Foremost Human Rights Activist, Mr. Femi Falana SAN has stated that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) should be blamed for having condoned illegality in the purported amendment of the Rules of Professional Conduct by the Attorney General of Federation, Abubakar Malami, SAN.
TheNigeriaLawyer(TNL) recalls that the legal community was at the earlier hours on Saturday confronted with a document purported to have emanated from Malami, stating that some provisions in the Legal Practitioners’ Rules of Professional Conducts have been repealed.
The learned silk in a chat with TNL, said the General Council of the Bar(GCB) is to be blamed because for a long time the council had relinquished their powers and responsibilities to the AGF.
While alluding his mind to when the GCB met last after their appointment?
He said “over the years the GCB has never met, so the AG has taken over the functions of that body, with the connivance of the members and the NBA.
“What we are calling our RPC currently were designed and single-handedly imposed on us in 2007 by the then Attorney General Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN. Nobody ever questioned the powers exercised by the then AGF.
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“The law says the NBA shall have 20 members in the body. In 2015, the Augustine Alegeh-led administration bought a list of 20 people and read out the names as people recommended for the GCB.
“In the minutes it read, “we hereby ratify and deem members elected,” when the law provides that the members shall be elected in a forum where all the members are qualified to vote, in other words, they should be elected at the AGM. There was no election and yet they were deemed elected. The rule also said not less than 7 shall be lawyers of not less than 10 years. All the members are senior lawyers and SANs and they are all parading themselves as GCB members ” He said.
In addition, the learned silk noted that the said members have never met since 2015.
“They have never met once since 2015. The AGF is the person speaking for all of them as they have never met and the NBA has never either in NEC or AGM, ask the members of the GCB to present or give reports on what is happening with the Council.” He said.
Besides, he stated that the NBA and AGF have been in connivance before now.
“The AGF has been running it and the NBA leaders have never protested. Now they are caught in their own contradictions. So today they just discovered that the AGF acted illegally when they have connived, handed power to the AGF.” He said.
However, he stated that he is not defending the AGF as he would not be a party to illegality.
“I am not supporting the AGF, because I’m opposed to impunity. I will never support impunity. I blame the NBA for allowing impunity to continue over the years and that is the argument people like Okutepa SAN are making. He is saying that in 2007, Chief Bayo Ojo SAN did it while you people not complain.
“However, it is not to say, that because it was wrong in the past, it should be wrong for ever.” He said.
“Until the NBA is properly organized to take the responsibility and own the profession, we are going to keep having this mess.” He added.
He further noted that there is a need for the NBA to stand to the occasion in ensuring that the right things are done.
“We have not less than 30 statutory bodies, in which we have lawyers representing the Bar, which of them reports to the Bar?. Buhari has not reconstituted Human Rights Commission, since Professor Odinkalu and the others left office. That body is supposed to have 2 lawyers recommended by NBA-NEC. Since 2015 that it was dissolved the NBA has never bordered and NHRC is very important in theprotection of human rights in the country.
“We will not get it right when it is the same people that are in th NEC, in the Body of Benchers, and in GCB, and every where? We are now swimming in our own ocean of contradictions. What should happen now is to get the NBA to sit up.” He said.
Meanwhile, he also said that he is not interested in the motive behind the move but he is more concerned with ensuring that there is no impunity.
“Whether it is because of NNBA or whatever, that is not my business, I’m more concerned with impunity.
“Whatever may be the motivation, once it is not done properly it can never be right but the NBA that has allowed this illegality to linger, has itself to blame. There should be no arrogance. What have they been doing when the AGF took over their affairs.”
Similarly, he stated that the Council has a responsibility to ensure that there is sanity in the NBA. But then, they have refused it to function.
“This is the body that is suppose to take over whenever NBA is in crisis. But we have never allowed it to function. This is where we have abandoned the rule of law and busy chasing shadows,” he said.
Speaking on what steps to take to rectify the issue, Falana, said “This is the time for the leadership of the NBA to get it right and right all these wrongs for the good and benefit of the Bar. The GCB, should sit up and take up its responsibility seriously.”
Credit: Thenigerialawyer.com
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