A young legal practitioner, Joel Abdul Isah, has rejected a N500,000 bribe from the opponent of his client in an ongoing land tussle in Niger State.
The opponent, who is a popular business man in the area, had sent an emissary to the lawyer for talks last week over the two plots of land in contention in a bid to reach an amicable settlement.
In the course of the discussion, the emissary pleaded with the legal practitioner to allow his friend win the case, offering to pay N500,000 if Isah yielded to the request.
The emissary offered to get his friend to increase the bribe money to N1million if the lawyer felt the initial amount was too small for a deal to be struck.
The encounter, which was secretly filmed by the emissary, was later shared with some residents of Niger State where the land matter is currently in court.
Rejecting the bribe, Isah could be seen in the video telling the emissary that his conscience as a Christian and lawyer would not allow him to betray his client for any amount.
He said, “I can’t do such a thing. I have a name to protect. Also, I have conscience as a Christian and lawyer. My client is my good friend who trusts me to defend his rights in this case; I cannot betray that trust for money.”
Despite persistent pressure mounted on him by the emissary for him to give in to the illicit demand, Isah refused, insisting to stand on the side of equity.
“The plan of the businessman and his camp was to use the bribe offer to blackmail the lawyer and make him win the case.
“The lawyer never knew that they were filming the entire incident. It was later when the clip was circulating around our community that we came to know about this.
“Barrister Isah deserves commendation for refusing to take the N500,000 bribe to betray his client in the land case. His conduct is worthy of emulation and celebration by every Nigerian standing on the side of justice and equity.
“I hope the court will now use this as evidence to award the right judgment in the matter,” a friend of the lawyer, who asked not to be named, said.
The popular businessman declined comments when contacted over the matter.
