NBA celebrates three legal icons in Warri

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), marked the golden jubilee of post-call to Bar of three members of the Warri branch, Chief Thompson Okpoko (SAN), Alaowei Broderick Bozimo, ex-Minister, Police Affairs and the late Young Oshevire Esombi, Saturday in Warri, Delta State.

The NBA President, Mr Olumide Akpata, while giving plaudit to the gesture noted that he began his legal career from one of the celebrator’s chambers in Warri, Delta State.

He commended the legal luminaries for their contributions to the professional growth of the NBA, just as he mourned one of the recipients of the awards, Dr Esombi who died some two weeks back.

Chairman of the event and former Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon Justice Francis Tabai, felicitated with the honorees, disclosing that he too started his practice in Warri.

The Chairman of the NBA Warri branch, Chief Emmanuel Uti, urged the Acting Chief Judge and the Judicial Service Commission in the state  to “stop judicial appointments that are shrouded in secrecy so that the NBA will not feel that it is being ignored.”

Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, represented by his Deputy, Kingsley Otuaro urged the NBA to not relent in the fight to ensure justice for the oppressed.

Immediate past governor of Delta State, Dr Emmanuel Uduaghan, also graced the occasion.

Justice of the Supreme Court, Amina Adamu Augie who gave a lecture on “Persistent Problems in Litigation in Nigeria: A Voice from the Bar,” enjoined lawyers and judges to continue to take deliberate steps to maintain integrity in the judiciary.

At the opening ceremony of the 2021 Law Week of the branch last Thursday, one of the awardees, Chief Okpoko (SAN) advocated for community-based system of policing to effectively tackle the killings and kidnappings.