Breaking: Northern Lawyers Break Out From NBA Over El-Rufai, Form A New NBA

Some Northern lawyers who are against the decision of the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to disinvite Governor Nasir El-Rufai from its Annual General meeting, have pulled out of the group and formed a new body to be known as the New Nigerian Bar Association.

This was contained in a statement made available to journalists Friday after the saga over the body’s decision to remove Kaduna governor, Nasir El-Rufai as a speaker at its conference.

The statement was signed by two northern lawyers who are the Conveners, Nuhu Ibrahim and Abdulbasit Suleiman

In its statement termed NBA “peddling of sectional interests,” the group noted that the recent rumblings from the NBA are leaving much to be desired within the ranks of concerned lawyers especially from Northern part of the country.

“What has been happening recently has exposed the inability of the NBA to manage and contain the heterogeneity of its members as well as their various interests. Its penal powers has been deployed discriminatively on the basis of ethnicity and regionalism.”

The convenvers said “As a body of lawyers who have undergone training towards ensuring the promotion and protection of human rights and liberties, the NBA is supposed to live above sentiments, regionalism and discrimination on any basis and of any kind. Therefore, the NBA cannot afford to be seen not to be upholding the rights and freedom of its own members if at all, it should be seen to be practising what it preaches. As the Hausa saying goes: Idan Kura tana maganin zaho, ta yi ma kanta (If Hyena has cure for diarrhea, let her use it for herself).”

It noted that The New Nigerian Bar Association have been watching the activities of the NBA, an association.

“We all looked forward to joining with high hopes before being called to the Nigerian Bar, forcing idiosyncrasies of few on the majority of its members especially in recent times.

“No wonder, NBA NEC, which is the highest decision-making organ of the association failed to uphold the fundamental principles of fair hearing which in itself, is the fundamental aspect of rule of law, on the allegations against the Executive Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai as were contained in a petition by Chidi Odinkalu a long-time foe of His Excellency and a lawyer of eastern extraction, but the NBA failed to extend the same treatment to southern invitees who were also petitioned and are also alleged to have committed similar or more human rights abuses than those alleged against Mallam el-Rufai.”