NBA Chairmen Condemn Query Issued To Port Harcourt Branch Chair
The Chairmen of the eight Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) branches in Rivers State have issued a strong condemnation of a recent query issued to the chairman of the NBA Port Harcourt Branch, Cordelia Eke.
The query, signed by Ebiriemg Deresima, Director of Administration at the Ministry of Justice, accused Eke of “serious misconduct” for co-authoring a communique criticising the state administration for “severe and brazen acts of lawlessness and impunity”.
In a joint press statement, the NBA branch chairmen described the allegations as an attempt to intimidate Eke and stifle dissenting voices among legal professionals in the state.
The press statement was signed by Dr Hilda Desmond-Ihekaire, Chairman, Ahoada Branch; Simple Dioha, Esq., Chairman, Isiokpo Branch; Abiye Abo, Esq., Chairman, Degema Branch; Dr N. A. Duson, Chairman, Bori Branch; and Dr Celestine Nwankwo, Chairman, Okehi Branch.
They clarified that Eke did not issue the communique in her capacity as a civil servant but rather as the elected chairman of the Port Harcourt Branch, in line with her constitutional mandate within the NBA.
The NBA chairmen condemned the query as part of a broader effort by the Sole Administrator to suppress free speech and dismantle democratic norms under the guise of maintaining peace. They asserted their duty to uphold the rule of law and vowed not to be silenced in the face of intimidation.
The chairmen demanded the immediate withdrawal of the query, stating that it was an attempt to intimidate Eke and other lawyers in Rivers State from speaking out against executive impunity.
They emphasised that the NBA’s role as a watchdog of society requires it to speak truth to authority on behalf of lawyers and the general public.
They also noted that their views align with those of the NBA at the national level, as articulated by the Association’s President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN.
The NBA chairmen further criticised the query as part of a broader effort by the sole administrator to suppress free speech and dismantle democratic norms under the guise of maintaining peace.
They asserted their duty to uphold the rule of law and vowed not to be silenced in the face of intimidation.
The statement reads: “The query to our brother Chairman is nothing but a ploy by which the Sole Administrator seeks to intimidate her into discontinuing her functions and duties as Chairman of the NBA Port Harcourt Branch and an attempt to intimidate lawyers in Rivers State and, by extension, other good people of Rivers State from standing up and speaking against executive rascality and impunity,” they said.
“It must be noted that the main objective of the Nigerian Bar Association is the promotion of the rule of law; thus, as a watchdog of the society, it is our duty to speak truth to authority on behalf of lawyers and the general public and cannot be intimidated to shy away from this sacred responsibility.
“Consequently, we, the Chairmen of NBA Branches in Rivers State, condemn in its entirety the query issued to our Brother Chairman of NBA Port Harcourt Branch and demand an immediate withdrawal of the same.
“We consider the issuance of this query to our brother Chairman an unfortunate act the Sole Administrator has decided to use to suppress freedom of speech and constitutional rights of the good people of Rivers State against his various incidences of dismantling of peaceful democratic institutions already in existence in Rivers State and other acts and actions capable of causing a breach of peace instead of maintaining the peace, which was the primary claim for his appointment as Sole Administrator in Rivers State.
We condemn in its entirety the query issued to our colleague and demand its immediate withdrawal,” the chairmen stated.
NBA Chairmen Condemn Query Issued To Port Harcourt Branch Chair is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
