A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Dr. Muritala Abdul-Rasheed, has called for the immediate resignation of the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Afam Osigwe (SAN), over the alleged $2,000 payments made to selected members during the body’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria made the demand in an opinion piece he made available to The Eagle Online on Monday.
He described the development as a “systemic erosion of trust” within the Bar.
Abdul-Rasheed wrote: “It has now been widely reported, and remains uncontroverted, that at the NEC meeting held in Maiduguri, the Government of Borno State presented each Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in attendance with the sum of $2,000 described as ‘Attendance Fee.’”
He said the payment, allegedly made only to SANs and not other delegates, raised “serious questions about motive, propriety, and fairness”.
He added: “First, there is no provision, tradition, or recognised practice within the NBA that permits a third party, especially a state government, to pay ‘attendance fees’ to selected categories of lawyers attending a statutory meeting of the Bar.”
Abdul-Rasheed added that NBA policy requires “full disclosure” of gifts or financial benefits received in connection with official activities and mandates that such funds be remitted into the association’s coffers.
“From that moment in 2009, a clear and binding policy emerged within the NBA that all gifts received in the course of official assignments must be fully disclosed and wholly remitted to the Association’s purse,” he wrote, referencing a past precedent.
He questioned why the alleged payment was made in foreign currency.
He asked: “Why was the gift denominated in foreign currency?
“Is the dollar Nigeria’s national currency?
“Was such an expenditure captured in the Borno State Appropriation Law?”
Describing the silence of the NBA leadership as troubling, Abdul-Rasheed wrote: “Yet, to date, no formal disclosure has been made by the leadership of the NBA, and there is no evidence that these funds have been remitted into the Association’s treasury.
“This silence is deafening.”
The SAN said the issue went beyond an isolated incident.
“When two separate incidents within a short tenure exhibit the same pattern of non-disclosure and post-factum explanation, the issue ceases to be incidental and becomes systemic,” he stated, referencing a separate report of undisclosed financial support for a previous Annual General Conference.
He further alleged that the NBA president approached a private individual for conference support, adding that “the details of the funds received, if any, remain undisclosed to the Bar.”
Abdul-Rasheed said the cumulative issues reflected a troubling pattern.
He added in the opinion article: “A President who openly declares that he cannot be neutral in an election he is expected to oversee in trust; A President who publicly disparages the integrity of the very profession he leads.
“A President under whose watch undisclosed financial benefits have been received from external sources.
“A President who has failed to provide transparent, proactive disclosure on matters touching on the finances and integrity of the Association.
“This is not merely a series of isolated missteps. It is a consistent pattern inconsistent with the ethical expectations of the office.”
Abdul-Rasheed insisted that resignation was the only honourable option.
“I therefore reiterate, unequivocally, that the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mazi Afam Osigwe (SAN), should immediately resign from office in the interest of preserving the integrity of the Bar,” he stated.
He also called on those who allegedly received the $2,000 payments to refund the money.
He added: “All individuals who received any form of payment or gift at the Maiduguri NEC, regardless of status, rank, or title, should immediately refund such monies to the NBA treasury.
“Full disclosure of all sums received, disbursed, or retained in connection with official NBA activities must be made public to members without delay.”
The SAN urged the Board of Trustees, Body of Benchers, Body of Past Presidents, and Attorney-General of the Federation to intervene.
Abdul-Rasheed said: “In conclusion, this is a defining moment for the Nigerian Bar Association.
“We must decide whether the Bar will continue to speak with moral authority on issues of corruption, governance, and the rule of law, or whether it will descend into the very practices it condemns.
“The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe (SAN), must resign.
“If he does not, he must be removed.
“Anything less would amount to a betrayal of the values the Bar claims to uphold.”
