At NBA Conference, Tinubu Vows to Protect Rule of Law, Tolerate Dissenting Voices

*Okonjo-Iweala expresses concern about slow pace of Nigeria’s development 

*Lagos has more women in judiciary than any other state, says Sanwo-Olu

Deji Elumoye, Alex Enumah in Abuja and Wale Igbintade in Lagos 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has vowed to keep promoting the rule of law, adhere to the principles of separation of powers, and tolerate dissenting views within the ambit of the laws of Nigeria.

Tinubu said his administration had made steady progress in the effort to rebuild the country through legal and judicial reforms.

The president spoke yesterday in Lagos, when he declared open the annual general conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

In her keynote address at the conference, titled, “A Social Contract for Nigeria’s Future,”

Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said efforts must be made to accelerate national growth and development, stressing that Nigeria has all it takes to succeed.

The host governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, highlighted his administration’s emphasis on security of life and property. Sanwo-Olu stressed that his state had the highest number of female judicial officers in the country.

Tinubu, who was represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, acknowledged NBA’s sterling history of championing democratic ideals, as well as promoting the rule of law.

“Let me reassure you all that this administration will continue to promote the rule of law, adherence to the principles of separation of powers and tolerance of dissent within the bounds of the law,” he declared.

Tinubu implored Nigerian lawyers and other citizens to join hands with his administration in resolutely working towards a Nigeria of everybody’s dreams, saying the country cannot continue to toe the path threaded in the past if it must achieve sustainable development.

He assured that though difficult decisions to change the way things were done in the past would produce hard results, his administration’s policies and actions would bring relief to Nigerians very soon.

The president stated, “Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, while I acknowledge the temporal existence of some daunting challenges besetting us as a nation, I would like to urge you all not to adopt a defeatist approach; rather, we should remain resolute in working for a country of our dreams.

“It is obvious that Nigeria as a nation cannot continue to sojourn on the trajectory of the past if we must be assured of sustainable development; hence, the need to sanitise the Augean stable and chart a proper course of rebuilding the nation.

“I acknowledge that altering the status quo requires difficult decisions and changes, which also inevitably come with hard outcomes. However, I am confident that this is a passing phase and our policies and actions, as an administration, are bound to usher in relief in no distant time.” 

Tinubu thanked the Supreme Court for consistently sustaining good governance and the tenets of democracy in Nigeria, citing the recent verdict of the highest court in the land, which granted financial autonomy to the local government councils.

He stated that the judgement “will spur the much-desired developments at the grassroots level”. He also expressed confidence “that more of such strategic and reform-oriented legal interventions will be achieved” by the third arm of government.

The president reiterated his administration’s commitment to making the welfare of the judiciary a top priority.

He stated, “I want to assure the learned members of the Bench and the Bar that this government will continue to accord top priority to the welfare of the judiciary to ease avoidable burden on their Lordships and speed up the adjudicatory process, which is a sine qua non for social order and economic development.

“It is, therefore, my fervent expectation that the NBA would provide the appropriate legal compass for all persons, government, and businesses towards rebuilding our dear nation.”

Tinubu outlined the efforts being made by his administration to reform the judiciary, including signing the Judicial Office Holders (Salaries and Allowances) Act 2024, leading to a 300 per cent increase in the remuneration of judicial officers, and putting in place the full complement of Justices of the Supreme Court.

The president disclosed that his administration “is also working on the construction of a permanent and befitting edifice for the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal”.

He said, “Furthermore, provisions are being made to provide conducive accommodation for federal judicial officers within the Federal Capital Territory. All these are part of measures to boost the independence, welfare, and capacity of the judiciary.”

He applauded the theme, “Pressing Forward: A National Posture for Rebuilding Nigeria,” chosen by NBA for this year’s annual national conference.

Tinubu also commended the association for always being part of “the vanguard for initiating and driving reforms to stimulate economic growth and development”.

On her part, Okonjo-Iweala said efforts must be made towards accelerating growth and development, as Nigeria has all it takes to succeed.

