*Calls PILL a ‘Fictitious, Concocted Group
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The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Nyanya-Karu Branch, Abuja, has strongly condemned what it described as a failed attempt to blackmail the NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, and the Chairman of the 2025 Annual General Conference (AGC) Organizing Committee, Chief Emeka Obegolu, SAN.
In a press statement signed by Elder Morris Osakwe, Caretaker Committee Chairman of the branch, the association expressed profound disappointment over a publication in Punch Newspapers dated April 24, 2025, allegedly authored by a group identifying itself as the “Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL),” led by one Abdul Mahmud.
Elder Osakwe dismissed the group as fictitious, calling its existence “concocted,” and described its call for the resignation of the NBA President and the AGC Chairman over alleged financial support from the Rivers State Government as “flimsy and laughable.”
He accused the group of being agents of tyranny who are displeased with the NBA’s decision to relocate the 2025 Annual General Conference from Rivers State to Enugu State, in protest against what the Association termed the unconstitutional suspension of democracy in Rivers State.
“Their shameful conduct is unbecoming of legal practitioners and intended solely to tarnish the hard-earned reputation of our President and bring the entire legal profession into disrepute,” the statement read.
The Nyanya-Karu Branch announced that it has constituted a special team to investigate the real identities behind the group and its alleged leader, Abdul Mahmud, with a view to filing a petition before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) for appropriate sanctions.
Elder Osakwe also clarified that the NBA Annual General Conference Organizing Committee’s responsibility includes mobilizing funds to deliver a world-class conference, emphasizing that donations from legitimate sources, including the Rivers State Government, were in line with long-standing practices and fully transparent.
Reaffirming the branch’s loyalty, Osakwe stated:
“We reiterate in the strongest terms our unflinching confidence in the proactive, courageous, and visionary leadership of Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN as President of the Nigerian Bar Association, and the sterling stewardship of Chief Emeka Obegolu SAN as Chairman of the 2025 AGC Organizing Committee.”
He urged the NBA leadership to remain focused and undeterred, assuring them of the unwavering support of the Nyanya-Karu Branch.
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