The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) has warned the Federal<\/p>\n
Government and its agencies to ensure that its anti-corruption battle is
\nfought within the ambit of the rule of law devoid of abuse of the
\nfundamental rights of Nigerians.<\/p>\n
Rising from its meeting at the Nigerian Law School in Lagos, the body,
\nwhich is the umbrella organization for all lawyers admitted to the Inner
\nBar, emphasized its abhorrence to corruption but cautioned that efforts to
\ncombat the malaise must not be corrupted by violation of human rights.<\/p>\n
It is recalled that anti-corruption agencies – especially the Economic and
\nFinancial Crimes Commission (EFCC) – have been engaged in a cat-and-mouse
\ngame with lawyers and their umbrella body, the Nigerian Bar Association
\n(NBA) over concerns that the anti-corruption battle is being derailed
\nthrough abuse of human rights and lack of due process.<\/p>\n
In a communiqu\u00e9 jointly signed by Mr. Ebun Sofunde (SAN) and Mr. Seyi
\nSowemimo (SAN), BOSAN said: \u201cThe Body condemns all forms of corruption and
\nmoney laundering by anyone, lawyers inclusive, and wholeheartedly supports
\nappropriate efforts of the Government aimed at curbing the menace of
\ncorruption through thorough investigation and prosecution of offenders in
\na fair trial that complies with due process of the law and ensures equal
\naccess to justice by the prosecutor and the accused, while guaranteeing
\nthe fundamental rights of all persons as enshrined in the Constitution of
\nthe Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).\u201d<\/p>\n
It stated that while it \u201cwelcomes the investigation of any lawyer, no
\nmatter how highly placed,\u201d due process must be followed to ensure that
\nrights of suspects are guaranteed, even as the body stated that its
\nmembers have \u201ca duty and a responsibility to hold ourselves to the highest
\nprofessional and moral standards and are determined to continue to ensure
\nthat those standards are maintained.\u201d<\/p>\n
The elite group of lawyers condemned \u201call acts of disrespect by any person
\nor agency of government, of valid orders of courts of competent
\njurisdiction,\u201d warning that disrespect or disregard of court orders \u201cis a
\nstep towards anarchy, which does not and cannot augur well for a
\ndemocratic society such as Nigeria.\u201d<\/p>\n
Turning to the assault on the judiciary and the integrity of judges, BOSAN
\nexpressed concern on the \u201cspate of disparaging remarks and attacks on the
\nJudiciary and judicial officers, often made in a generalized manner and
\nperhaps calculated to intimidate and infuse fear in Judges, who are sworn
\nto dispense justice without fear or favour,\u201d adding: \u201cIt is the Body\u2019s
\nview that it is unfair to the many honest and hard-working judges in our
\ncountry to be painted with the same brush as the few who have been found
\nwanting for misconduct or those who bring the office into disrepute and
\nviolate their sacred oaths of office.\u201d It also warned lawyers to desist
\nfrom joining the bandwagon of issuing \u201cgeneralized statements of a
\ndisparaging nature\u201d against judges, describing such conduct as
\n\u201cunprofessional.\u201d<\/p>\n
BOSAN also condemned what it called the \u201cevolving practice of delays and
\nnon-payment of judges and judicial workers their salaries and allowances,\u201d
\nstating that this practice \u201cseverely undermines\u201d the much cherished
\nindependence of the judiciary.<\/p>\n
Dwelling on the right of accused persons to counsel of their choice and
\nthe duty of lawyers to defend their clients without fear or
\ndiscrimination, the Senior Advocates reiterated their \u201cbelief that the
\nharassment and intimidation of lawyers in any form in the course of their
\nlegitimate work is unlawful and counter-productive in a democratic
\nsociety. Such actions are not only unlawful but antithetical to the rule
\nof law.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing is further from the truth that once a lawyer undertakes the
\ndefence of an accused person, particularly a professional colleague, then
\nhe must be in active support of the alleged crime or be working against
\nthe anti-corruption crusade. The Nigerian Constitution, for good reason,
\npresumes a person innocent until proven guilty before a court of competent
\njurisdiction following a fair hearing, with an opportunity to conduct his
\ndefence by a counsel of his choice.\u201d<\/p>\n
BOSAN enjoined lawyers to continue to represent their clients \u201cto the best
\nof their abilities, within the ambit of the law, and in compliance with
\nthe Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007.\u201d<\/p>\n
It noted that the body \u201ccontinues to endorse\u201d the core values of
\nprofessional excellence, integrity, industry, professional ethics, and
\nleadership by example as its overarching principles, adding that it \u201chas
\ntaken appropriate measures to ensure that the rank is not brought to
\ndisrepute as a whole by the actions of those adjudged of wrong-doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The body also reiterated the position of the NBA\u2019s National Executive
\nCommittee (NEC) on NBA\u2019s anti-corruption and anti-money laundering stance
\nas well as its stand on the rule of law as contained in the NBA Communiqu\u00e9
\nissued at the end of its recent NEC meeting at Jos, Plateau State.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) has warned the Federal Government and its agencies to ensure that its anti-corruption battle is fought within the ambit of the rule…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n