By News Desk
He Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has said that lawyers from its branch in Nigeria’s south-south state of Akwa Ibom will not be part of its monitoring team during the 2023 general election.
NBA president Yakubu Maikyau said in Abuja on Tuesday that the decision was a sanction against the league for its open partisanship regarding the state’s upcoming March 11 gubernatorial election.
Maikyau criticized the branch’s endorsement of Umo Eno as its preferred gubernatorial candidate in the election.
Eno is the candidate for governor of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom State.
Speaking at the state of the nation address, Maikyau, Chief Senior of Nigeria (SAN), condemned “the action of the few members who engaged in such despicable and shameful conduct using the NBA platform”.
It said the Akwa Ibom branch’s endorsement of Mr. Eno “was not made for or with the authority of the (domestic) NBA.”
Describing the endorsement as “disgusting,” Mr. Maikyau clarified, “(the) NBA is not partisan; We are not a political party, we are representatives of the people, we remain neutral and must be seen to maintain our neutrality at all times.”
sanctions
The NBA president had instructed the association’s first vice president, who heads the NBA’s Election Monitoring Group, “to immediately exclude all NBA chapters in Akwa Ibom State from participating in monitoring.” of the next elections.
Mr. Maikyau revealed that the sanction imposed on the Akwa Ibom branch of the NBA would be communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
“…members involved in this conduct will also face disciplinary action as determined by the NBA,” the association president infuriated.
Similarly, Maikyau said that lawyers who “misbehave while participating in electoral dispute resolution will face disciplinary action.”
The NBA has the Legal Professionals Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), where inexperienced lawyers who make mistakes are punished for violating the profession’s ethical codes.
While the Legal Professionals Privilege Committee (LPPC), penalizes Principal Lawyers of Nigeria (SAN), who violate the rules of professional conduct of the legal profession.
The NBA president lamented that lawyers failed to stop the government on behalf of Nigerians.
Ahead of the general election, the NBA president vowed to protect the integrity of the courts against “any form of political intimidation by the political class.”
However, he promised to “call and take disciplinary action against judicial officials who made mistakes.”
Maikyau, while praising INEC for its preparation for the elections, urged the electoral referee to “provide free, fair and credible elections for Nigerians”.
He charged INEC with maintaining its independence, vowing to “avoid any attempt to undermine the integrity of the electoral process and INEC’s neutrality.