The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) has exonerated itself from blame in the socio-economic challenges Nigeria is grappling with, saying that it is weeding out bad eggs from the legal profession and the judiciary.
The association’s President, Mr. Abubakar Balarabe Mahmood, spoke at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday in Minna, Niger State capital.
He argued that the problem of Nigeria, corruption in particular, is multi-faceted and so cannot be blamed on the NBA alone.
Mahmood said that the NBA had made remarkable achievements but was still seen as being the bedrock of corruption by a section of Nigeria, stressing, “This is not good enough for the country and those who feel lawyers are not only corrupt but not living up to expectations in the dispensation of justice.
“Allegations of corruption against the bar and the bench should not undermine the significant positive contributions of the judiciary and the legal profession to nation building. Few bad eggs should not lead to total condemnation of the entire judicial institution”.
Mahmood argued that the way and manner the NBA was handling the ongoing probe of some senior judicial officers should not be misconstrued to be that the entire system was corrupt or providing cover for ailing members but was adhering to rule of law.
According to the association’s president, “NBA will always cooperate with the Federal Government to fish out bad eggs amongst them but this should be done in accordance with due process and the rule of law”.
While conceding to that “There are problems in the judiciary and the entire legal profession in Nigeria that needed to be addressed” the NBA president said that the association was trying to address the noticeable challenges.
“NBA is making effort to ensure that the integrity of the profession and the entire judicial system is restored and improved upon. Allegations against members are under investigation. If they are established, the NBA will come out with disciplinary measures against those concerned”.
Mahmood therefore called on Nigerians to respect the legal profession which he maintained had played vital developmental roles in the nation’s political and economic lives.
The Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello, who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed Ketso, declared the meeting open.
The governor announced plans by his administration to ensure the revision of the laws of the state which were last reviewed 30 years ago. He said that the state government was also working on a new code of conduct for prosecutors.
