By Eze Chukwuemeka Eze,
Preamble
Having associated myself with Barr Osima Ginah divinely for the past eighteen years through politics; while he served as the Legal Adviser of the then Action Congress (AC), I was the Media Consultant to the party and since then we have a unique bond that have kept us as a family since then not minding our current political differences
Though we share the same date of 1st January as our birthday but based on our relationship, I decided to celebrate him by recalling his early days and feats in the legal profession. Maybe if I still have the time, I will attempt to postulate his feats thereafter
Please, join me not only to celebrate this my unique brother on this auspicious period but do find time to read what makes this enigma what he is today both in Rivers State and Nigeria at large
OSIMA GINAH: A LEGAL ICON
Barr. Osima Ginah, the former Honourable Commissioner for Urban Development, Rivers State graduated from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology (RSUST) with LLB in 1999, and did his one year practical in the Nigeria law School, Abuja in 2000.
After being called to Bar by the Nigerian Law School, Abuja, he began to practice law. He started at No 79 Bende Street in the H. Senibo& Co. Chambers, and his Principal was Barr. Henry Senibo. Today, Barr Osima Ginah is largely known as one of the outstanding legal practitioners in Rivers State and beyond who have distinguished himself in the legal profession. The popularity and fame he gained within over eighteen years he practiced law is a great surprise to many people in the land, but those who know how serious, courageous and determined he is, are not surprised. A number of them, mainly his professional colleagues, know that he will go a long way in the field of law. This simply means that he discovered his talent early in life and pursued it with vigour.
It was recorded that Osima Ginah handled his first case in the Court without any assistance, including his Principal directing or guiding him. His Principal was not in town, and being the only Lawyer in the Chamber when their client came, he summoned courage and followed the man to the Court. There, he handled the case of Experte Injunction and got the order for their client.
The young barrister, while speaking on his first appearance in Court, has this to say “the very first case I handled without my principal directing me was the case of Experte Injunction. The man came to our office and said that he was looking for our Principal. I asked for what? He said that his case was about to be mentioned and that there was a motion. And I have never been to Court before. I said, but I am also a Lawyer. He said no, but you have never been to Court before. I said I can go to Court because I read Law. And my Principal went outside Port Harcourt for a matter. He had no choice than to accept me. He took me to Court.
I handled the matter and got the order for him. The case was an Interim Order to stop a bank from claiming his property because he had collected a loan from the bank and there was a disagreement and he wanted to stop them from claiming his property. When my principal came back, he asked me, did you do any magic? I said no, he said, but you have not been trained. I said, but I was trained in Law School. I read law. He asked me how I did it, I told him that in the Court, I saw a man called the Judge and he said, move your motion, I started talking and after talking, he agreed with me and granted my order. That was retired Justice Ebete. That was the first court I appeared in”.
However, while Barr Ginah was with H. Senibo& Co. Chambers, Port Harcourt, he performed creditably and was admired by many. His Principal, Barr Henry Senibo, having discovered the seriousness in him, developed much love and interest in him, and therefore took time to teach him many things in the Law profession. Barr Ginah was said to have featured prominently in Court during the period, and this happened because his Principal discovered that he was pursing his cases in accordance with instructions. This, no doubt prepared him for future challenges.
As a dogged fighter and one who has self-confidence, immediately he started practicing with H. Senibo& Co. Chambers, he began to think of how to establish his own Chambers and realized the noble objective within two years. His Chamber is noted as one of the fastest growing law Chambers in Port Harcourt. He has six Lawyers in his Chambers headed by one Barr Ogolo, the Managing Solicitor. Because of their performance, the Nigerian law School, Abuja sends about four persons to the Chambers for training every year, a development that really convinced all and sundry that Osima Ginah is a Lawyer to reckon with.
