Nigerian Bar Association National
Lawyers in Kaduna on Tuesday shunned the courts in
compliance with the directive of the National Secretariat of the
Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) that they should boycott the
courts for two days in protest against the unconstitutional
suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria , Justice Walter
Onnoghen, by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Our correspondent who visited the Kaduna state High Court
Complex, observed that all the courtrooms were empty.
The Kaduna branch Chairman of the association, Sule Shuaibu, and
other senior members of the branch were seen going round the courts
to ensure total compliance.
A senior member of the branch, Ifeanyi Egbuna, who was among the
senior lawyers that monitored the boycott, told our reporter that
no lawyer went to court.
“Our chairman and some senior members of the branch went round
the courts to monitor the situation and there was total compliance
with the directives as no lawyer went to court” he said.
He added that days before the commencement of the boycott, the
branch wrote to notify all the courts about the resolution of the
NBA to protest the unconstitutional suspension of the Chief Justice
of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen.
The Chairman of Jos branch of Nigerian Bar Association,
Bon. Ngyou Esq. noted that the full and total compliance with the
decision of NEC in the total boycott of Courts by Jos is
commendable.
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CISLAC
Musa Rafsanjani
Corruption Still Endemic in Nigeria- Transparency
International
A global Non- Governmental Organisation, Transparency
International (TI), has urged the federal government to muster the
political will to fight corruption, noting that the monster is
still endemic in Nigeria.
Head of Transparency International in Nigeria, Auwal Musa
Rafsanjani said the report released by the body indicates that
Nigeria has neither improved nor progressed in the perception of
corruption in the public administration in 2018 because Government
has not mustered the political will in the fight against
corruption.
According to Rafsanjani, Nigeria scored 27 out of 100 points in
the 2018 Corruption Perception Index, CPI, maintaining the same
score as in the 2017 CPI.
The report further said although Nigeria ranks 144 out of 180
Countries this year as opposed to 148 out 180 Countries in the CPI,
Nigeria is thus still perceived as highly corrupt.
The global anti-corruption body notes that since the current
administration came into power on the anti-corruption ticket, a
very few politically exposed persons have been duly sentenced on
anti-corruption charges while many, despite some indisputable
evidences have not been diligently investigated, neither prosecuted
nor convicted.
Said Rafsanjani “Many low performing countries have several
commonalities, including weak political rights, limited press
freedoms and a weak rule of law.
“In these countries, laws often go unenforced and institutions
are poorly resourced with little ability to handle corruption
complaints.”
He urged government to “Strengthen the institution responsible
for maintaining checks and balances over political power, and
ensuring their ability to operate without intimidation, while
closing the implementation gap between anti-corruption legislation,
practice and enforcement.
He also appealed to government to effectively supporting civil
society organizations to enhance political engagement and public
oversight over government spending, particularly at the state and
local level.
By PRNigeria