President Muhammadu Buhari
yesterday implored lawyers in the country not to sacrifice the integrity of the
Nigeria’s legal system on the altar of their clients’ misdeeds, no matter how
lucrative the briefs may be.
He said, as the vanguard of the
defense of human rights, lawyers must also view corruption as a gross violation
of human rights.
The president, who stated this
when he declared the 55th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar
Association (NBA) open at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, called on
Nigerian lawyers to support his administration’s war against corruption.
This, he said, they should do in
order to help the country return to the path of rectitude by making Nigerian
courts functional and effective again.
Buhari said: “I am convinced that
law, lawmakers, lawyers, law courts and the law enforcement agencies all have
pivotal responsibilities to discharge if the change we seek is ever to
materialize.
“As you all know by now, this administration
has taken on the challenge of improving security, fighting corruption and
revamping the economy, among many others. The fight against corruption is in
reality a struggle for the restoration of law and order.
“Corruption and impunity become
widespread when disrespect for law is allowed to thrive in society. Disrespect
for law also thrives when people get away with all sorts of shady deals and the
court system is somehow unable to check them.
“The ability to manipulate and
frustrate the legal system is the crowning glory of the corrupt and, as may be
expected, this has left many legal practitioners and law courts tainted inNBA
55TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE 4-1 an ugly way.”
The president noted that in
gatherings such as the conference, there was no need to expatiate on the manner
in which corruption and impunity had damaged the country’s economy, saying he
would rather dwell on the role legal practitioners should play in returning the
country to the path of rectitude.
He said, “First, we need to make
our courts functional and effective again. This means that we must have lawyers
who take the ethics of the profession very seriously, lawyers who will not
frustrate the course of justice even though they defend their clients with all
legitimate means and resources.
“Nigeria needs ethical lawyers
who always keep the end of justice in mind and will never sacrifice the
integrity of the legal system to cover the misdeeds of their clients, no matter
how lucrative the brief may be,” President Buhari told the country’s lawyers.
Urging the lawyers to view
corruption too as a gross violation of human rights, Buhari lamented that for
Nigerian masses, especially the millions still wallowing in poverty and
diseases, corruption is a major reason why they cannot go to school; why they
cannot be gainfully employed; why there are few doctors, nurses and drugs in
their hospitals and health centres; why pensioners are not paid and why potable
water is scarce.
The president continued: “In effect,
corruption diverts public resources meant for millions of people into the
private pockets of a greedy few, thereby causing a lot of suffering,
deprivation and death. In my view, there can be no greater violation of human
rights.
“Viewed in this way, I think we
can all fully appreciate the gravity of this oppressive and destructive evil.
This should rouse us to fight it with the same zeal and doggedness as we deploy
in the defence of fundamental rights.”
Buhari further urged Nigerian
lawyers to work for a more efficient and effective legal system, saying it
would assist in attracting more investments to the country and accelerating the
pace of national economic development.
He said, “Increased engagement
with the outside world is called for as we seek public private partnerships in
our quest for enhanced capital and expertise. There is no doubt that all these
depend on enforceable agreements and a reliable legal system.
“Contracts are only good to the
extent that they are enforceable without undue delay. If, by the default of
lawyers or the law courts, it is found that cases take ages to conclude or that
the judicial system is somehow corruptible, we obviously cannot attract the
kind of partnerships which we need or which our large vibrant economy would
ordinarily have attracted.
“The world today has been
correctly described as a global village. Capital and expertise are readily
mobile. Comparisons will inevitably be drawn between our country and others
when the choice of where to do business is being made.”
Buhari noted that Nigeria’s
current position in terms of doing business is not good enough as the country’s
process for obtaining licences and permits are too slow.
He said, “It takes too long a
time to enforce contracts in our law courts and our regulatory and
administrative processes are not noticeably predictable or efficient. In all
these, lawyers have a key role to play, whether in the reform of our laws and
regulations or in the integrity of our judicial systems.
“It is my fervent hope that this
conference and other fora for lawyers and non-lawyers will closely and quickly
work out ways of making our legal system much improved in terms of integrity,
the human touch, efficiency and rigorous dedication to the cause of justice.”
Buhari assured the lawyers that
his administration will give its full support to the implementation of
the required legal reforms if it
is convinced that they are in the best interest of the country.
Credit: Leadership
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