NIGERIAN Bar Association
(NBA) has urged the Federal Government to ensure that its fight against
corruption is conducted within the ambits of the law as well as to go beyond partisanship.
President of the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA), Augustine Alegeh (SAN), made these remarks yesterday at the
opening ceremony of the 56th annual general conference of the association in
Port Harcourt, Rivers state.
Alegeh emphatically condemned
the increasing series of controversial judgments by the judiciary in recent
times as well as the number of inconclusive elections conducted by the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) which he put at 136 instances
so far across the country within the last one year......
Speaking on the state of the
nation, the NBA president said the theme of the conference, “Democracy and
Economic Development”, was chosen in recognition of the socio-economic
challenges facing the country adding that the economic crisis in the country
has become alarming to the extent that the association and any other right
thinking body cannot sit as if all is well.
“It is time to interrogate
the problems. If our fortunes continue to decline, can we afford to continue to
remain as a nation? We need to look at the problems and proffer solutions.
“Panels were set up to look
at the problems from several perspectives, including diversification and
sharing the little that we have. Are we sharing it correctly? Is the amorphous
centre taking too much to the detriment of the federation states? Is the 13 per
cent Derivation too much or too little?
“The time has come when we
can no longer sweep under the carpet the challenges us as a nation. As an
association in a country grounded by corruption, we cannot but talk about
corruption and examine if the government of today is able to make the change.
“We must examine whether the
President Buhari administration is moving forward or stagnating in the war
against corruption. The war against corruption should be fought, must be fought
and can be fought within the ambit of the law.
“Any attempt to shortcut the
law in fighting corruption is corruption in itself. If the fight against
corruption was to stifle political enemies; if the fight against corruption is
to take back what was fraudulently stolen to give to another person, then count
NBA out of the fight.
“Elections can be easily conducted, like the NBA
had done. It is a shame to have 136 inconclusive elections in the country
within one year.
“We call on the National
Judicial Council (NJC) and the Chief Justice of the Federation to look into
this matter as quickly as possible. It is a shame, an embarrassment. It
diminishes us a lawyers in this country”, Alegeh said.
Alegeh also registered
fearfulness over the sudden position of the human rights group in the country
stressing that some government bodies were eager to take over the functions of
other bodies when sector was suffering against the clearly laid down separation
of powers which he said is the hallmark of democracy.
“The National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC), in your focus on human rights, you have failed to identify
and to deal with the abuse of human rights. It will be a tragedy in the country
for the NHRC to take over the functions of the other agencies,” he said.
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