Odili’s passport: Judge orders Malami to discipline Immigration’s lawyer for disobeying court order

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, to take disciplinary actions against a senior lawyer with the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Jimoh Abdulkadir Adamu, for “unprofessional conduct.”

Justice Inyang Eden Ekwo, in a ruling on Tuesday, also ordered Adamu to appear before the court on January 21, 2022, to show cause why further orders should not be made about his unprofessional conduct.

The ruling was on an application by Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), lawyer to a former Governor of Rivers State, Peter Odili, complaining of deliberate disrespect to the lawful order of th

Adedipe had urged the court to among others, penalise Adamu for disrespecting the court and treating it with contempt.

Adamu has been representing the NIS and its Director-General in a fundamental rights enforcement suit by Odili, with which he challenged the seizure of his international passport by the NIS.

Adedipe noted that Adamu has failed to obey a subsisting order that the passport is deposited with the Registrar of the court pending the hearing of his motion for stay of execution.

He added that Adamu has consistently failed to attend court despite being served with a hearing notice in relation to his pending motion.