The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the shooting and
\nkilling of some protesters at Lekki in Lagos on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
NBA\u2019s President, Olumide Akpata Akpata, condemned the act in a statement
\non Wednesday in Abuja.<\/p>\n
Akpata said that the attention of the association was drawn to the
\n\u201cdastardly shooting and killing of #ENDSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll
\nPlaza in Lagos State\u2019\u2019 by the Nigerian Army.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom news reports on the incident, many lives were lost in the attack
\nwhile several others were injured during the melee that ensued.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NBA strongly condemns this act of recklessness and lawlessness by
\nthe army, based on reports available to us, it appears to have been a
\ncarefully calculated and premeditated attack.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven if the protesters at the Lekki Toll Plaza were in breach of the
\ncurfew imposed by the Lagos State Government, such a misdemeanour or
\nbreach did not warrant the use of live ammunition by the Nigerian
\nmilitary to confront otherwise peaceful, unarmed and defenceless
\nprotesters.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be clear, the events of today (Tuesday) are events that we should
\nnever see or consider as normal in any democracy,\u2019\u2019 he stated.<\/p>\n
Akpata called on the military high command to immediately identify and
\nname the officers involved in the shooting \u201cfor immediate prosecution
\nand dismissal in line with extant laws\u2019\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NBA shall immediately commence legal proceedings at all relevant
\nfora (both locally and internationally) against the Nigerian Military.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd other relevant authorities on behalf of the families of the
\nvictims, for abuse of power, disregard of rules of engagement and the
\ninfringement of the fundamental rights (including the right to life) of
\nthe affected citizens,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
Akpata said that following the degenerating nature of the crisis, an
\nemergency meeting of the National Executive Committee of the association
\nwould be convened within the next 48 hours.<\/p>\n
According to him, this is to review the state of the nation and take
\nother appropriate steps to decisively deal with the situation and
\nprevent the nation from further going adrift.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe NBA believes that the current situation in the country calls for
\ndynamic leadership, and as critical stakeholders in the Nigerian
\nproject, invites the President of Nigeria and others in authority to
\nshow uncommon leadership in saving the situation.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n
He said showing uncommon leadership now was preferable to \u201cdeploying
\ntroops against defenseless citizens whom they swore an oath to
\nprotect\u2019\u2019. (NAN)<\/p>\n
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the shooting and killing of some protesters at Lekki in Lagos on Tuesday. NBA\u2019s President, Olumide Akpata Akpata, condemned the act in a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":76465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n