The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe, has urged the Chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ola Olukoyede, not to portray all lawyers as criminals.
The newly elected president made this known on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily.
“I’ll be the first to admit that some of our colleagues do not always do the right thing. But I will not agree to a situation whereby the impression will be given that all lawyers are criminals,” he said.
“It is like saying because buildings collapse and kill people, all engineers are bad or because a few doctors perform abortion procedures unlawfully, that all doctors are murderers,” Osigwe said on the breakfast show.
‘Very Wrong’
Olukoyede drew the ire of the NBA on November 21st when he alleged that lawyers play a major role in enabling financial fraud in the country.
The NBA then called on the EFCC chairman to see to it that allegations made against any individual, including lawyers, should be supported by accurate evidence and addressed through due process.
While Osigwe complimented the hard work and diligence of the EFCC boss who once worked as a lawyer at a law firm owned by former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, he faulted his comment about lawyers.
“He (Olukoyede) is one of us, and we’re very proud of the work he is doing as the chairman of the EFCC. But it would be wrong for me to suggest that because he is doing that work, and maybe a few EFCC officers are doing what the law says they should not do, that he too is a criminal. That will be very wrong.”
The NBA chief believes lawyers played a crucial role in EFCC’s recent successes. He attributed this to the work being done by lawyers who go to court to prosecute the offenders.
As such, he argued, care must be taken not to paint every lawyer with the same brush.
Channelstv
