You’ve embraced injustice, El-Rufai tells NBA after he’s dropped as speaker at planned conference

The governor of Kaduna State, Nasir El-Rufai has accused the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) of embracing injustice, unfairness and an indifference to the rule of law.

He stated this in response to the legal body’s decision to delete his name from among speakers for its 2020 annual conference, slated to hold from August 24-26, 2020.

Following opposition by lawyers and other concerned groups against El-Rufai’s inclusion among those to speak at the annual conference, the NBA on Thursday withdrew its invitation extended to the governor.

In a tweet on its Twitter handle, @NigBarAssoc., said that the decision to withdraw El-Rufai’s invitation to the conference was taken during one of its meetings.

However, a statement on Thursday by El-Rufai, through his special adviser, Muyiwa Adekeye in response to the NBA’s decision read:

“When lawyer friends requested Malam Nasir El-Rufai to accept the invitation of the NBA to participate in a panel discussion on national identity, he accepted as part of his commitment to having a national conversation and the evolution of a national consensus.

“NBA platform or not, these worthy conversations must continue. He will continue to make his voice heard on the things our country needs to do for its progress.

“While the NBA has the right to determine who speaks at its event, El-Rufai says he did not seek the lawyers’ platform and do not see the development as enough reason to be agitated.

“El-Rufai believes with happenings in the lead up to the NBA’s decision, there is a need to clear the air just as he accused the lawyers’ body of following what he described as a “one-sided narrative.”

“The NBA leadership, as far as the Kaduna leader is concerned, have by removing him as a speaker in the conference, embraced injustice, unfairness and an indifference to the rule of law.

“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.”

The statement further said that “it bears noting that in its response to pressure, the NBA leadership has signalled an unfortunate embrace of injustice, unfairness, absence of fair hearing and total disregard for the rule of law.”

Noting that there were several defamatory statements in the petition that led to his withdrawal from the conference, the statement said, such statements remained matters that would be treated differently.