…Action comes hours after Abeokuta NBA announced three-day court shutdown
Zaynab Abioye
The industrial action by lawyers in Ogun State widened on Monday as the Nigerian Bar Association, Ota Branch, declared a three-day boycott of courts over what it described as anti-lawyer policies introduced by the state judiciary.
The disclosure came just hours after the NBA Abeokuta Branch announced a similar three-day boycott of courts in the state capital, signalling an escalation of the dispute between legal practitioners and the Ogun State Judiciary.
In a notice signed by the Chairman of the NBA Ota Branch, Chief K.K. Ajose (Mrs.), and dated June 29, 2026, lawyers were directed to stay away from all Ogun State High Courts, Magistrate’s Courts, Customary Courts and the Customary Court of Appeal within the Ota judicial axis from July 6 to July 8, 2026.
The affected courts are located in Ota, Ifo, Agbara, Idi-Oke, Ijoko, Ojodu Abiodun, Itori and other surrounding communities.
The branch said the action followed months of unsuccessful engagements with the Ogun State Judiciary over policies which members described as obstructing legal practice and restricting access to justice.
According to the notice, the contentious policies include the restriction limiting the administration of oaths to four per day, the increase in oath filing fees from N200 to over N1,500, representing about a 650 per cent hike, and the introduction of a N100,000 fee for each virtual court session.
The statement read, “We will recall that for consecutive periods, the agenda of our monthly general meetings have consistently featured complaints from our members about the practice challenges that they face from certain policies of the Ogun State Judiciary.
“The executive committee delayed this action for many months because, just as the general meeting advised, we consulted.”
The branch said repeated efforts to resolve the issues through dialogue had failed.
It added, “Dialogues, letters, calls, Bar and Bench meetings, elders’ intervention, etc. have all failed. Following our last Branch resolution, members are therefore advised to boycott courts.”
The association argued that the disputed policies directly infringe on lawyers’ constitutionally guaranteed right to represent their clients effectively.
The latest directive is expected to further disrupt judicial activities across Ogun State, coming on the heels of a similar boycott declared by the NBA Abeokuta Branch over the same grievances.
The coordinated actions by the two branches indicate growing dissatisfaction among lawyers with the policies of the Ogun State Judiciary, raising concerns over possible delays in the hearing of cases and access to justice for litigants if the impasse remains unresolved.
The Ota Branch said further details on the modalities for the boycott would be communicated to members in due course.
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