Headline

Cracks in the Walls of NBA

Published

6 years ago

August 22, 2020

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

In his campaign messages during the runoff to the Nigerian Bar Association elections, the President-elect, Olumide Akpata, never stopped laying emphasis about his desire to create an ‘NBA for all’, an association of tolerance, interrelationship and devoid of ethnic and religious colourations.

However, with days to the official change of leadership baton and swearing in ceremony of the President-elect, most, if not all things are about to fall apart in the highly revered association of very learned professionals.

What appears like a fragile peace in the administration of the outgoing president, Mr Paul Usoro, is shaky today with the division that has been created with the official withdrawal of the invitation extended to Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai as a speaker at the forthcoming conference of the association.

The lawyers have accused the governor on allegations bordering on killings in southern Kaduna, violation of human rights, disobedience to court orders and others.

Some of these lawyers include former chairman, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Dr. Chidi Odinkalu, former chairman, NBA, Ikeja branch and leader of Radical Agenda Movement in the Nigerian Bar Association (RAMINBA), Mr. Adesina Ogunlana, Open Bar Initiative (OBl) led by Mr. Silas Joseph Onu, and Mojirayo Ogunlana-Nkanga.

The leadership of the NBA withdrew the invitation extended to the governor to participate in the association’s annual general meeting in a resolution at it’s national executive council meeting on Wednesday, saying the decision would be communicated to the governor.

Using it’s official Twitter handle @NigBarAssoc, and confirmed by the Kunle Edun, the publicity secretary, the NBA noted as follows:

“The National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association at its ongoing meeting resolves that the invitation to the Kaduna State Governor, H.E. Nasir El-Rufai by the 2020 Annual General Meeting Conference Planning Committee be withdrawn and decision communicated to the Governor.”

The Kaduna governor was originally among the guest speakers slated to participate in a session titled ‘Who is a Nigerian?… A Debate on National Identity.’ El-Rufai was scheduled to participate at the session alongside the governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike; former governor of Anambra State and vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party at the 2019 election, Peter Obi; cleric and chairman, African Advisory Council of the Royal Commonwealth Society, Tinder Bakare; activist and former federal minister, Oby Ezekwesili; and immediate past ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and security, Salamatu Suleiman.

Those billed to speak at the conference include Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and Tanko Muhammad, the Chief Justice of Nigeria; Olusegun Obasanjo, a former president; Ike Ekweremadu, former deputy senate president; and Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The 60th NBA annual general conference, its first-ever virtual event, is themed ‘Step Forward.’

However, the inclusion of El-Rufai among the guest speakers at the annual fiesta, had not gone down well with most lawyers, who expressed their disapproval in a petition. The petition, in turn, had woken other lawyers to reality, and they toe the line, threatening withdrawal if El-Rufai is allowed to speak at the conference.

A Port Harcourt based lawyer, Godwin Odimabo, noted thus concerning El-Rufai’s participation:

“If the association has value for her motto, respect for rule of law, democratic norms and values, it won’t take more than 24 hours to humbly write to Kaduna State governor, El-Rufai, informing him of his substitution as a guest speaker at the AGC.

“If he paid to speak, we should refund him his money. If we paid him to speak, we should bear it as the inconvenience caused him by our withdrawal.”

Consequently, the National Executive Council, the highest decision making body of the association of learned professionals, took a decision to nib in the bud the governor’s participation in the conference scheduled to hold from August 26-29.

But the disqualification of the governor has not been taken lying down by the both Northern and Muslim lawyers who felt it was a slight on one of their own. They have therefore decided to go against the decision of the NBA NEC and threaten withdrawal from the conference if El-Rufai is not restored as one of the speakers.

Shortly after NBA made its decision public, the Muslim Rights Council (MURIC) called on all Muslim lawyers to boycott the conference, saying that the NBA has crossed its line by withdrawing El-Rufai’s participation.

In a statement on by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, MURIC described NBA’s action as parochial, myopic and jejune.

“MURIC calls on all lawyers from the North to boycott NBA’s AGC in protest against this open declaration of war on Northern Kaduna. Every little action of injustice must spark a reaction if tyranny is to be stopped in the world,” Akintola said.

