Mr Wike, who is a lawyer and a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had described the umbrella body of lawyers in the country as “paper tiger.”
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has described River State Governor Nyesom Wike’s allegations against it as “baseless.”
The Rivers State governor had, in a book launch in honour of Mary Peter-Odili, a retired justice of the Supreme Court, accused the NBA of failing in its responsibility to protect the Nigerian judiciary Nigeria from political intimidation.
Mr Wike, who is a lawyer and a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had described the umbrella body of lawyers in the country as “paper tiger.”
But in a reaction to the governor’s criticisms, NBA President, Olumide Akpata, said the association’s “commitment to defend the judiciary and its integrity has remained unshaken.”
Mr Akpata went on to chronicle various interventions by the NBA to entrench the rule of law and protect the sanctity of Nigeria’s judiciary.
In a statement countering Mr Wike’s criticism, the NBA president said Nigerian lawyers rose in unison to condemn the invasion of the Abuja residence of Mrs Peter-Odili by armed security operatives in October 2021.
Mr Akpata said it was ironic that Mr Wike chose to attack the NBA at an event in honour of Mrs Peter-Odili whom the NBA defended “in the face of that brazen attack on her home in Abuja by some persons who are now standing trial in our law courts.”
He referenced the role of the NBA in the crisis that rocked the Cross River State judiciary when the governor, Ben Ayade, “refused to appoint the most senior judge in the State – Akon Ikpeme – as the substantive Chief Judge on the grounds that she was not an indigene of Cross River State.
“The active role that the NBA played – both publicly and privately in defending the Judiciary and resolving that ugly debacle in that State (and a few other States where similar scenarios played out afterwards) is well-documented,” Mr Akpata stated.
Citing the recent verbal attack by Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi on Inyang Ekwo, a federal judge, for sacking him from office, and some state legislators, Mr Akpata noted that the NBA’s intervention led to an apology from the governor.
‘Uncharitable comments’
He explained that it was convenient for the Rivers State governor to ask Nigerian lawyers to emulate lawyers in foreign countries “when the issues at stake do not concern him directly.”
He reminded Mr Wike of how he withdrew his support for lawyers in Rivers State for demanding explanations from the governor in his handling of “the security situation in Rivers State” in 2019.
“It is in this respect that the NBA views Governor Wike’s invectives as inconsiderate and uncharitable.
“Short of taking the law into our hands and carrying ammunition without licence to defend the Judiciary, the NBA insists that it is doing its best in the circumstance, and in an atmosphere that is widely acknowledged to be characterised by recklessness and little regard for the rule of law by governments at all levels,” the NBA President said.
Mr Akpata pledged NBA’s resolve “to do all that it can to defend the Judiciary, the rule of law and indeed, Nigeria’s democracy. We will not pass that buck.”