*Urges Lawyers To Encourage The NJC To Rise Up To Its Statutory Mandate And Protect The Independence Of Our Judiciary
*Says Independence Of Legal Profession Is Also Threatened.
* The Independence Of The Legal Profession Is Eroded When Lawyers Are Targeted As A Group, Says Usoro
*Says No Region Or Tribe Is Safe In Nigeria
*Says He Has Fulfilled His Election Promise In Remitting 10% Bar Practicing Fees To Branches
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Naija-Virtual-Notary2.png")
![](https://thenigerialawyer.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/idrinstitute.png")
President of the Nigerian bar Association, Paul Usoro, SAN, has called on the Bar and the Bench to rise up to protect the independence of the judiciary.
The NBA President made this call in an address delivered at the 2018/2019 Quarter 3 NBA National Executive Committee (âNECâ) meeting held at the NBA Secretariat in Abuja on the 20th day of June, 2019.
Speaking on what he described as the âtwin independence pillarsâ of the rule of law, which are independence of the judiciary and independence of the legal profession, he said that today, judges operate under an oppressive and pervasive climate of fear and insecurity. He added that there is the pervasive concern that government and its security operatives have dossiers on judges, real or imagined, and could unleash inquisitorial terror on judges if they decide issues against governments and its agencies, stressing that, even those judges who are whistle-clean may not be willing to go through the inquisitorial processes of the various security agencies to prove their innocence.
âJudged today operate under an oppressive and pervasive climate of fear and insecurity. Our Judges are threatened, intimidated and blackmailed mostly by the executive arms of government and their agencies both at the Federal and State levels. Ask any Counsel of note who will be willing to honestly share his or her experience with you these days and you would be told that a significant consideration in planning the strategy for the prosecution of any case that the government, notably the Federal Government has an interest in, is the concern whether the presiding judge has the backbone not to be looking behind his or her shoulder to decipher how the government wishers the matter to be determined.
âThere is the pervasive concern that government and its security operatives have dossiers on judges, real or imagined, and could unleash inquisitorial terror on judges if they decide issues against governments and its agencies. Even those of our judges who are whistle-clean â and I believe that most even if not all are â may not be willing to go through the inquisitorial processes of the various security agencies to prove their innocence. And so, we have Judges walking on egg-shells, notably, where governments and their agencies have interest in matters that they adjudicate. This totally undermines the independence of the judiciary and the ability of the Judges to act confidently without fear or favor in dispensing justice to all manner of men. The irony of all of these is that the men of power today may be the ones who most need the independence of the judiciary tomorrow when they are out of power or are competing for political power. It reminds me of the IBA bye-line: if you take care of the rule of law, the rule of law will take care of you,â he said.
He, therefore, urged lawyers to encourage the NJC to rise up to its statutory mandate and protect the independence of our judiciary, adding that the NBA stands ready to work with the Judges in that regard. He also emphasized that our Judges cannot deliver justice under a climate of fear and intimidation â that there can be no independence of the judiciary when our Judges are actively coerced by State officials to think and reason only in the manner that those officials and, presumably, government want them to think.
Speaking on the independence of the legal profession, he said that this is threatened when lawyers are not able to practice their trade without let or hindrance. He added that that independence is threatened today â that the same is assaulted when lawyers are branded as criminals merely because of their professional functions and responsibilities, adding that the independence of the legal profession is eroded when lawyers are targeted as a group and stigmatized merely because of their professional duties. And this is happening in our country today.
âIt is now the practice for lawyers to turn down certain types of briefs and clients in order not to be perceived as being anti-government and/or its agencies with the attendant inquisitions that go with such stigmatization. Nowadays, lawyers discriminate against briefs and instructions, not on professional grounds, but because they do not wish to attract the inquisitorial attention of government agencies nor to be stigmatized by those agencies.
âThe same climate of fear and intimidation under which our Judiciary operates, that the same climate pervades the practice of law today. That is an absolute erosion of the independence of the legal profession and a destruction of the Rule of Law. Like I said earlier, the irony is that the men of power of today who strike fear into our hearts and destroy our independence may be the ones requiring the services of lawyers tomorrow and wishing for or desiring an independent legal profession,â he added.
The NBA President also spoke on the issue of security of lives and property. Relating to the NEC members of the events concerning three of their colleagues, Honourable Kennedy Ofuezuem Amin Nwashindi of Asaba Branch, Frank Promise Igwe of Port Harcourt Branch and Lowuruga Obadiah Yabura of Wukari Branch, he described as unsafe the state of security in the land.
Summarizing his lamentation about the incidence he said:
âKennedy was kidnapped by armed hoodlums at the gate of his home in Asaba on 16 April 2019 at about 1903 hours. He was kidnapped with his wig and gown which tells one that the kidnappers knew him to be a lawyer but were not deterred howsoever. Kennedyâs abductors, in the all-too-familiar practice of kidnappers in our land, named their ransom price in exchange for his life. His family promptly rallied round and paid the ransom in the expectation of receiving back their husband, son, father, uncle and brother. But that was not to be. Kennedy was killed by his abductors after receiving the ransom and his body and his wig, without the gown, were recovered from the scene of the gruesome murder. I personally wonder where our governments â and these include but goes beyond our law enforcement agencies â were while Kennedy was being murdered and the hopes and aspirations of his family and children destroyed. Where was our government? Why are the governments, complete with their security apparatchik, so helpless in the face of intruding anarchy in our land?