Since after the establishment of the Chamber, Osima has been shinning like a star, as none of clients have regretted consulting. He was said to have exhibited must interest and seriousness in his cases and has won many. As one who is desirous of making name in the legal profession, he places the interest of his clients above every other thing. It would be recalled that Barr Osima Ginah was among the legal team that handled the case of the governorship candidate of the Action Congress (AC) in Rivers State, Prince Tonye TJT Princewill at the Election petition tribunal. When some other lawyers withdrew from the case because of the inability of the party to adequately finance them, Barr Osima stood firm and doggedly followed the matter till the day it was withdrawn by the party and the petitioner.
Narrating the story, Osima said, “I handled the matter because I believe that service is selfless. I don’t believe so much in how much money I will acquire or put in my bank account, but I believe so much in what I can do for the people. I also saw it as a challenge because when we were in the meeting, and the challenge was thrown, they asked, those who are lawyers of this party, can you please take this responsibility? We replied yes. After, we went out as lawyers, held meetings and entered the field. But, along the line, we were disappointed because money was not coming as expected. The other men knew that there was no money and ran away. When I looked at it, I said, I have not handled election petition before. I said it is a challenge on my part. If I do well, it is going to bring me into lime light in the legal profession. So, I took it as a challenge. I was actually doing it with much diligent. The first time I went to Court and handled the matter, I was faced with two Senior Advocates. Before I handle any case, I will make sure I read my books well, check my laws and be ready to fight my opponents. When I went to Court, I knew where they were going. The first ruling was in my favour and that really made me strong and gave me the hope that I can do something. If I can defeat two Senior Advocates in a slightly technical application, it means that I will do more. That was the Election Petition Tribunal between Prince Tonye Princewill of the AC, Celestine Omehia of the PDP and the Independent National Election Commission (INEC) on the other side”.
However it is worthy of note that Barr.Osima Ginah was among the legal team that made the Suleiman Dikko led Election Petition Tribunal to grant all the prayers and reliefs sought by Tonye Princewill, the AC gubernatorial candidate. After a heated debate, the tribunal, in its monumental ruling, granted Princewill’s motion, and directed that the Action Congress should be allowed to inspect all documents relating to the April 14, 2007 governorship election in the state and in addition, granted very special permission to obtain certified true copies of all the inspected materials. The materials include (a) Forms EC8A, EC8B, EC8C, EC8D, allegedly used in the governorship election held in Rivers State on April 14, 2007. (b) Copy of Form EC8E. (c) Election results allegedly posted at all the polling units and wards in the 23 local government areas results in Rivers State. (d) Copies of the voters’ registers used at all the polling stations/units in the 23 LGA’s of Rivers State for the governorship election
It would be recalled that while Barr. Osima Ginah was handling the governorship election petition case, the AC leader in the state, Prince Tonye Princewill also directed him to take up the House of Assembly and the National Assembly Petitions, which he did. When asked whether he was qualified to lead a legal team for such case, he courageously said “having been qualified to practice as a lawyer in Supreme Court, I am qualified to handle any matter anywhere in any Court in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I have my chambers. I had about three lawyers with me that time. So, I had enough confidence that I can go through the case. But before then, I have also argued matters with Senior Advocates in Court. So, that spurred me to handle the matter even in the presence of the led Counsel, a Senior Advocate who was supposed to come and lead me. Even when we were handling the matter in the preparatory stage, the Senior Advocate saw my contributions and advised that the matter should be checked under my control, and that gave me the confidence and I said that I was not going to prove him wrong”.
While the cases between the Action Congress (AC) Rivers State and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) were going on, the fearless legal practitioner, Osima Ginah, also handled a case for the appointment of the members of the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission (RSIEC). He challenged the appointment of the members and the process in which they were appointed and won the case at the High Court. This resulted to the dissolution of the members of the Commission that time which paved way for the appointment of the new ones. The case, according to sources, is still pending at the Appeal Court, as the affected members appealed against the decision of the High Court.
