Amid the ongoing public backlash that greeted his recent statements, Dr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has come out to explain why he insisted that lawyers should stop making public comments on the legal tussle between Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, and Bola Tinubu over the authenticity of the Chicago State University (CSU) diploma certificate the President submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the run-up to the 2023 elections.

Speaking during an interview on ARISE TV's 'Prime Time' program with Charles Aniagolu on Monday night, Agbakoba, who was the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) back in 2006, argued that one of the oldest rules guiding the legal profession states that lawyers cannot make comments about a case that is pending in court.

According to him, his colleagues flouted this rule when they began appearing on interviews to speak about the case.

Going further, the Senior Advocate argued that people will be free to make comments on the subject after the matter must have been decided by the Supreme Court.

He said; "All I said was that lawyers who were going to TV stations and making comments in the newspapers ought to wait for the Supreme Court to make a decision. That's all I said. And some said "but you have criticized the Supreme Court before, are you not being contradictory?" But I want to emphasize a big difference;

When a case is pending in court, then the rule is that you cannot make comments on it until it's decided. It is an old rule of antiquity in English history. But once it is decided, then it is open and fair to make comments. So, that's the point I will make. I know that it is a very sensitive issue for political parties. So, when they saw my comments, they felt I was saying they shouldn't talk."