âFrank Promise Igwe of Port Harcourt Branch, a young man with quite some promise. Promise was born 45 years ago and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 2006. On 12 April 2019, Promise was dressed for and on his way to Court when his car was intercepted by criminal elements who shot him dead, in broad daylight, in the morning hours, in the city of Port Harcourt. Why are our governments failing us in the discharge of these crucial responsibilities? Why are we all so helpless?
âLowuruga Obadiah Yabura, was the former Chairman of our Wukari Branch. We cannot say whether Yabura is alive or dead. He has not been seen since he was kidnapped along Wukari-Takum Road in Taraba State on 02 April 2019. Not unlike Kennedyâs case, ransom was paid for Yaburaâs life. Indeed, so indescribably daring were his abductors, I am told, they set up a bank account where ransom price was paid into, in installments and drips and the amounts were fully drawn by the criminals. Do you blame the family? No, I cannot. In my function as the President of the NBA, I have so very often spoken with families of our kidnapped colleagues and almost always, there is always that dread of fully involving law enforcement agencies for a number of reasons. And so, it is not uncommon for the families to rely on self-help by paying ransom prices and scrupulously following the instructions of the criminals in the hope â which, as we all know, dies last â that their son, their breadwinner, their father, their husband, their brother would eventually be released. In the case of Kennedy, that never happened.â
Having given the various illustrations, the learned silk concluded that the country is not safe. He noted that just yesterday, 19 June, 2019, The Nigerian Guardian newspaper reported that the United Kingdom had issued travel advisory warning against travels to 21 States in Nigeria. He, therefore, said that no region is safe, and no tribe is safe.
âNo one indeed is safe. And yet, we have governments in place, at the Federal, State and Local Government levels and the primary business of governments is the protection of lives and property. Indeed, without security of lives and property, everything else grinds to a halt. Only those who are alive can enjoy medi-care, educational facilities, infrastructure renewal, economic boom and all the other tangible and intangible benefits of a democratic society,â he added.
The NBA President concluded by mentioning the fulfillment of his electoral promise to remit 10% of the Bar Practice Fees to our branches. According to him, a number of the Branches have already received their remittance and the others will presently join the ranks of the recipients. He also added that Rabiu Ayuba, the young man that won a car during the 2018 Annual General Conference but which we were not able to fulfill due to the state of their purse now has cause to smile. He stated that this afternoon, during the break period, he will be joined by some of the elders of the Association to present the car keys to him. He also said that they have also continued in the path of financial prudence, transparency and accountability by publishing to members the Associationâs Q4 Financial Statement. âThis is a commitment that we made and which we will continue to keep,â he said.
The publishing firm has produced an impressive catalogue of authoritative legal texts authored by its proprietor, Basil Momodu, Esq.,
For inquiries, contact:
đ§ momodulawpublishing@yahoo.com
đ 07051822705
______________________________________________________________________
âTimely And Groundbreakingâ â Babalola, Nnawuchi Release Casebook On Privacy & Data Protection In Nigeria
A timely new publication, Casebook on Privacy & Data Protection in Nigeria, co-authored by Olumide Babalola and Uchenna Nnawuchi,đCasebook on Privacy & Data Protection in Nigeria is now available on Amazon:https://a.co/d/8TmFZrd
______________________________________________________________________
Alexander Payne Co. Law Reports
Contact & Orders đ 0704 444 4777 | 0704 444 4999 | 0818 199 9888 đ www.alexandernigeria.com
______________________________________________________________________ Groundbreaking Guide For Lawyers: Adigwe Publishes âArtificial Intelligence For Lawyersâ With Free Research eBook
Authored by Ben Ijeoma Adigwe Esq., ACiarb (UK), LL.M, Dip. in Artificial Intelligence, Director at the Delta State Ministry of Justice, Asaba, Nigeria.
How to Order:
đ Call, Text, or WhatsApp: 08034917063 | 07055285878
đ§ Email: benadigwe1@gmail.com
đ Website: www.benadigwe.com
Ebook Version: Access it directly online at https://selar.com/prv626
______________________________________________________________________
[A MUST HAVE] Evidence Act Demystified With Recent And Contemporary Cases And Materials
Edited by Dr. Akin Olawale Oluwadayisi, Ph.D; ACIArb, FIPDM, Notary Public, Awi Boluwaji, and Olumide Awoyemi, LL.M, Price: âŠ20,000 or $20 per copy
Order Your Copy Now:đ§ Email: benakollegalclassics@gmail.com,đ± WhatsApp: 07038211889, đ Voice Call: 07065830466 | +2347038211889
______________________________________________________________________
