President of NBA says bad eggs in judiciary will be fished out, punished

The President of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA, Abubakar Mahmud, said on Thursday that the association was working towards restoring the integrity of the judiciary and legal profession.

Mr. Mahmud made this known on the sidelines of the first National Executive Committee Meeting of the Bar, held in Minna.

“We acknowledge that there are problems affecting the Nigerian society and it’s institutions, including the institution of the judiciary.

“But I want to assure you that we are on top of the situation as we are working to rescue and better the integrity of the legal profession and judiciary,” he said

He stressed that allegations of corruption against some members of the Bar and the Bench should not undermine the significant contribution of the judiciary to nation building‎.

“The current situation should not underrate the contribution that the legal profession and judiciary are making.

“A few bad eggs in the system should not lead to a total condemnation of the institution of the judiciary”, he added.

On Federal Government’s prosecution of members of the Bar accused of corruption, Mr. Mahmud said the NBA would follow up with its own disciplinary processes if the allegations were established at the end of the day‎.

According to him, the legal profession and the judiciary still enjoy enormous goodwill and respect of Nigerians despite‎ the recent development.

He stated that the NBA was willing to cooperate with the Federal Government in fishing out corrupt elements, adding that the war on corruption should be done in accordance with due process.

[NAN]