Confirming this, one of the Lawyers in Barr. Ginah’s Chamber who is also serving as his Special Assistant, Barr. Godpower Bacafama Barango said “Barr Ginah is a sound lawyer. I can remember during the case between the Action Congress (AC) or Tonye Princewill and Celestine Omehia, we had a matter between the Action Congress and the Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission was wrongly constituted. We took the matter to Court and won despite all odds against us. Barr Osima Ginah is a dogged fighter. He believes in what he is doing until he gets a superior reason. Continuing, Barr Barango said “in the law profession, I think, Barr Osima has done what his mates have not been able to achieve. When we were in the tribunal, despite the fact that we had a Senior Advocate (SAN) from Lagos he led that team. Ordinarily, governorship matters were meant for the Senior Advocates (SANs), but because of his hardwork and diligence to work, he was able to get that job.
Apart from this, Osima Ginah, whose area is Land Matters, has won a lot of it. He wants to get a world-class legal office where we will have a lot of departments to enable us handle international cases and all that. So, I know he has not achieved what he wants to achieve in law”.
Commenting on Barr Osima Ginah’s performance in the legal profession, the Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Port Harcourt Branch, Chief O.T.K.D. Amachree, averred ‘Before Osima Ginah (Esq.) became a Lawyer, I had cause to know him when, I think he was a member of Staff in the employ of late Doctor Marshal Sokari Harry. He appeared to me to be quite agile and assertive as a young growing man eking out a living from his station life then”.
“Later on, Osima Ginah Esq. became a colleague at the bar and started out with the speed of a man who felt he had come a bit late to the stage of the noble profession called law. He had a short stint with a senior colleague in Port Harcourt before setting up his practice also in Port Harcourt. He has been quite enthusiastic and passionate in the practice of law. Those close to him know he never believes his client’s case is “bad” and will spare no breath in doing his best to defend and promote the interests of his client. He delivers his case with all the strength he can muster and with the support of the law as he understands it. …..Both as Chairman of the Kalabari Lawyers’ Forum and later the Nigerian Bar Association, Port Harcourt Branch, I can attest to the fact that this gentleman has contributed so much to members well being. He is always there for what he believes in and stops at nothing to spread the joy. He has in the circumstance singularly hosted, feted meetings and sponsored events of those bodies. His efforts remain appreciated. His general carriage depicts the personality of a character tortured in humanity and bred through the crucibles of life”, said Chief Amachree.
The former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Rivers State, Barr. Ken Chikere, while assessing Osima Ginah as a Lawyer, has this to say “Osima, first and foremost, is my professional colleague. He is a lawyer like me. He practiced in the Court. He is a litigation Lawyer, that is, one who practices law in the Court halls and Court rooms….Well, I don’t believe that I have the capacity to assess anybody as a Lawyer. Osima is a neat Lawyer who pursues his cases with diligent. A litigation Lawyer does his cases with conviction, to the extent that you begin to wonder whether it is only money that he is paid. Now, before Osima got appointed, as Attorney General, I did a case with him. There were local government election cases that we did together, and Osima pursued his side with diligence”.
To Barr. Worgu, the then NBA Secretary, Port Harcourt Branch, Bar. Osima Ginah is a workaholic and most straight forward person he has ever seen. Osima, to him, is older than he looks, due to what comes out from his mind. “He is committed and dedicated to whatever he is assigned to do. To show his level of commitment to the NBA in the state, I could recall a day we were holding an NBA State Exco meeting, he got a call that his mother has died. He took permission and left, and few minutes after depositing the corpse of his mother to the mortuary, he came back to the meeting to the shock of members. I must tell you first of all that Osima was an Assistant Welfare in the 2004-2006 Exco. That was where I got to know him very well. One thing that I got to know is that he is very fast and speaks his mind. He likes throwing things in the open so that everybody will discuss it”.
“As a lawyer, Barr. Osima is very good. I have done a case with him; incidentally, it was election petition. He was standing for the Action Congress in one of the Senatorial cases and I was for the People Democratic Party (PDP). But, before we could finish the matter, Osima became a Commissioner”, said Barr. Worgu.
