*Says “Murray Should Allow Bar To Heal From MacArthur Foundation Saga, USD 126,527 Was Misappropriated In One Month”
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Abdulwasiu Alfa, Esq., Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee for the 2026 Maiduguri NBA NEC Meeting, has fired back at Muritala Abdul-Rasheed, SAN, Ph.D., popularly known as Murray, alleging that the senior advocate was involved in the misappropriation of USD 126,527.00 (equivalent to N177,800,000 at current rates) from the MacArthur Foundation grant between 2016 and 2018.
In a statement titled “Those Who Live In Glass Houses Do Not Throw Stones: Murray Should Allow The Bar To Heal From The MacArthur Foundation Grant Saga,” Alfa responded to articles written by Murray calling for the resignation of NBA President Afam Osigwe, SAN, over alleged accountability issues and the purported $2,000 payments to SANs at the Maiduguri NEC meeting.
Alfa stated that the documents relating to the MacArthur Foundation saga could still ground criminal proceedings.
“This one is not rooted in hearsay. There are documents. These documents, although they form part of the records of events that took place from 2016 to 2018, could still ground a criminal inquest leading to the filing of a charge and possible conviction, withdrawal of the rank of Senior Advocate, and even disbarment of the dramatis personae,” Alfa wrote.
According to Alfa, Murray was appointed Chief of Staff to the then-NBA President and was entrusted with superintending expenditures from a MacArthur Foundation grant meant for the campaign to enact the Administration of Criminal Justice Law across the 36 States of the Federation.
“They had USD 600,000 to spend to make this happen. This money was the first batch of funding for this task and came in 2018, barely six months to the end of the tenure of that administration.
“Approximately within few months, the sum of USD 126,527.00, equivalent to today’s N177,800,000, was spent in the month of August of that same year. It will interest you to note that at this time, a new president had been elected, and the former president was preparing to hand over,” Alfa alleged.
Alfa alleged that the withdrawals were made in clear violation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Nigerian Bar Association and the MacArthur Foundation.
“First, there was the approval protocol. Funds were not to be withdrawn unless a memo was raised showing that the expenditure was aimed at furthering the objective of the MOU and presented to the President for approval.
“Second, the funds were to be expended solely for the purpose of furthering the objective of the project. In this case, it was claimed that the funds were misappropriated and used to complete the 2nd to 5th floors of the NBA House. Looking for a definition of misappropriation? A clear textbook case,” he stated.
Alfa quoted the 2018 Transition Committee Report which allegedly stated that there was “poor financial reporting and unauthorized withdrawal of the project account with no supporting document for verification.”
He also quoted the report as stating that “the project managers appear to be obstructionist in their conduct about the project to create an aura of indispensability.”
“Muritala Abdul-Rasheed, SAN, Ph.D., aka Murray, was in the middle of this controversy,” Alfa alleged.
Alfa claimed that Murray’s SAN application was rejected twice before he was eventually conferred the rank in 2021.
“The Committee had on two previous occasions refused to consider his application because of his inability to properly account for the expenditure of the first batch of the MacArthur Foundation funds. Information available on the record is that the attention of the Committee, whose screening sub-team had been reconstituted either owing to the expiration of tenure of members or replacement, was not informed of Mr. Murray’s exploits with public funds. Trust me, he would not have been considered,” Alfa alleged.
Alfa dismissed the allegations about the $2,000 payments to SANs at the Maiduguri NEC meeting.
“Surely a purported USD 2000 gift shared among Senior Advocates in Maiduguri, who are a handful, dwarfs the misappropriation of a whopping sum of USD 126,527.00 in the span of approximately one month. What is even worse is that the Borno State Government did not make such a gift at all. No monies meant for the Nigerian Bar Association were given to members of the Inner Bar. Definitely, no member of the Inner Bar took NBA funds.”
Alfa addressed the allegations about the N300 million donation from the Rivers State Government during the last NBA conference.
“The contribution received in relation to the 2025 Annual General Conference was never the subject of any formal refund request. The funds in question remain in the coffers of the Association and were fully reflected in the 2024 to 2025 audited accounts of the NBA, alongside all other donations and sponsorship receipts presented by the NBA President at the Annual General Meeting in Enugu.
“Indeed, for the first time in the Association’s history, an Annual General Conference concluded with a surplus exceeding ₦1 billion. That surplus has not been dissipated. It has been prudently placed in a fixed deposit account, yielding interest for the benefit of the Association.”
Alfa criticised Murray’s call for the Body of Benchers to take over the running of the Bar.
“The invitation of the Body of Benchers or any other entity to come and take over the running of the Bar shows that he is an enemy of the Bar from within. It betrays any claim of being a barman. It reminds us why Solomon is considered a wise man. Solomon’s judgment tells us that anybody who prefers that something be destroyed if it does not come to him is not worthy of that thing.”
Alfa maintained that there is no crisis in the Nigerian Bar Association.
“There is no crisis in the Nigerian Bar Association. There are settled avenues for calling for a vote of no confidence. Let Murray trigger them and present his evidence. Let those entitled to make the decision do so. That is what the due process of the law is.
“Some people are not comfortable with the upcoming race. They cannot bear to see two other candidates from the Yoruba extraction beat them at it and would rather have the house crash than participate in an election.”
Alfa questioned why Murray conveniently omitted the 2018 saga from his narrative.
“Why did Murray conveniently forget what transpired in 2018 but run to hide behind the event that transpired in 2009? Why did he not attempt to clear his name over the manner in which payments were made in Barnawa? The answer lies in the story of the ostrich.
“Murray, we are lawyers. If you are ready, do the needful, failing which we see through the ruse,” Alfa concluded.
The latest exchange follows a recent opinion article by Abdul-Rasheed in which he called for Osigwe’s resignation, alleging that $2,000 payments were made to selected Senior Advocates during the Maiduguri NEC meeting and that there had been insufficient disclosure regarding certain financial transactions within the association.
Abdul-Rasheed argued that the alleged payments and other financial issues reflected a pattern of non-disclosure and called on NBA leadership and relevant bodies, including the Body of Benchers and Attorney-General of the Federation, to intervene. He also urged any lawyers who received the alleged payments to refund them to the association.
As of the time of filing this report, Abdul-Rasheed has not publicly responded to Alfa’s latest allegations. The dispute has further intensified debates within the legal community over transparency, accountability, and internal governance within the Nigerian Bar Association.
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