The Vanguard of Concerned Abuja Lawyers (VOCAL) on Friday, 23rd April, 2021 issued a statement distancing Abuja Lawyers from the ridiculous viral autotomy scandal.
In a statement signed by Dexter Mike the group sought to clear the air on the viral saga.
According to Mr. Dexter, this incident began when a photo of a group of Abuja Lawyers posing with a banner calling for “Judicial Autotomy”. Let’s call this Exhibit A1.
The post went viral and drew massive ridicule from the public on what was clearly a gaffe by the inattentive Attorneys.
The lawyers in Exhibit A1 are known. The offending banner itself bore the picture of Ms. Hauwa Shekarau, a factional Chairperson of the Abuja Branch.
Other posers include embattled factional Secretary Adetosoye Adebiyi, Onyeka Obiajulu aka Minista, Hauwa Shekarau, Mojirayo Nkanga among others.
VOCAL’s position has always been that jokes aside, the error is not representative of Abuja Lawyers in general.
Specifically, the error represented a lapse in judgment of both the lawyer who authorized the print job and the others who gleefully posed without scrutinizing what they were supposedly supporting.
Within hours of the public reaction to Exhibit A, a suspicious picture surfaced with “AUTONOMY” spelled properly on the banner. Let’s call this Exhibit B.
The promoters of Exhibit B took to social media and Facebook to attack anyone lawyer and layman sharing or commenting on the the subsequent picture, mostly on Facebook. The most virulent of these were Onyeka Obiajulu aka Minista, Adetosoye Adebiyi and Qaalaam Sameera.
This trio made grandiose claims that Exhibit A was doctored or “photoshopped” by some unknown ‘mischief makers’. Their fervor and insistence convinced some that the group on the other side of the Abuja schism released an edited image to embarrass Hauwa and co.
In a sudden plot twist however, a video of news footage from Channels TV and a screenshot of the video (Exhibits C & D respectively) surfaced validating and authenticating the veracity of Exhibit A.
This goes to demonstrate that Exhibit B was digitally altered with the intention that public would act upon same as if it were authentic.
In other words, the promoters of Exhibit B wanted the public to act on it as if it were authentic, knowing it was false.
While the ignominious display of Exhibit A can be overlooked and put down to personal incompetence, the subsequent attacks and vitriol to people along with the deliberate use of a faked Exhibit B should not go unpunished. The reason is that it borders on Professional Misconduct, Cyberbullying and Cybercrime.
S. 13 Cybercrime Act provides that
“A person who… alters, deletes or suppresses any data resulting in inauthentic data with the intention that such inauthentic data will be considered or acted upon as if it were authentic or genuine… commits an offense and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for a term of not less than 3 years or to a fine of not less than N7,000,000 or both.”
All attempts made to reach Barr. Hauwa Shekarau whose picture was hoisted on Exhibit A proved abortive VOCAL will get to the bottom of this and unmask those behind this shameless act for further action. The fact that NBA is divided in Abuja doesn’t permit lawyers to engage in unprofessional conduct capable of bringing the profession into disrepute.
