Posted by Elder Icheri Imo Okim, a lawyer and resident of the Effi village of Okuni in the Ikom LGA of Cross River State, has been ordered to account for N21 million that the community claims came from the sale of a property that once belonged to Mikewood Plant Industry and was located there.
According to Prince Odey Oyama, a community representative, the traditional council of chiefs’ royal conclave, which includes other sub-authorities, accused the attorney of withholding information about the auction transactions from them.
Oyama claims that the attorney also declined to help them with the court decision that was favorable to them and authorized the auctioning of the property for the community.
The attorney was also charged with wrongdoing that allegedly violates the standards of professional conduct for lawyers in a number of letters that were made available to kuryaloaded.
The Nigerian Bar Association’s disciplinary committee will hear Icheri Imo Okim’s case due to suspected misconduct and denial of the clients’ right to receive a specific ruling in their case, according to Oyama.
Oyama said that the attorney had exploited his position to gain access to information about the former clients of the bankrupt firm, Kanu Agabi chambers in Calabar, with which he allegedly used his position as the community’s attorney to rig a court-ordered auction of the firm’s assets.
“We have sent Elder Icheri Imo Okim, who is also a native of Effi village and who claimed he had power of attorney to function as our community lawyer, multiple letters asking him to grant us the aforementioned power of attorney for sighting,” Oyama alleged.
“We asked him to provide the community with all transaction information related to the auction of the aforementioned property, which supposedly brought in N21m, but he refused.
We know that in order to appease some members of the community, he allegedly distributed some of the auction’s revenues to them.
In a letter dated October 12, 2022, the attorney responded by vehemently refuting all of Oyama’s claims, writing: “I am under no responsibility to give or leak a client/solicitor brief to any person or supposed conclave. My work obligations forbid me from doing that.
Okim threatened legal action against Odey Oyama and admitted that the only money he received came from the judgment fees from the auction.
In response, Okim stated: “[Just] of the allegations made by my brother are completely untrue; they are all rumors. I have been a practicing attorney for 30 years, serving as the community’s solicitor while obtaining a judgment against the aforementioned firm.
“We had numerous discussions about the auction with the community’s elders and chiefs. My legal bills are the only thing that came to me legally.
“Oyama is acting in this way because I stepped in when the public rejected him and refused to have a royal father apologize to him for allegedly defamatory papers. Oyama served as my best man during my wedding 25 years ago.
The claim that I gave money to the youth president and other people is untrue as well. It was one Missang Edim, a colleague, whom I asked to represent me at some of the legal hearings that I gave money when he appealed that he had some challenges.”
Speaking on the matter, former Commissioner of Police Lawrence Eko Alobi and Mr Sam Nsoh, secretary of the Effi community in Calabar and general manager of Canaan FM, both blamed Oyama for taking their issue to the media.