NBA Reacts To National Assembly Invasion

The Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), has finally reacted to the recent police invasion of the National Assembly.

Daily Trust reports that the President of NBA, Mr Augustine Alegeh, (SAN), on Saturday demanded the constitution of a judicial commission of enquiry into the incident.

According to him, what the police did by preventing lawmakers from gaining access to the National Assembly was a national disgrace, adding that those responsible for the act must be identified and punished.

The president, who made the remark while speaking at the annual dinner and award night of Ilorin NBA, described the action of the police as despicable, even as he lampooned the legislators for scaling through the fence.

“I told Professor Wole Soyinka that you cannot encourage people to be jumping the fence of National Assembly. It is a national disgrace. What the Police did in preventing lawmakers from entering their place of work is despicable and condemnable. I believe that we should set up a judicial panel to inquire and find out who actually did it and take drastic action against that person. But no matter how bad the police action was, jumping the fence, a man whose name has honourable before it, they would be looking at you as a jumper,” he said.

Alegeh, however, solicited for financial autonomy which he said is the bedrock of independent judiciary.

It would be recalled that the National Assembly was on Thursday November 20, invaded by the police who prevented many House of Representatives members including Speaker Aminu Tambuwal from entering the premises prompting many of them to jump the face.

The House of Reps meeting was aimed at discussing emergency rule extension in Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states.