After 5 years, Supreme Court Restores Oyinlola’s Lawyer, Kalejaiye’s SAN Title

The Supreme Court, Friday, affirmed a restoration of the title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on an Ibadan-based lawyer, Kunle Kalejaiye, who was stripped of the rank by the Legal Practitioners and Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) in 2015 for engaging in professional misconduct.

LPDC stripped Kalejaiye of the SAN title following allegation that he exchanged text messages with an election tribunal judge, Thomas Naron, during the election litigation between former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola of Osun State and the State’s immediate past governor, Rauf Aregbesola.

Kalejaye, who was once a lawyer to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and then Governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, faced an inquiry over the alleged conduct since 2008 when a series of text messages between him and the judge were said to be have become public knowledge.

In a unanimous judgment delivered Friday, a five-member panel of justices of the Supreme Court, headed by Justice Mohammed Dattijo upheld Kalejaye’s appeal for reasons that the trial procedure at the LDPC was defective.