Following an online protest by some Nigerian lawyers, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has withdrawn its invitation to Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State to speak at its annual conference.
Recall that some lawyers under the aegis of Open Bar Initiative described had taken to social media protesting the nomination of Mr El-Rufai as a guest speaker at the first virtual conference of the NBA slated for August 26 to 29.
Some of the lawyers even went to the extent of deregistering themselves from attending the conference, after accusing the governor of opposing the Rule of Law in his state.
Speakers at the event include the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike; Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; Chief Justice of Nigeria, Tanko Mohammed.
Other key speakers include former President Olusegun Obasanjo; former Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu; Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, CLA, Brian Speers, and Director of Training at the Judicial Institute for Africa; Hon Dame Linda,
However, emerging out of a meeting Thursday evening, the leadership of the association announced the cancellation of the governor’s invitation.
Writing on its Twitter handle, the NBA said: “The National Executive Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association at its ongoing meeting resolves that the invitation to the Kaduna State Governor, H.E. Nasir El-Rufai by the 2020 Annual General Conference Planning committee be withdrawn and the decision communicated to the Governor.”
Details later…
