Remember the Legal Practitioner, Malcolm Omirhobo who appeared in court in his lawyer robes complemented with other traditional apparel?
Well, the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary (LPDC) Committee has written him a letter asking him to respond to a formal complaint made against him by the Muslims Rights Concern (MURIC) over the way he dressed to the Supreme Court on June the 27th, 2022.
By a letter dated Oct 7th, the secretary of the LPDC, Daniel Tela, citing Rule 10 of the LPDC Rules 2020, asked Omirhobo to submit within 24 days from the receipt of its letter, an affidavit disclosing a defence on the merit to the formal complaint.
Channels TV’s judiciary correspondent, Shola Soyele, obtained a copy of the 20 page formal complaint and other supporting documents filed by MURIC on July 12, 2022.
In the documents, MURIC described itself as an Islamic human rights organization which was established on October, 1998, with the major aims of dousing tension in Nigeria, reducing the incidence of violence, fighting against corruption as well as ensuring the upliftment of the rule of law and protection of national institutions.
In furtherance of these aims, the organization wrote a formal complaint against Mr Omirhobo “for conducting himself in a manner which is unbecoming of a legal practitioner and which has caused serious disrepute and mockery to the legal profession particularly on social media”.
The complaint was predicated on the Supreme Court judgment of June 17, 2022, which in a split decision held that female Muslim students have the right to wear their hijab in public schools.
A portion of the complaint says “In protest to this judgement, Malcolm Omirhobo Esq. who is a legal practitioner appeared before the Supreme Court of Nigeria a week after the judgement wearing wig and gown but barefooted, with a red cloth tied around his waist, fetish necklace, and his right eye encircled with white powder, to the extent his embarrassing conduct had to force the Supreme Court to go on recess as reported by different sections of the media.
“On the 27th of June, 2022, Malcolm Omirhobo Esq. was seen before the Federal High Court Lagos wearing the same attire. Furthermore, Omirhobo Esq., was spotted on his feet in the same embarrassing dressing before the Honorable Justice Tijjani Garba while another counsel was also on his feet addressing the court on the appropriateness or otherwise of Omirhobo’s dressing.”
MURIC says “that the conduct of Malcolm Omirhobo Esq. has caused serious embarrassment and disrepute to the legal profession considering the derogatory comments and aspersions made on the apex court justices particularly on social media. His conducts amounts to ‘infamous conduct under the Rules of Professional Conduct 2007”
When Channels TV sought the comments of Mr Omirhobo, he said that he had only just received the formal complaint on Tuesday the 15th of Nov. and would proceed to address same timeously.
On his social media page, he wrote, “I have just received a frivolous and vexatious originating application in respect of the allegation of misconduct against me for dressing as prescribed by my religion in exercise of my fundamental right to freedom of thought , conscience and religion by Muslim Rights Concern (Muric ) from the Body of Benchers , Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee. I am to file my defence within 24 days.”
