11th March, 2019
PRESS RELEASE:
WITHDRAW YOUR QUERY: MURIC TELLS
NBA
The prosecution counsel of
the suspended Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Walter Onnoghen, has been given a
query by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for taking the brief. The prosecution
counsel, Mr. Aliyu Umar, has told NBA that he would not respond to the query
until Onnoghen’s case has been determined by the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).
Meanwhile an Islamic human rights organization has described NBA’s
action as reactionary, repugnant and condescending. MURIC expatiated further in
a press statement signed by its Director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, on Monday,
11th March, 2019, that NBA’s action was anti-people and unpatriotic.
“We are bewildered by NBA’s latest action. They are
determined to make it impossible for the suspended CJN to be prosecuted. In other
words, NBA is telling Nigerians that the man is above the law. This is contrary
to the principles of justice, fairness and equality before the law which
lawyers have been pushing down our throats for ages.
“Are we no longer equal before the law? Has the temple of justice
become George Orwell’s Animal Farm where ‘four legs are good but two legs
better?’ Nigerians are waiting for an answer. Nay, the world too is watching.
The world is waiting to see how much cover Nigeria’s body of lawyers will give
to one of them who is accused of corruption.
“How has accepting a brief become crime? NBA’s action is an
indisputable disservice to the rule of law. It is repulsive to the law of natural justice. This action has a very
strong potential of breaking NBA along the North-South dichotomy.
“Pray, what does NBA
want? What is NBA afraid of? NBA took on the man who accepted appointment as
Acting CJN. Now it has queried the SAN who took the brief. It also allegedly
demanded his call to bar certificate. Clandestine moves are being made to
delist him as a lawyer. This is the height of intimidation.
“We demand that NBA withdraws its query from the prosecution counsel in
order to save its good name. That query is unacceptable. It contravenes the
principle of natural justice. It translates to an attempt to coerce the
prosecution and interrupt the cause of justice. NBA is simply obstructing justice,
exerting undue influence on the prosecution and retarding the rule of law.
These are grave allegations in any sane society.
“By issuing a query to the prosecuting counsel, NBA is also
promoting impunity, encouraging corruption and jettisoning the moral angle
which is more important to Nigerians. NBA should remember that the law is made
for human beings and not vice versa.
“We call on senior members of the profession to call NBA to order.
Conscienceless power should not be allowed to persecute powerless conscience in
the circle of learned men. It is the path to the destruction of all modicum of
integrity left in any society.
“MURIC commends the prosecution counsel, Aliyu Umar SAN, for
exhibiting uncommon courage. We charge him to remain undaunted. Nigerians are
not the fools some people take them for. They are watching proceedings in the
court of public opinion. They are the ones who will decide whose names go to
the hall of fame and whose names are dropped in the dustbin of history.
“In our concluding remarks, we affirm clearly, categorically and
unequivocally that Nigerians reject NBA’s query to the prosecution counsel. We
therefore demand the its unconditional withdrawal. We charge NBA to desist from
attempts to provide illegal cover for corrupt colleagues, whether they are
senior or junior”.
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
No comments:
Post a Comment