“NBA has crossed the red line in human relations and conflict management. No single lawyer from the North should participate in the AGC either as a resource person or as a participant unless NBA rescinds its decision to drop El-Rufai from the list of speakers. Injury to one is injury to all.

Akintola said by dropping El-Rufai, NBA has declared war on the other side in the Southern Kaduna crisis and has lost a golden chance to be part of the solution to the conflict, adding that the association has further been elected to be part of the problem.

He said, “The fact that NBA took the ill-advised step on account of a petition written by a group, Open Bar Initiative whose main fear is expressed as ‘One can be sure that he will also use the given platform to advance his conflated narrative, designed to deceive and confuse the nation on the real causes of the killings’ exposes NBA’s impatience, intolerance and self-conceit.

“Is it not better to hear him out than to lock him out? Is it not better to jaw-jaw than to war-war? The departure of the ambassador, they say, is the beginning of war.

“Was it not Jane Goodall who said, ‘Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right’? Change cannot come through rejection and exclusion.

“How justifiable is NBA’s decision to exclude Governor El-Rufai from the virtual conference when people like Chief Olusegun Obasanjo of Odi and Zaki Biam fame and Governor Nyesom Wike are among the speakers? Who bulldozed the hotels of innocent people despite court orders? Who visited unspeakable violence on political opponents? Should NBA hobnob with people linked to genocide and undemocratic practices? So why demonise El-Rufai where killers of innocent people and enemies of democracy are idolised?”

However, while MURIC’s outburst has drawn condemnation from a session of Nigerians including northerners and Muslims, who said he did not speak for them, it has also aroused ethnic and religious sentiment among northern lawyers.

So far, as at the time of going to press, two state associations; Jigawa and Bauchi states have written strongly worded letters to the NBA to restore the Kaduna governor as a speaker or they won’t participate in the conference.

In a statement on Friday by Chairman of NBA Dutse, Garba Abubakar, the group described as “frivolous” the allegations levelled against Governor el-Rufai, accusing the NBA of not giving him the opportunity to defend himself.

“A section of the country cannot therefore take us for a ride as we all have a fair understanding of the law.

“On the strength of this therefore, we call on the national body under President Paul Usoro (SAN) to reverse the decision with immediate effect else the Nigerian Bar Association Dutse branch will boycott the Virtual Annual General Conference taking place in a few days to come,” the group said.

But the NBA Assistant National Publicity Secretary, Habeeb Akorede, said that Garba Abubakar, who issued the statement was not the recognised chairman of the branch and he could not be taken serious.

“Besides, Annual General Conference participation has nothing to do with branch but individual lawyers across the country, and it is free,” he said.

Again, another Islamic body, Shiites, have commended the NBA’s leadership for withdrawing its invitation to the governor.

The Shiites’ position was contained in a letter written to NBA and signed by the President of the Movement’s Media Forum, Ibrahim Musa, on Friday.

Speaking to the Boss, however, a member of the Bar, Raymond Nkanka, said he feared that the religious and ethnic colourations given to the decision taken by over a hundred member NEC, representing over 125 branches across the country, might lead to a more devastating consequences for the NBA.

He noted that with the statement from Dutse and Bauchi branches, the stage is set for a replication of the events of 1966 where after a successful coup had been staged, ethnic connotations were employed as inventory of the casualties were taken, and seen not to favour a group.

“What they failed to realize was the decisions were collective irrespective of who the casualty is. Now, it’s happening again, and the casualty happens to be a northerner and issues are again being raised bothering on ethnicity and religion,” he said.

Nkaneme noted that the high profile members that constitute the NBA NEC cannot be wrong having taking into cognizance the Kaduna governor’s utterances and body languages in recent times, with special reference to the interview granted channels TV not long ago.

“Note that the NBA NEC comprises all former presidents of NBA, all former secretary generals, three representatives each from the 125 branches of the association and also 120 members who are co-opt-ed. The NEX of the NBA is a very large body and represents all shades of opinion and interest. And for the fact that this matter was put to vote and only three members voted in favour of El-Rufai says so much,” he said.

