Bayelsa: Olanipekun slammed with N30m fine responds for first time

Wole Olanipekun (SAN), one of the two senior lawyers the Supreme Court slammed with N30m each for holding brief for the APC and its Bayelsa guber candidate Daivd Lyon the apex court sacked, has finally responded to the fine.

The SAN said he did no wrong filing the application.

The suit had prayed the Supreme Court to review its judgment which declared the Peoples Democratic Party candidate, Duoye Diri, winner of the Bayelsa State governorship poll after the disqualification of the APC candidate, who was governor-elect, on the basis of the academic certificates of his running mate, Degi Biobarakuma-Eremionye.

Speaking at Ikere Ekiti on Sunday during a thanksgiving service in commemoration of a multi-million naira ultra-modern 1,600 capacity church auditorium that he donated to the St. Peters Anglican Church, Ikere Ekiti, Olanipekun said the truth of the matter will soon get into the open.

“I have not had any regret, I can tell you, in the profession of law that I have practised since 1976 when I was called to the bar,” he said. “I thank God for what he has made out of me. I see it as a ministry. Forget about what you read, I have done no wrong. Truth will come out.

“I haven’t done any wrong. I would be one of the few lawyers in Nigeria, who would say that I tried as much as possible to practise the profession in the best tradition of the bar, the best tradition of the legal profession.

“At the end of the day, truth will come out. I won’t say more than that now,” the senior advocate said.

Afe Babalola, another SAN the apex court fined, has yet to respond.