Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), the lead counsel for the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, says he did not hold any meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, on Thursday.
Olanipekun, who is a former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, said he did not know if there was a meeting between Kyari and some persons representing Onnoghen.
Speaking with our correspondent on the telephone on Saturday, however, Olanipekun said if such a meeting held, he was not part of it.
The senior advocate added, “I have never met with Abba Kyari before. I only know him by reputation as the President’s chief of staff but I have never sat with him before. It is possible that some lawyers met with him but I was not among.”
Olanipekun, however, defended his decision to defend the suspended CJN.
He said he believed democratic institutions should be preserved and insulated from politics, vowing to continue to defend them.
The former NBA President said, “My decision to defend the CJN is not for personal gain but for the good of democracy. I strongly believe in the independence of the three arms of government and the rule of law.
“It is for the sake of democracy that I am taking up this case and when the case is over, I will speak extensively but for now, I will refrain from making further comments. Let it be on record that I, Wole Olanipekun, never met with Abba Kyari.”
Some lawyers were said to have met with Kyari last week in a bid to prevent the trial of Onnoghen before the CCT on Monday.
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