Also in defence of the NEC’s decision, Chidi Odinkalu, a human rights lawyer, noted that all the three who voted in favour of retaining El-Rufai among the speakers are all from the south while one of them is even a Reverend gentleman, thereby ruling out the issue of ethnic or religious bias.

Attempts made to speak with the president-elect, Akpata was unsuccessful as his phone rang out without being picked. However, his assistant, Barr Orji Uka, when contacted, revealed that he was attending a retreat in readiness for his swearing-in activities.

It would have been a good opportunity for Nigerians to borrow a leaf from the lawyers in calling leaders to order as regards their conduct while carrying out their constitutional duties, but for the cracks noticeable in form of divisions.

Meanwhile, the NBA President, Paul Usoro, has tendered an apology to El-Rufai, noting that the decision of the body was not personal.

The coming days before the actual conference will unfold a few more events to determine the way forward even as the Kaduna governor, in a press release signed by his media aide, has threatened to seek legal redress, saying that the language used in condemning his participation was not palatable.

Time is now to check the cracks in the walls before they turn to holes.

Headline

Parties’ Deregistration: ADC, Not NDC, is the Target

Published

1 day ago

June 29, 2026

Eric

By Eric Elezuo

As the 2027 presidential election draws closer, intrigues, manipulations and maneuvers have continued to be the order of the day as political parties engage in one gimmick or another to outdo and undo one another.

While some are playing politics of numbers and conviction, others are engaging tendencies that tend to question the status quo and established principles under which genuine democracy is formed. As a matter of fact, fingers have been pointed at the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal government as the brain behind all machinations that have attempted to derail multi-party democracy, and institute a one-party state, which is alien to the Nigerian democratic roots. This is as a result of the constant imbroglio that has consistently engulf almost all the major political parties in the country.

Fresh facts have however, emerged to prove that every act of frustration thrown at the opposition has been indirectly aimed at the main opposition party, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

According to reliable sources, the recent deregistration of parties, especially the Nigerian Democratic Congress (NDC), was actually targeted at the ADC.

Recall that the Federal High Court in Lokoja, Kogi State, on June, 26, set aside its earlier judgement directing the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to register the NDC as a political party. A ruling that put a question mark on the eligibility of the party presenting candidates in the forthcoming 2027 elections

The presiding judge, Isah Dashen, held that all relevant parties must be heard before any substantive decision can be made in the matter.

The court upheld the application filed by a certain organization, the Peace Movement Party (PMP), ruling that the party was a necessary party to the suit.

According to the judge, the earlier judgement was constitutionally defective as it was delivered without hearing from all interested parties.

He declared that such an omission rendered the entire process null and void.

Mr Dashen further ruled that the status quo be restored to what it was before the December 10, 2025 judgement, pending the determination of the substantive suit.

He also observed that certain material facts were suppressed in the earlier proceedings, which justified the decision to set aside the judgment.

Consequently, the court ordered that the substantive suit should begin afresh, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the PMP and the NDC as parties to the case.

According to NAN’s reports, the applicant’s lawyer, Chikezie Ekeocha, told journalists that the PMP approached the court after discovering that NDC’s registration was based on a logo it had previously submitted to INEC before the commencement of the suit.

According to Mr Ekeocha, the court agreed that the applicant’s rights had been affected and consequently vacated the earlier judgement.

“The court has ordered all parties to return to the position they occupied before the judgment of 10 December 2025, and directed the claimants to join all necessary parties to ensure the issues in dispute are effectually and completely determined,” he said.

He explained that the implication of the ruling is that every action taken by INEC in compliance with the now-vacated judgment stands reversed.

“The recognition of the NDC, the issuance of its certificate of registration, its inclusion in INEC’s records, and any appearance on ballot papers arising from that judgement must be withdrawn pending the final determination of the substantive suit,” Mr Ekeocha stated.

He, however, clarified that the substantive case remains before the court and has not been decided.

“The matter has not been concluded. The court merely set aside its previous judgment and directed that the party whose interests were affected be joined so that all sides can be heard before a fresh decision is reached.”

Mr Ekeocha also dismissed suggestions that the court merely ordered parties to maintain the status quo, insisting that the ruling specifically directed a restoration of the position that existed before the 10 December 2025 judgement.

