2019 elections: Don’t debase temple of justice, NBA charges politicians

As the nation celebrates its 58th Independence Day, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has charged politicians not to allow politics to debase the temple of justice and the rule of law in the country. The president of NBA, Paul Usoro (SAN), in a statement yesterday, insisted that the judiciary and the rule of law must […]

As the nation celebrates its 58th Independence Day, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has charged politicians not to allow politics to debase the temple of justice and the rule of law in the country.

The president of NBA, Paul Usoro (SAN), in a statement yesterday, insisted that the judiciary and the rule of law must remain sacrosanct. “The converse of the rule of law, we must always remember, is anarchy and we do not want to descend into that abyss. We must not, in the name of politics and for political reasons pollute our fountain of justice,” he said.

He said the judiciary remained one institution that had constantly kept the country united through its pronouncements. “The decision of our courts more often than not ward off ethnic strives, political unrests, chaos, bedlam and riots – the fingerlings of anarchy. We remain eternally grateful to Their lordships for their services to our fatherland and pray for continuous divine wisdom and guidance for them as we journey into another year of national elections”, he added.

Usoro charged Nigerians and more specifically the political class to continue to have faith in the country’s judicial system, adding that “workers and ministers in Nigeria’s temple of justice, must, by our conducts, words and deeds imbue in our people that faith and confidence in our justice sector.

“It is not sufficient for us to call on the political class not to pollute our judiciary with their politics, partisanship, rivalries and enmities; it is seemly as well that we, as workers and ministers in Nigeria’s temple of justice – ranging from their lordships to lawyers and other stakeholders in the justice sector – constantly remind ourselves of the need to uphold the core values and sanctity of our noble profession in and through our words, deeds, actions and conducts, at all times.”

He said the NBA “commends these thoughts to all Nigerians and hopes that these would and should serve as constant reminders for us on our journey to greatness, on our journey to a strong, united and prosperous Nigeria where the rule of law shall continue to prosper, abound and prevail.”