A group of lawyers has kicked at the choice of the Kaduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, as guest speaker at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) annual conference.
The convener of the group, Silas Onu, in a petition to Koyinsola Ajayi, chairman of the technical committee on the NBA conference planning, the lawyers described the invitation as a “reward for misrule.”
The group which calls itself Open Bar Initiative said the governor “represents the very anti-thesis of what we profess to defend.” According to it, in addition to governing a state that has been described as “the most dangerous state in the country in 2020, el-Rufai has on several occasions abused the rights of Nigerians”.
It added that “a major focus of the intolerance of Mallam el-Rufai has been lawyers and the legal profession,” saying, in 2016, the governor allegedly threatened to abduct Gloria Ballason, a lawyer, “because she had criticised him in a news article.”
They observed that while speaking at the conference may be argued as an opportunity for el-Rufai to be examined by the participants, lawyers who have criticised him “have suffered untold persecution” from the governor.
“As Governor, Mallam el-Rufai has shown no regard for the rule of law, for human rights or for human beings. He has been reckless in his utterances, hubristic in his outlook and irresponsible with power. Offering him the platform of the NBA Annual General Conference 2020 is reward for misrule.”