The ruling effectively returns the dispute over the registration of the NDC to the Federal High Court for a fresh hearing, with all relevant parties expected to participate before a new determination is made.

It would also be recalled that a few weeks earlier, the Federal High Court in Abuja, had ordered the deregistration of five political parties including the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The others are Action People’s Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Accord Party.

However, on June 16, the Court of Appeal in Abuja halted the enforcement of the judgement, ruling that it violated its earlier ruling staying proceedings before the Federal High Court.

While INEC awaits the release of the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment to deregister the NDC, the NDC has reacted, rejecting the judgment as travesty of justice.

Lending credence to the notion that the President Tinubu-led administration is basically targeting the establishment of the ADC as a party, and the candidature of its presidential flagbearer, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, who is also the presidential candidate of the ADC, has stated categorically that there are plots to prevent the party from participating in the 2027 general election.

Atiku’s position is stated in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu on Monday, notifying the public that he had received credible information suggesting that political and legal manoeuvres were being deployed against the ADC, stressing that the persecution that has been thrown towards the NDC was a clear distraction as the main target is the ADC.

Atiku alleged that anti-democratic elements within the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) were working to ensure that the ADC is excluded from the ballot.

“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative,” he said.

Atiku called on Nigerians to reject any attempt to determine which opposition parties participate in the election.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians — not just ADC members and supporters — to rise in defense of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election,” he said.

“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed.

“If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?”

He said he hoped the information available to him would not materialise but argued that recent political developments made such concerns difficult to dismiss.

“The pattern has become all too familiar. First, institutions that ought to be neutral are drawn into partisan contests,” he said.

“Then, frivolous litigations suddenly gain unusual momentum. Administrative powers are selectively deployed.

“Political pressure is mounted behind closed doors. Before long, democracy itself becomes the casualty.”

Atiku alleged that the ruling party has focused more on weakening the opposition than addressing the country’s economic and security challenges.

“The obsession with silencing the opposition has become so consuming that governance itself has taken a back seat,” he said.

“At a time when Nigerians are battling hunger, inflation, unemployment, insecurity, and collapsing purchasing power, those entrusted with public office appear preoccupied with political survival rather than national survival.”

Nigerians recall that ever since the official rejuvenation of the ADC in June/July of 2025, where the duo of Senator David Mark and Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola emerged as the party’s chairman and secretary respectively, the party has not known moments of peaceful coexistence as litigations from corners unknown have sprang up in a bid to destabilize the party and deprive it of the opportunity of featuring on the ballot paper come 2027.

ADC, as a child of circumstance emerged from the rumbles of the litigation-ridden former main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), where two factions have consistently remelained at loggerheads over leadership. While the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, who is working assiduously to ensure the reelection of Bola Tinubu, leads one faction, Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, who became a defacto head, leads the other faction. In all, PDP appeared to have no direction, forcing many of its members to jump ship, thereby birthing the ADC, and to a large extent, the NDC, which is presenting Peter Obi as the presidential candidate, with former Kano governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, as his running mate.

Sources also informed The Boss that the hasty reading and passage of the Electoral Act 2026 by the Godswill Akpabio-led National Assembly, with many great areas left unattended to, were also part of the grand design to deprive the ADC the constitutional rights of presenting candidates for the 2027 elections.

But both the ADC and the NDC has vowed that they would follow every process to ensure that the crackdown on opposition parties by the Tinubu administration comes to an abrupt end.

But beyond the intrigues, Nigerians are gearing up to participate fully in the forthcoming election with cross sections of the population either hailing Tinubu for his policies or knocking him for the untold hardship in the land.

Headline

South Africa Nothing Without Africa – MTN Boss, Mcebisi Jonas

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The MTN Group Chairman, Mcebisi Jonas, has condemned the ongoing anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa, describing it as a symptom of State failure being cynically exploited by politicians with no interest in genuine solutions.

The speech is seen as one of the most substantive interventions by a senior business figure into xenophobic crisis currently plaguing South Africa.

Delivered during the funeral service of Zimbabwean-born activist and public servant, Thokozani Damasane, Jonas’ words have sparked a wave of discussion across South African civil society.

