Olalekan Mohammed is a young lawyer based in Ilorin the Kwara state capital. He bagged his LL.B from the University of Abuja in 2009 and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2010. Subsequently, he served with the Ministry of Justice, Ogun state in 2011. In 2012, Mohammed began his legal attachment in Lagos with Onile Nla & Co. After some months, he moved to Ilorin where he joined Kayode Olatoke & Co., Equity Chambers. He was with Olatoke till 2018 when he established his law firm. He is presently the principal partner of Olalekan Mohammed and Co. (Owowami Chamber). The legal practitioner shares with ABIODUN BOLUJOKO his unforgettable day in practice. Excerpts:
My most dramatic day in court was when I was serving as a Youth Corps member. Customarily in our law firm then, we meet every Friday to discuss and go through our case files.
On one fateful Friday after the close of one of our Fridays deliberations, I received a call from my immediate boss that I should meet her at Oke Musan Junction, in Abeokuta, Ogun State. When I got there, she gave me a file with the instruction that I should go and handle the matter. He said the Attorney General has sent her to attend to another matter.
Then, I flipped through the file, I discovered that it was a case we had with Robert Clark (SAN). Before then, I had never singlehandedly handled a case so, for the first time, I am to face a SAN. I took the file, went into the library and studied it very well. When I got to court, I was able to manage the case well since it was slated for a pre-trial conference. Fortunately, Mr Clark was not present in court so the judge ruled over the matter. When the SAN latter arrived with a truck of lawyers and books, I became very jittery. He told the court to vacate the ruling on the pre-trial conference.
Based on the little experience I’ve gained from law school, I stood up and objected to the request of the SAN and told the court that the pre-trial ruling is presumed to be the ruling of the court and it is a decision on it’s own.. I said the ruling of the pre-trial conference can only be revisited based on appeal. Though I was jittery as a young wig but I was able to face the SAN. The SAN furiously looked at me and couldn’t utter a word again. After the court proceeding, he called me and said, “I love your courage and guts, keep it up”. He then stretched out his hands and gave me a tip.