Barr. TalbortDenvenObaye-Ekine, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, London, and an Associate of the Society of Company and Commercial Accountants of London, who is also a Port Harcourt based Legal Practitioner, in his own comments, stated “Barr. Osima Ginah is known to me as a Barrister for some years now, and we practice together in the Magistrate and High Courts. I have seen him to be a very energetic, brilliant and hardworking lawyer. He had a very humble beginning, and that has brought some sorts of humility in him. At the Bar, no matter the situation, he always pursues his client’s case vigorously as he would. He is a serious-minded Lawyer”.
In his own testimony, one of Barr. Osima’s clients and the Rivers State Secretary of the defunct Action Congress (AC), Hon. Okis Bob Manuel, who described him as a serious lawyer, said that Osima remained his family lawyer till he became a Commissioner in the State, saying that every member of his family is happy with him, as he did not disappoint them in the cause of discharging his duties. His words, “I know Osima Ginah in the late 70s, but we were not close. We actually became close when I went to Barr. Senibo’s Chambers. He was working under Barr. Senibo then. Senibo referred me to him, then, we became very close. He was handling my court cases and later, I introduced him to my family as a family Lawyer which he remained till he became a Commissioner. He is a very reserved person, but very respectful. In the law practice, he is very good, I must be very frank that my family has been very proud of him. We were a bit worried when he became a Commissioner because we have loosed him as a Lawyer that handles our cases. But, we later said, well, that is where God wanted him to go.
But, I tell you, my family has been very appreciative of his law profession, and I have been very proud of him since he became a Commissioner too…..The case he handled for me is a family matter concerning my father and his younger ones. Actually, the cases have not been decided, but the seriousness and vigour he put in the case made me to see him as a good and serious lawyer. The case is still pending. Right from when I knew him as a Lawyer, he has been very serious with his law practice. So, I know that he is going to go far in the law profession”.
Perhaps, the first member of the Rivers State House of Assembly from Osima’s immediate Community, Angulama, Chief (Hon) NgoyeIgobo, in his, said “Osima is a Brilliant Lawyer. He came out of the Law school and worked with some few seniors. I saw the potential in him, and when he told me that he would like to establish him own Chambers, I said, yes, you should go ahead. That will offer him higher opportunities to bring out the potentials in him which he did. When he pulled out and established his own Chambers, frankly speaking, I was surprised how fast his Chamber grew. As of today, he has about six other lawyers working with him in that Chamber. He is a good lawyer because he looks at the Natural Justice before the Legal Justice in any case he is handling”.
Though, Barr. Osima Ginah specialised in Land matters, but he has also done very well in other aspects. He was said to have won many cases since he established his Chambers. The secret, according to some of his Professional Colleagues and Clients, is, apart from the cordial relationship he established with the lawyers in his Chambers, he pursues cases with all amount of seriousness and believes in selfless services. He does not place money first like some others in the field. This, he demonstrated when he was handling the case between the Action Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party as testified by one of the Lawyers in his Chambers, Barr. GodpowerBacafamaBarango, “when we were in the Electoral Tribunal, the matter we did for AC is a ‘Probono’ matter. ‘Probono’ in law means free.
That is, the party never paid us kobo. Omehia was coming with various Prado Jeeps just to drop the matter, but we said no, we are continuing with the matter. We were doing the AC case with all amount of doggedness. We went on doing the case until the Supreme Court gave judgment on the Amaechi’s case. Because we have the same programme with the Amaechi’s government, we said, okay, in the interest of Rivers State, we are withdrawing our matter”. It was also gathered that Barr. Osima served the Human Rights Committee and has rendered free services to many People. Disclosing this, he opined “Like I said, I served the Human Rights Committee of the Bar and what we do in the Human Rights of the Bar is to do cases for people that are in the Human Rights Nations without charging them. I have about 25 ‘Probono’ cases-cases we do without charging them”.
I will in part two of the treatise on this unique gift to mankind, throw more light on his Legal feats after his early life as a Legal Practitioner
Happy birthday my beloved brother!
I pray God not only to bless your new age but grant unto you greater and better years ahead IJN
Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze is a Media Consultant, Author and Chief Advocate of genuine Democracy in Nigeria and can be reached through ezemediaconcept2020@gmail.com or 08022049770
