The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has said that he would take a position on the current division in the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) at the appropriate time.
The association is being threatened by factionalism after some lawyers launched what they called the New NBA to protest the NBA’s withdrawal of its invitation to Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State to speak at its recent National Conference.
The New NBA said on Friday it was open to dialogue if the mother association “returns to glorious days’.
The main body itself said that it was also receptive to the idea of reconciliation although it said yesterday it had not established contact with the dissenters.
Asked yesterday to respond to the letter written to him recently by the New NBA on its emergence and call for Malami’s support,the Minister said he would do “the needful guided by the extant laws.”
Malami who spoke through his media aide,Dr. Umar Gwandu, in a terse message to The Nation ,said his action would be “in the best interest of the bar and the public interest which he is committed to uphold.”
We’re open to discussion if NBA is .set to return to glorious days -New NBA
The Convener of the New Nigeria Bar Association (NNBA), Barrister Nuhu Ibrahim, told The Nation in Kaduna that his group was open to discussion with the national body of the NBA if main body was ready to return to its glorious days where rule of and justice are upheld.
He said the NNBA was floated to protest NBA’s inability to enforce the rule of law, justice and equity.
Ibrahim said the birth of the New NBA had nothing to do with the dis-invitation of Governor El-Rufa’I and that his case was only tied to the emergency of the New NBA by critics, with the sole aim of discrediting it.
He said: “As far as we are concerned, we don’t have any problem sitting with NBA and any other group that wants to talk with us.
“We have said it repeatedly of recent that our reasons for floating New NBA bother on rule of law and justice. We are against the NBA’s inability to enforce rule of law, its inability to ensure justice and equality.
“So, those are our reasons and the New NBA’s main objective now is to ensure the rule of law is enforced in practical terms, not only by slogans. And also the same thing with justice, the same thing with issues of equity. We want to be sure that all those things are practically enforced, especially the issue of welfare of young lawyers.
“The old NBA has been failing young lawyers over the years, not even only the young lawyers; even some of the Senior Advocates have not been carried along for one reason or the other maybe on principle. So, we are determined to see that, all those are addressed.
“So, if the old NBA is amenable to going back to its old days of glory, we don’t have any problem with that, I don’t think anybody will have any issue again. So, with the coming of the New NBA, we know they will feel challenged and definitely have a rethink. So, we are open to discussion and the issues I have highlighted are what we would be bringing to the table.
“Governor El-Rufai’s dis-invitation is not even part of our reasons for floating New NBA. The idea has been on over the years, only that, we had not made any public statement until recently. The El-Rufa’i issue was only sold to the public in order to the New NBA. We even believe El-Rufa’i is even more related to the old NBA; he has several friends in the old NBA, but he has no friend in the New NBA.”
No contact with splinter group, says NBA
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) said it was yet to receive contact from the conveners or members of the splinter group.
It said it was prepared to meet and reconcile with the aggrieved lawyers for the purpose of a united Bar.
NBA Publicity Secretary Dr Rapuluchukwu Nduka told The Nation yesterday that there was no interest in sanctioning anyone, noting that all lawyers had freedom of association.
The NBA has been facing a challenge to its unity following an announcement by TWO Kaduna-based lawyers that they had formed the NNBA.
The Conveners, Abdulbasit Suleiman from Ogbomoso in Oyo State and Nuhu Ibrahim from Southern Kaduna in Kaduna State, said their disenchantment followed the NBA National Executive Committee’s withdrawal of an Annual General Conference (AGC) speaking engagement it offered Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai, among other grievances.
Abdulbasit told The Nation last Tuesday that over 5,000 lawyers from the North and seven Southern States had indicated interest in joining the NNBA.
Suleiman said prospective members had been asked to compile lists in their branches across the country.
Those who subscribed to NNBA membership, he added, included Senior Advocates of Nigeria, SANs, from the North.
No SAN from the South had indicated interest.
But the NNBA’s claims have been doubted by stakeholders.
On Wednesday, NBA President Olumide met with northern Bar leaders who dissociated themselves from any splinter group of the association, including the NNBA.
Dr Nduka said the NBA was not unwilling to meet or be met by the conveners of the group, but it had not been able to do so.
He said: “I can confirm that the NBA did not receive any letter from the conveners of the New NBA.
“If eventually we get in touch with those lawyers who are aggrieved, we want a united Bar, so, by all means we will do everything we can so that we can come together.
“If we have a splinter group, it doesn’t help anyone. We don’t know the conveners, but if there is a way we can get across to them, by all means we will gladly get across to them so that we don’t have groups. NBA is one and we want a united Bar that will take care of all its members, regardless of their inclinations.”
Regarding steps already taken to solve the crisis, Nduka said it was difficult “to reach out to people you don’t even know,” which was why it met with leaders of the northern Bar.
“The major thing we did is to look out for the leaders of the Bar, because NBA has a comprehensive list of different branches, their secretaries and chairmen. These are the leaders of the Bar within any region. Then we can also talk about maybe Senior Advocates of Nigeria within that area and maybe some very senior lawyers….
“These are the people that we reached out to. These are the people that the NBA can get to…
“Prior to the meeting, the assumption was that maybe some of them were behind or part of the splinter group or whatever.
“But when we reached out to them, we found out that their claim (of 5,000 subscribers) was actually untrue and the Bar chairmen are still loyal to the Bar.”
The NNBA had told The Nation that it had not foreclosed reconciliation with the NBA.
“I can’t say for now whether there’s anything they can do for us to change our minds,” Abdulbasit had said.
Responding, the Publicity Secretary said what the NBA wanted was to know what the splinter group’s grievances were, so it could address them.
Nduka said: “We don’t know their reasons for wanting to break out, all that some people keep saying is that maybe the NBA is not taking care of their affairs, but we need to know what the reasons are for wanting to leave the NBA. If these are things that we can address, by all means, we should be able to address them.
“If they come to us or we reach out to them and they tell us what the major reasons are and if they are things we can address, by all means we will address those issues.”
As to whether the NBA was considering sanctioning the conveners, he added: “It’s not about punishment. We are united. Everything is not about punishment. Moreover, regardless of the divide you find yourself, every Nigerian has a right to freedom of association. Whether that can work for the New NBA, I don’t know.”
.The Nation