Governor Nyeson Wike has provided an insight into how much top lawyers charge to prosecute election cases in courts.
There have been reports that the learned professional charge huge sums, which is one of the reasons Nigeria’s democracy is peculiarly expensive.
Speaking about his own situation, Wike said some lawyers demanded up to N600m from him for his matter with the tribunal.
He stated that when the Rivers State election petition tribunal annulled the 2015 governorship poll which he, according to him, won convincingly, he contacted some lawyers to defend him in the matter and they demanded as much as N300 to N600 million as their legal fee.
He revealed this when he paid a tribute to seasoned lawyer, Emmanuel Ukala, at his (Ukala) 65th birthday programme on Tuesday.
He also highlighted other instances Ukala has been of help to him.
He said, “There was a time that the entire family was charged with murder. Every male was taken away. We only had women left in the house with children between the ages of one and five. As at that time, I was reading law at the then Rivers State University of Science and Technology, now Rivers State University,” he stated.
Governor Wike disclosed that the legal luminary, in whose law firm he worked after leaving the Nigerian Law School, took his family’s ordeal very personal and gave his best to ensure that they got justice.
