Buhari to lawyers: Don’t protect looters

President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday in Abuja urged Nigerian lawyers not to sacrifice the integrity of the country’s legal system in a bid to cover the misdeeds of their clients, no matter how lucrative the briefs may be.
Speaking at the opening of the 55th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), President Buhari called on Nigerian lawyers to support his administration’s war against corruption and help the country return to the path of rectitude by making Nigerian courts functional and effective again.
“I am convinced that law, lawmakers, lawyers, law courts and the law enforcement agencies all have pivotal responsibilities to discharge, if the change we seek is ever to materialize.
“As you all know by now, this administration has taken on the challenge of improving security, fighting corruption and revamping the economy, among many others.
“The fight against corruption is in reality a struggle for the restoration of law and order. Corruption and impunity become widespread when disrespect for law is allowed to thrive in society. Disrespect for law also thrives when people get away with all sorts of shady deals and the court system is somehow unable to check them.
“Ability to manipulate and frustrate the legal system is the crowning glory of the corrupt and, as may be expected, this has left many legal practitioners and law courts tainted in an ugly way.
“In a gathering such as this, I do not need to elaborate on the way that corruption and impunity have damaged our economy. But I would like to say more on what, I believe, should be your role as legal practitioners, in helping us back to the path of rectitude.
“First, we need to make our courts functional and effective again. This means that we must have lawyers who take the ethics of the profession very seriously; lawyers who will not frustrate the course of justice, even though they defend their clients with all legitimate means and resources.
“Nigeria needs ethical lawyers who always keep the end of justice in mind and will never sacrifice the integrity of the legal system to cover the misdeeds of their clients, no matter how lucrative the brief may be,” President Buhari said.
Noting that lawyers are often in the vanguard of the defence of human rights, President Buhari urged them to view corruption too as a gross violation of human rights.
“For the masses of our people, the millions still wallowing in want and diseases, corruption is a major reason why they cannot go to school; why they cannot be gainfully employed; and why there are few doctors, nurses and drugs in their hospitals and health centers. It is the reason why pensioners are not paid and potable water is scarce.
“In effect, corruption diverts public resources meant for millions of people into the private pockets of a greedy few, thereby causing a lot of suffering, deprivation and death. In my view, there can be no greater violation of human rights.
“Viewed in this way, I think we can all fully appreciate the gravity of this oppressive and destructive evil. This should rouse us to fight it with the same zeal and doggedness as we deploy in the defense of fundamental rights,” President Buhari said.
The President described the endemic corruption that perverted the entire society as a gross violation of human right.
At this critical moment, the President said Nigeria needs ethical lawyers who will not sacrifice the integrity of the legal profession by covering the misdeeds of their clients, no matter how lucrative the briefs are.
In his speech, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mahmud Mohammed said the president has strengthened ‘our effort by laying the foundation for good governance and rule of law.’
He stated that the judicial officers performance evaluation committee has been strengthened to perform its function, adding that lazy judges would be shown the way out while diligent ones are praised noting that: “as we continue to fish out and discipline indolent and lazy judges by showing them the way out of the system, we must also acknowledge and praise those judges that are diligent and hardworking.
“To this end, the National Judicial Council (NJC) judicial officers performance evaluation committee has also been strengthened to perform its functions.”
He said the corporate existence of Nigeria can be attributed to the vibrancy and steadfastness of the legal profession.
“NBA has led the vanguard of political development by standing on the side of the rule of law on issues that concern the nation’s unity and integrity. I make bold to say that it is the rule of law that guarantee peace, security, unity and good governance. We must all work in unison to address the problems militating against our collective drive for quick dispensation of cases “, he said.
NBA president, Mr Austine Alegeh SAN in his remark assured the president of the willingness and readiness of the Bar to work with his government.
wHe said that the NBA would be ready to sponsor bills which was passed by the 7th Assembly but was never assented to by the president.
Alegeh who used the opportunity to reel out the achievements of his tenure and stated that by God’s grace, the NBA national secretariat would be inaugurated in March next year as work has gone to advanced stage.
He said that the topic was strategically chosen and praised the president for gracing the occasion together with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN.
“Our commitment to leave the Bar better than we met it is unshaken. The president by his presence shows his commitment to the rule of law and willingness to work with the NBA.
“We want to assure you that in every step of the change agenda, the Bar will be willing to stand with you”, he stated, adding that the NBA is very much interested in justice sector reform.
He advised that the Prisons should be taken to the ministry of justice instead of that of Interior while calling for a better funding for the judicial sector.
The keynote speaker, Chief Justice of Kenya, Justice Willy Mutunga made a presentation on the Kenyan justice sector reform experience.