Recently the
embattled President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. A. B. Mahmoud SAN
asked the federal government to terminate the investigation of all corrupt
judges
in the country.
With such support
from the leadership of the NBA, the corrupt judges were immediately recalled by
the National Judicial Council. The government has since reacted by filing
charges against the recalled judges. We have now a shameful situation whereby
sitting judges are facing trial before their colleagues.
There was a
drama in Abuja last week when an accused judge ordered the remand of an accused
person in prison custody. The accused person reacted by telling the judge that
he would reserve a cell for him since he (the judge) is on his way to the jail
house!
To prove
that the NBA has lost its integrity completely, Chief Orji Kalu, a former Abia
state Governor who is currently facing trial for stealing N5 billion belonging
to the people of Abia State has been invited to deliver a public lecture on
"The Role of the Bar in fighting corruption in Nigeria" on 28th day
of, June 2017.
The lecture
which is being organized by the Aba branch of the NBA will be graced by the
body's national officers including Mr. Mahmoud, the man whose election has been
annulled by the federal high court. Why
would a serious body of lawyers set out to promote a man charged with stealing
public funds to the tune of N5 billion?
Have our
lawyers lost their sense of shame.
Anyway, we
expect Chief Orji Kalu to tell his audience how he has used lawyers to stall
his trial. Even though he was charged to court in 2007 his trial has just begun following the
dismissal of his interlocutory appeal by the Supreme Court. For 10 years, Chief
Kalu had argued from the high court to the Court of Appeal and to the
Supreme Court that the EFCC could not
prosecute him as the money allegedly stolen by him does not belong to the
federal government but Abia state government.
Of course,
all the courts dismissed the very frivolous objections to pave way for Chief
Kalu's trial.
But in a bid
to ridicule the corruption case the NBA has decided to join corruption in
fighting back. Hence the NBA is determined to honor the accused person by
giving him the rare opportunity to deliver a lecture on corruption! What
message is the NBA sending to the federal government?
Is the
NBA not telling the judge that the NBA
is in solidarity with accused person? Are the people of Abia state not
being told by the NBA to forget the N5
billion allegedly stolen by ex-governor Kalu?
Saharareporters*
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