Chief Justice Of Nigeria Petitioned To Suspend FCT Minister Wike From Body Of Benchers Over “Dishonourable Conduct” With Naval Officer

An Abuja-based law firm, BOB James & Co., has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, calling for the suspension of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, from the Body of Benchers.

The firm said this was over that it described as “dishonourable public conduct” unbecoming of Wike, who the firm described as a senior member of the legal profession.

The petition, dated November 17, 2025, and signed by Abuja-based lawyer, Barrister Bob James, was received at the Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria the same day.

In the petition, the legal practitioner urged the CJN to initiate a full investigation into a recent incident involving Wike and to suspend him pending the conclusion of such inquiry.

According to the petition, on November 11, 2025, in Abuja, Wike, a senior lawyer and member of the Body of Benchers, was captured on video “publicly engag[ing] a young military officer in open verbal confrontation,” during which he was seen “repeatedly calling the young man a fool.”

James argued that the episode constitutes an unprecedented breach of the standards expected of a bencher.

“There is no precedent in the history of the legal profession in Nigeria of a bencher publicly deploying vulgar language or the kind of aggression associated with motor park people,” he stated.

The Body of Benchers, the petition stresses, is the institution responsible for the call to bar of new lawyers and for maintaining the highest ethical standards in the profession.

Citing Section 4(1)(e) of the Legal Practitioners Act, James noted that only persons of “good character” may be called to the bar, and by extension, benchers, who serve as custodians of the profession’s values, must demonstrate exemplary conduct.

James warned that allowing Wike to sit among benchers at the next call to bar ceremony would undermine the moral authority of the body.

“They [new wigs] would just dismiss everybody on that panel as a bunch of pranksters,” he stated, adding that new lawyers might rightly question how a body charged with disciplining erring practitioners could credibly perform that role “except the erring lawyer is a Wike.”

The petitioner referenced guidance issued by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) of England, which cautions lawyers that even comments made in a personal capacity outside formal practice may constitute professional misconduct if deemed offensive.

James also cited the Court of Appeal decision in Ayorinde v. Kuforiji (2007), where Justice Amina Augie (as she then was) held that “lawyers must guard their tongue and pens in and out of court.”

James argued that Wike’s alleged conduct falls far short of these standards.

“Decency and decorum in the use of language is one of the minimum character requirements of the legal profession,” he stated, insisting that “a full investigation into the circumstances that led a bencher into calling an officer a fool in public is a mandatory duty for the integrity of that body.”

He urged the CJN to suspend Wike from the Body of Benchers pending the outcome of a formal investigation. (SaharaReporters)