curtailed by the uncouth administrative outburst in a paper without legal legs to stand and without legal force to fly out of the paper.

This round of exploitative attempt against lawyers in Enugu State brings to mind the exploitative betrayal surreptitiously introduced against lawyers in Enugu State attracted by the Judiciary Enugu State which made it mandatory over the years for lawyers to be paying a mandatory fee of Two Hundred Naira (₦200.00) for a worthless seal to be affixed on each original and service copies of processes filed by lawyers in Enugu State.

The letter dated 7th January is another round of betrayal against lawyers. Notwithstanding the content of the letter and its coercive tendencies it is illegal, null and void, and therefore dead on arrival.

Furthermore, on a deep reflection one would say that this is not the best time for lawyers because at the national and the state levels of the NBA, there are threats of invasion into our exclusive preserves. There is therefore a duty-call for all lawyers to stand firm in protection of our rights as legal practitioners and ward off administrative heads from using our revered judiciary or the legislators as tax or debt collectors against lawyers.

On this note we vehemently reject the proposals and the implementation of the directives in the letters dated 1st and 7th February 2024 and urge the judiciary to withdraw the letter dated 7th February 2024.

The hen cries to high Heaven’s not because it does not know what to do but for the world to hear her.

This publication will also serve as a pre-action notice to all concerned.

On the rule of law we stand.

CHIEF CNN NWAGBARA (FIPCAN)
CHAIRMAN NBA ENUGU BRANCH