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Lastest News Nigeria, Politics, Business, Sport, Interview
The five branches of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Imo State have started a three-day court boycott in response to the death of a Customary Court judge, Nnaemeka Ugboma, last week. They are doing this to demand safety for the legal community, the bar, and litigants.
On Thursday, February 2, 200e, Ugboma, an Oguta native, was shot dead after being pulled from a court proceeding.
All in Imo State, the NBA has branches in Owerri, Mbaise, Etiti/Mbano, Orlu, and Okigwe.
The NBA’s Owerri branch’s publicity secretary, Daniel Odiba, informed the membership that the boycott is in effect from Monday to Wednesday.
The notice stated that on Tuesday, “all the attorneys in Imo State will participate in a coordinated peaceful protest march from the Bar Centre to the Magistrate Court Complex on Orlu Road in Owerri, to the Government House, and finally to the Police Headquarters. The departure time is 10:00.
From the State’s Police Commissioner, Mohammed Ahmed Barde, the attorneys have urged “an immediate and complete inquiry into the circumstances leading to the regrettable tragedy and to guarantee that the criminals are identified and made to face the full weight of the law.”
Despite the sensitive role that courts play in society, the lawyers urged the Imo State government to immediately ensure “security in and around all Imo State courts, which have remained porous.
“The Imo Bar resolutely opposes attempts to weaken the judiciary and the legal profession and induce fear in the conduct of judicial procedures, in accordance with the national body of the NBA, ably led by Y.C. Maikyau, OON, SAN. In a joint statement from the five branch chairmen, the lawyers asked that the public understand that judges and lawyers are not their foes nor adversaries; they merely assist in the administration of justice.
Some plaintiffs, who denounced the judge’s murder, bemoaned the boycott by the attorneys, claiming the order came after they had already paid the day’s appearance costs.