“I was thinking, what is home to Damasane?” he said. “Because I understand, and I understood very early in life, that home is where humanity is. Home is about humanness. It is about the good of humanity and striving for the good of humanity.”

Thokozani Damasane was born and educated in Zimbabwe before relocating to South Africa during the post-apartheid transition period. Jonas described him as arriving “as an outcast” into a country still finding its post-liberation footing – and choosing, nonetheless, to commit himself entirely to its struggles and its people.

“He immersed himself deeply into the struggles, into the pains of South Africans, and he became one of us,” Jonas said.

“In Damasane’s strength, our strength as South Africa and South Africans is reflected. And in his weaknesses, our own weaknesses are reflected.”

Speaking further, Jonas blamed the state for the failure being witnessed, emphasising that if foreigners leave South Africa today, the country’s problems will still persist.

“Foreigners can leave tomorrow – inequality will be with us,” he told the congregation.

“Foreigners will leave tomorrow – unemployment will be with us. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our police will remain corrupt. Foreigners will leave tomorrow – our politicians will still be concerned with one thing: being elected and re-elected.

“The problem is the failure of the state. The State doesn’t manage immigration. It doesn’t manage its borders. It doesn’t enforce
law enforcement. It doesn’t manage education. What are you expecting?”

Jonas argued that this failure created fertile ground for political manipulation. “When people feel the burn, they become vulnerable to politicians whose sole purpose is to be elected and re-elected. Some of them have no credibility whatsoever. But they lead marches and tell our people that the problem is not us – it is foreigners.”

Jonas recounted a conversation he had witnessed between Damasane and a young man who had challenged the right of foreigners to be in South Africa. Damasane’s response, Jonas said, had stayed with him ever since.

“Damasane said to this guy: Just wait fifteen or twenty years. You will also want to leave your country.”

Jonas told mourners those words now carry a weight Damasane may not have anticipated. “As I stand up today, I look at South Africa. The level of oppression and inequality, the level of exclusion of our people, the level of corruption, the betrayal of the dream of liberation – those words of Damasane ring very loud in my ears.”

South Africa is nothing without Africa

Jonas closed with a call for what he described as a return to “national consciousness” – one rooted in continental solidarity and economic interdependence rather than ethnic exclusion.

“We are a nation embedded in Africa,” he said. “And without Africa, our growth as a country – economically – our fortune is intertwined with the growth of Africa. South Africa is nothing without Africa. And Africa is nothing without South Africa.”

He also reframed the question of legacy and identity for Damasane’s children, who were present. “Sometimes this thing called meritocracy is measured in wealth. No. It is values, it is principles, it is integrity. And your father had all of that.”

“We cannot judge people by their origin,” he told mourners. “We cannot determine the legal status of people by their origin.”

Headline

NDC Rejects Court Ruling on Party’s Registration, Heads to Appeal Court

Published

3 days ago

June 27, 2026

Eric

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Friday, vowed to challenge the judgment nullifying its registration by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), insisting that it would exercise its constitutional right of appeal.

Reacting to the ruling on Thursday, the party’s spokesman, Osa Director, said the NDC was still awaiting the certified copy of the judgment before making a comprehensive statement on the court’s decision.

He, however, confirmed that the party had resolved to head to the appellate court.

“We are still waiting to obtain a copy of the judgment. After reading the comprehensive judgment, we will make a detailed statement,” he said.

The spokesman added: “For now, what is certain is that we will exercise our right of appeal.”

Insisting that the party would challenge the ruling, he said: “It is our constitutional right to appeal, and we intend to exercise that right.”

When asked specifically whether the NDC would appeal the judgment voiding its registration, the spokesman replied: “Yes, the party will appeal the case.”

The party’s reaction came shortly after a Federal High Court sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State, in a judgement that nullified its registration by INEC, a development that could have significant implications for the NDC’s participation in the country’s political process ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The NDC, however, maintained that it would refrain from making further comments on the substance of the judgment until it had studied the full text of the court’s decision.

The party’s planned appeal is expected to set the stage for a fresh legal battle over its status and continued existence as a registered political party.