*Urges Body of Benchers to Discipline Defaulters, Protect Profession
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The FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, has taken a swipe at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), accusing them of hypocrisy and trying to pull down the legal profession.
He fired the rebuke yesterday, when he received the Body of Benchers, led by Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) on a visit to him at Life Camp, Abuja.
He accused the NBA of the tendency of declaring a judgement of the Supreme Court as unconstitutional and illegal without reading the judgement of the court. He described the practice as unfortunate.
He urged the Body of Benchers to wield the big stick on defaulters, saying they should watch and see individuals for whatever interest kill the profession.
He said the situation was not acceptable, adding that if nobody was disciplined, no lesson would be learned.
He said: “We shall no longer allow our profession to be pulled down. I cannot believe that as lawyers you make a contribution to help and you will be criticise.
He said: “You just heard judgement had been given, you did not even have the opportunity of reading it. The next thing you do is to go the national television to begin to criticise and nothing happen.
“We are scared of our judges to a point that a judge is going to mosque or church, he cannot great somebody he knows; he runs away before he will shake somebody and people start saying he collected bribe.
“Somebody will write a petition and you will sit down to listen to the petition that bribery is given in the church; bribery is given in a mosque. I have never seen this in my life.
“When NBA was building their national Secretariat NBA wrote. nobody saw that as bribe.
“I was the only one who contributed to NBA to build the national Secretariat and I said ‘name a floor after Rivers and not after me’. NBA didn’t see it as bribe. When you contribute to benchers is bribe but when you contribute to NBA is not a bribe, they will take it. The same NBA will rely on state government to sponsor them for whatever activities. that one is not bribe “.
He accused the NBA of talking about a state of emergency in Rivers because the state government had assured them of hosting their Annual General Conference.
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He alleged that now that no government was willing to bankroll the conference in Rivers State, they were making hues and cries by objecting to the emergency rule.
“What kind of hypocrisy is this? Sir, the time has come that you will all, ‘Enough is enough’. We cannot continue to discourage our judges and justices. It is not done anywhere.
“I have never seen where members of a profession are the once that are bringing the profession down. Nobody is perfect.
“All arms of government have problems. So why must it be the judiciary that people will say nothing good happens there? It is not correct. It is time we tell our lawyers that enough is enough.
“Judges cannot attend anything again because they are judges? You cannot worship your God because you are a judge?
“I can assure that whatever you want us to do to support you, we will support you. There is nothing you will do that some people will not write,” Wike said.
He said he would not miss the opportunity to contribute to the legal profession.
He defended the Annex Building as a project approved by the President and passed in the budget by the National Assembly.
He insisted the construction of the annex was not his decision as a FCT Minister.
Wike stated that the Court of Appeal complex and the judges’ quarters in Katampe under construction was also appropriated.
The minister stressed provision had also been made in the 2025 budget to build female and male hostel at the Nigerian Law School, Bwari, saying it would reduce accommodation problems.
He said the staff housing under construction will be handed over to the Council of Legal Education upon completion.
He assured the Body of Benchers of the fire station promised at the Annex, saying it was already taken care of in the budget.
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