Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, has frowned at the decision by the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to withdraw the earlier invitation extended to him to speak at this year’s NBA conference describing it as “unfortunate embrace of injustice”.
The governor’s reaction to the withdrawal of the invitation was contained in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Mr. Muyiwa Adekeye, on Thursday.
The NBA withdrew the invitation following protests by some lawyers who canvassed the unsuitability of el-Rufai for the honour of addressing the body of attorneys.
But, el-Rufai in the statement, insisted that he will continue to offer his opinions on critical issues in the country, adding that his voice will not be silenced.
“While the decision about who speaks at its event is clearly the NBA’s, Mallam el-Rufai wishes to make clear that he did not seek the platform and is not agitated that he has one less speaking engagement.
“However, the circumstances of the last few days warrant some comments. That a professional organisation has elected to endorse a one-sided narrative on a profound national issue is something that its members may wish to reflect upon.
“For an association, whose bread and butter is about justice, to make a ruling based on the stridency of people who lampoon judicial processes against certain individuals without hearing the other side is odd. It bears noting that in its response to pressure, the NBA leadership has signaled an unfortunate embrace of injustice, unfairness, absence of fair hearing and total disregard for the rule of law,” the statement read.