Joseph Nwobike, who was stripped of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria title and sentenced to one-month imprisonment for attempting to pervert the course of justice is still working as a counsel to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Day Break has learnt.
Nwobike, who has been disbarred from practising law in the country after a prolonged corruption trial, is still working as a counsel for AMCON.
The jailed lawyer’s law firm, Joseph Nwobike & Co, has continued to represent AMCON in legal cases.
Day Break obtained a May 22, 2019 letter written on behalf of AMCON by Nwobike as counsel which was addressed to the Chairman, Atlantic Energy Drilling Concept Nigeria Limited over an indebtedness case.
It will be recalled that on April 30, Justice Raliat Adebiyi of the Ikeja Division of the Lagos State High had sentenced Nwobike, to one month in prison for attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The judgement drew the curtain on the prolonged corruption trial of Nwobike who was first arraigned on five count charges on March 9, 2016, of offering gratification and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
The charges against Nwobike who had been practising for about 20 years, was later amended and expanded to 18 counts by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on which he was finally prosecuted.
While delivering her judgment after the resumption of the court session in 2018, Justice Raliat Adebiyi, had said, “The defendant’s level of culpability was high and was carried out with impunity repeatedly over a period of time. The level of culpability was high but the level of consequence was limited. The defendant Dr Joseph Nwobike, is hereby sentenced to a period of one month of 30 days imprisonment for each of the 12 counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice. The sentence is to run concurrently.”
Adebiyi sentenced Nwobike under Section 97(3) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
The section says “Any person who attempts in any way not specified in this law, to obstruct, prevent, pervert or defeat the course of justice, is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable to imprisonment for two years.”