The former Nigerian finance minister as well as first woman and first African to lead the WTO regretted that Nigeria was not progressing as much as it should in its over 60 years of existence.

“Strong macro-economic reforms is something we need in Nigeria. Oil has dominated Nigerian exports but we must diversify to agricultural and solid minerals exports,” she added.

Lamenting the lack of policy consistency, which, according to her, had also affected the growth of the country, Okonjo-Iweala said to minimise the volatility of inconsistent policies, Nigeria needed a social contract. She stressed that achieving a social contract involved the security of lives and national assets.

She said an organisation like the NBA had a role in achieving a social contract.

Okonjo-Iweala stated, “We need a new social contract to achieve growth in our country. My conviction on the need for a social contract is based on the need to tolerate different political parties and past administrations that preceded any administration in power.”

Sanwo-Olu maintained that the security of life and property was a cardinal part of the social contract.

Urging the judiciary to strengthen the country’s electoral process, he assured that Lagos was ready to take on the social contract, even as he said for five years, he had not taken a kobo from the local government treasury.

The governor said, “And we have demonstrated that even in the legal profession that all of you are part of us. We have more women in our judiciary consistently than any other part of the country and we kept faith in that.”

Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, said he would continue to recognise and work with all partners to improve on the country’s justice delivery system. 

Fagbemi recalled that at his inauguration last year, one of his key deliverables was a commitment to enable a framework for collaboration between the justice ministry, the judiciary, and NBA.

He stated, “I am pleased to report that we have made substantial progress in this area. For the first time in the history of Nigeria, a collaborative National Justice Summit was convened by the Federal Ministry of Justice, National Judicial Council, and the Nigerian Bar Association. 

“What in my humble view is even more noteworthy is the statement of future activities presented in the format of a communique and signed by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association and myself. 

“Going forward, these three institutions now have a framework and a joint agenda for cooperation, collaboration and commitment on Justice Sector Reform. I look forward to the continuous pursuit of this agenda by both the acting Chief Justice of Nigeria and the incoming President of the Nigerian Bar Association.”

Fagbemi disclosed that as part of efforts to reform the justice sector, the Tinubu administration had moved swiftly in approving befitting salary and allowances for judicial officers in Nigeria.

He, however, stated that improved remuneration was not the beginning and the end of the administration’s intervention in the judiciary. The minister added that the government was keen to work with stakeholders to ensure that other issues crucial to strengthening the capacity of the judiciary were dealt with expeditiously. 

Human rights advocates and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Femi Falana, challenged lawyers in the country to adopt stern measures to end illegal arrest and detention of innocent citizens by the police and other law enforcement agencies in the country.

While welcoming Nigerian lawyers to Lagos for the NBA 2024 annual conference, Falana said, “The NBA should take advantage of the conference to put in place a comprehensive mechanism for the implementation of the Administration of Police Establishment Act and Criminal Justice Act, which has been adopted by all the 36 states of the federation.”

He lamented that even though both laws had abolished arrest and detention of citizens for civil wrong and breach of contract and made provisions for legal representation of suspects in police stations, conditional or unconditional bail and humane treatment of suspects, the police and other law enforcement agencies had continued to breach the fundamental rights of suspects to personal liberty, dignity of the person and fair hearing.

He urged NBA to direct the members of the Human Rights Committee of its 128 branches to accompany Chief Magistrates during the monthly visits to all police stations in the country. 

Earlier, in his welcome address, President of NBA, Mr. Yakubu Maikyau (SAN), assured the gathering that the Bar would continue to work for the course of justice in Nigeria. Maikyau said the respect the bar had was a symbol of freedom in the county.

“The bar is represented primarily by the need to serve justice to the people. Our existence as a people is intricately connected to our responsibility as the defenders of the people,” he said.

Maikyau urged lawyers to ensure that they discharged their duties to the people of Nigeria with determination, like the resilience of an eagle, and eschew corruption at all levels.