A Human rights group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has called on the Nigerian Bar Association to probe Senate President Bukola Saraki’s lawyers, who walked out on the Justice Danladi Umar-led Code of Conduct Tribunal during today’s proceedings.
The group called on the NBA to investigate and punish the senior advocates for professional misconduct, saying their action offended “the basic rule that lawyers should act with integrity and professionalism, maintaining his or her overarching responsibility to ensure civil conduct.”
SERAP stated this in a statement by its Executive Director, Adetokubbo Mumuni.
As stated by SERAP, by walking out on the CCT, Saraki’s lawyers put the administration of justice and public confidence in the judiciary at risk.
The statement read in part: “Walking out on the Code of Conduct Tribunal for simply and correctly applying section 305(e) of the newly enacted Administration of Criminal Justice Act is disrespectful. It offends the basic rule that lawyers should act with integrity and professionalism, maintaining his or her overarching responsibility to ensure civil conduct.>
“SERAP believes that a lawyer’s duty to the court is a fundamental obligation that defines a lawyer’s role within the adversarial system.
“Lawyers should, at all times, act to promote the rule of law and the public confidence in the administration of justice and not to be seen to undermine it or facilitate an infringement of the law.
“Senior lawyers, especially, have a responsibility to act as the guardians of the rule of law by contributing to a strong judicial and legal system which is crucial to a well-functioning democracy and which in turn is necessary to satisfactorily prevent and combat years of official corruption in the country.
“If at all Saraki’s lawyers are dissatisfied with the ruling of the tribunal, there are laid down processes that they should have followed to demonstrate their role as officers in the temple of justice rather than granting media interviews and liberally abusing the tribunal.
“We urge the NBA to urgently investigate what exactly happened and to punish any professional misconduct that may have occurred.”