*They Are Not Our Members, Says NBA
A GROUP of young lawyers have taken their protest against what they described as harassment and intimidation of former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to the Supreme Court.
This is even as the anticipated hearing in the appeal filed by the EFCC against the judgment of the Kogi State High Court barring it from arresting Bello failed to hold.
The EFCC had appealed the March 11 order and sought a stay of execution, but appellate court declined to grant the stay of execution, rather fixed Monday, April 22 for hearing.
The appeal, however, could not be heard, as the Registrar told journalists that the appeal was not listed among the cases for the day.
While parties in the matter were in the court to get date for the appeal, the protesting lawyers stormed the apex court.
The lawyers, under the aegis of Lawyers of Conscience, according to their Co-convener, S.K. Alewu, condemned EFCC’s attempt to arrest Bello despite being served the order by the Kogi court, saying not only had Bello’s fundamental rights been breached, he the judiciary has also become willing tools.
They , therefore, urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) and President Bola Tinubu to call the EFCC to order to stop further abuse and disobedience of court orders.
But umbrella body of lawyers in the country, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) has disowned the protesters, saying they were unknown to the body.
The NBA, in a short notice to journalists, on Tuesday, April 23, through its National Publicity Secretary, Habeeb Lawal, insisted the group of protesters were not lawyers.
It stated: “Please, be informed that while the NBA respects the rights of citizens to assemble and protest, we insist that this particular group of persons are not lawyers.
“For completeness, their supposed leader or convener, Sylvanus K. Alewu, is not a name known to us.”
