The Nigerian Bar Association has criticised the decision of the Attorney-General of the Federation, and Minister of Justice, Mr. Michael Aondoakaa (SAN), to constitute a legal team to sue for defamation on behalf of the Federal Government over the Halliburton bribery scam.


The association stated this in its communiqué at the end its National Executive Meeting in Sokoto, Sokoto State. It added that the action of the AGF was diversionary and urged him to face the real issue of full probe and the revelation of those involved in the scam.

The development came just as the NBA insisted that the probe panel set up by President Umaru Yar‘ Adua on the Ekiti governorship rerun poll was diversionary and unnecessary.

A copy of the NBA communiqué by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Murtala Abdul-Rasheed, was made available to our correspondent in Lagos on Sunday.

The NBA further admonished the AGF on the issue of corruption, saying that, ”NEC calls on the AGF to realise his position as the official leader of the Bar in Nigeria and desist from constituting a cog in the wheel of the crusade against corruption, which has not only demystified the office of the AGF but has embarrassed the entire Bar.” On the Ekiti rerun, the association said the President‘s probe panel would serve no useful purpose.

It said, “The security apparatus should be allowed to carry out their lawful duties in the arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators of the crimes in the face of the glaring and self-evident crimes committed during the said rerun.

”NEC therefore calls on the President to cease from political interference amounting to a form of gerrymandering and allow the prosecution of offenders. NEC calls on the National Assembly to ensure the adoption of the Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais electoral report as a lasting and progressive bulwark against the kind of abuses seen in Ekiti State governorship rerun.”

The association also urged the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi, to take necessary action on conflicting decisions of the appellate court on electoral matters.

It said, ”The NBA continues to view as troubling, inconsistencies in the decisions of the various divisions of the Court of Appeal particularly, but not limited to Ibadan, Benin and Abuja on electoral disputes and calls on the Honourable Justices of the Court of Appeal to be abreast with decisions from other divisions before making pronouncements so as to avoid eroding the confidence of the public in the judiciary.”

The NBA further condemned the rising spate of kidnapping and general insecurity in the country and attributed same to the failure of government in the area of providing employment opportunities for the youths in the country.

But the NBA also frowned at the hurried passage of bills in various states introducing the death penalty for kidnapping and noted that this had a potential of hardening the kidnappers to kill their victims.

The association therefore called on the various states‘ governments to take a second look on death sentence for kidnapping;

Regarding the issue of state police, the NBA said, ”The NBA views with great concern the rising spate of insecurity and agrees with the United Nations‘ prescription of one million policemen for a population of 14o million Nigerians and observes that the imperative of States‘ Police has become increasingly inevitable in Nigeria to supplement and complement the Federal Police.”