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The Youth Advocacy Network has expressed serious concerns about recent developments after the Kogi governorship election.
They have highlighted ethical issues within the legal field concerning statements made by a senior lawyer, Jibrin Sam Okutepa (SAN).
Comrade Seun Adeaanu, the group’s convener, stated that they are deeply troubled by these occurrences.
He said, “Recent events involving Jibrin Sam Okutepa, SAN, underscore the need for vigilance in ensuring ethical accountability within the legal profession. Okutepa’s actions, which appear to contradict established ethical standards, raise serious concerns about the integrity of legal practice in our society.
“The Youth Advocacy Network urges regulatory bodies such as the Nigerian Bar Association, the General Council of the Bar, the Body of Benchers, and the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee to address these ethical lapses.”
In the statement made available to Pulse.ng, the group alleges that Okutepa and Barrister Rilwan Okpanachi have behaved inconsistently with the professionalism expected of lawyers.
They claim that Okutepa has significantly benefited from past Kogi state administrations but has turned against subsequent governments due to ethnic biases.
“Okutepa’s endeavours to besmirch the reputation of the Kogi State government since power divinely shifted from the East to the Central have been brazen and unchecked.
“Misguidedly considering himself as the only legal practitioner in the country whose voice must be heard in his usual ultracrepidarian belief, he has orchestrated acts aimed at plunging the state into chaos and turmoil through his social media presence, television appearances and clandestine orchestrations of protests against the government over the years,” the group decried.