The Federal High Court recently offered a rare and profound commendation to High Chief A.A. Malik, SAN, for his unwavering commitment to integrity and professionalism. The event, which unfolded in Abuja on November 19, 2024, coincided serendipitously with the birthday of the celebrated Senior Advocate of Nigeria, making the occasion even more significant.
It could only have happened in the days of yore, when the title, “My Lord, Honourable Justice bla bla bla, and the equally honorific epithet, Learned gentlemen of Bar, were most deserving and indeed, honorific for the Bench and the bar. No thanks to the current magma of the cancerous monster of corruption spreading and eating away and ossifying every fabric of the legal profession, to a stand still!
And so, whether by waywardness of fate or force of circumstances of the special day that it happened, I cannot tell, but from the very bowel of justice today at the Federal High Court, came the sombre remark and revelation, unsolicited, of what hitherto, had been uttered in hushed tones in the legal profession: the unmaking of the Bench by the Bar in the saga of corruption rocking the judiciary!
What elicited the foregoing was uncannily characteristic of the biblical advocacy of Paul before King Festus, who, after listening to Paul make his submission, could no longer trust himself enough to be able to withstand the switch to which Paul’s oratorical prowess had predisposed him, jerked himself back from the dangerous revelry effect Paul’s address had on him, thus:
“Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad.”
However, on this day, as High Chief A. A MALIK SAN, took his stand in his elegant signature gait, making one of those electrifying submissions like the biblical Paul, before My Lord, Honourable Justice Omotosho, unlike King Festus, it was a different reaction to same electrifying submissions by the “Kings”. This time round, midway into his submission, just as King Festus interjected Paul, My Lord Justice Omotosho of the Federal high Court, paused A. A Malik, SAN and made the earth-shattering revelation:
“Malik, you are among a rare few in this profession that I have great respect for and proud of. I am saying this for other Juniors here to learn. Malik is among a very few lawyers in Nigeria who have appeared before me in several matters but who have never visited me nor engaged me privately or in any manner whatsoever to interfere in the performance of my work. I have a record of those lawyers involved in such unethical practices, and I am keeping that record till my retirement when I will personally invite those lawyers and mention their names.”
And so, on this day, the 19th of November, 2024, coinciding with the birth day anniversary of High Chief A.A MALIK, SAN, My Lord, Honourable Justice Omotosho of the Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja, made the above remarks, unbeknownst to my Lord that the day is the birthday anniversary of High Chief A.A Malik, SAN!
