The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has blasted the lawyers and judges involved in the conflicting orders issued by the Federal High Court, the Kano State High Court, and again the Federal High Court over the ongoing emirship tussle in Kano State.
The Association submitted that the drama has brought “utter disgrace and shame to the legal profession.”.
Grassroots Parrot had reported how two courts in Kano State, on the same day, issued conflicting interim injunctions on the Kano Emirate tussle on Tuesday.
While Justice S. A. Amobeda of the Federal High Court ordered the eviction of the reinstated emir, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II, from Gidan Rumfa Palace, an order by Justice Amina Adamu Aliyu of the Kano State High Court restrained security agencies from evicting Sanusi.
Sanusi and the 15th Emir of Kano, Aminu Ado Bayero, are locked in a battle for the royal stool. The tussle has sparked protests from their respective supporters in Kano.
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Reacting to the confusing development, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), expressed his dismay over the conduct of both counsel and judges involved in the cases.
Maikyau, in a statement on Wednesday, harped on the need for an urgent review of the professional conduct of both the counsel and judges involved in these matters.
He called on the respective heads of the courts to investigate the conduct of the judges and report their findings to the National Judicial Council (NJC) for necessary action.
The statement signed by NBA National Publicity Secretary, Akorede Lawal, said the actions of the courts have exposed the entire legal profession in Nigeria to public ridicule and opprobrium.
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The statement read in parts: “I must say, without any equivocation, that the conduct of counsel and the courts in the handling of the proceedings that culminated in the orders issued by the Federal High Court, the Kano State High Court, and again the Federal High Court, in circus, have brought utter disgrace and shame to the profession and exposed the entire legal profession in Nigeria to public ridicule and opprobrium.
“The damage is one that would take the legal profession a long time to recover from. It is unfortunate and totally uncalled for. For a country whose legal resources and expertise have for several decades been exported and positively impacted not only the African continent but the world at large, it is completely unacceptable that the processes of our courts would be deployed in the manner we have witnessed in the last couple of days on a subject matter that is as clear as a chieftaincy dispute.
“This is a subject that has been sufficiently dealt with by legislation and case law, leaving no one confused about the jurisprudence on the subject—both procedural and substantive.
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“I therefore call on the respective heads of the courts of the judges concerned to take immediate steps to look into their conduct with the view to finding any possible abuse of their judicial offices and file a report with the National Judicial Council for necessary action.
The NBA, on the other hand, will investigate the conduct of the counsel involved in these cases and shall not hesitate to commence disciplinary action against them before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee should there be any finding of alleged professional misconduct against them. The Chairman of the NBA Ethics and Disciplinary Committee has accordingly been directed to invite these counsels for preliminary investigations.
“While the NBA shall continue to stand for and protect the integrity, welfare, and independence of the bar and the judiciary, we shall not hesitate to call out any judge or counsel who engages in any conduct that is capable of bringing the legal profession into disrepute.”