Former Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Pauline Tallen, has taken legal action by filing a comprehensive appeal consisting of 13 grounds before the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division. The appeal challenges the judgment of the Federal Capital Territory High Court regarding her controversial public comments on a Federal High Court decision.
Filed on December 29, 2023, the 22-page notice of appeal, presented by the law firm of Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Joe-Kyari Gadzama, contests the entirety of Justice Peter Kekemeke’s decision on December 18th. The Federal High Court had ruled in favor of the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), declaring Tallen’s remarks as unconstitutional, careless, reckless, and contemptuous of the Federal High Court.
Justice Kekemeke further issued an injunction restraining Tallen from holding any public office unless she published a personally signed apology letter to Nigerians and the Judiciary in two newspapers within 30 days. The injunction was set to become perpetual if she failed to comply.
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In challenging the judgment, Tallen argues in the first ground of her appeal that the trial court misdirected itself in law by holding contrary to a Supreme Court decision that a lawyer cannot depose to an affidavit in a matter they participated in. Among other grounds, she contests the reliance on certain sections of the NBA Constitution, claiming the association lacked the requisite locus standi to bring the action against her.
Tallen urges the Court of Appeal to set aside the trial court’s decision, uphold her preliminary objection to the NBA Suit, and dismiss Justice Kekemeke’s judgment while seeking the award of costs.
This legal saga began in December 2022 when the NBA took legal action against Tallen for her public comments criticizing a Federal High Court judgment. The former minister, describing the decision as a “kangaroo judgment,” faced demands from the NBA President to withdraw her remarks and issue a public apology. When she did not respond, the NBA initiated legal proceedings, culminating in the December 18, 2023 judgment in favor of the NBA by the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
