
President Buhari yesterday appealed to lawyers in Nigeria to assist in
his administrations fight against corruption. President Buhari who made
the appeal while speaking at the 55th Annual General Conference of the
Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in Abuja, said corruption is the main
reason why Nigeria is where it is at the moment.
He stressed that in putting an end to the menace of corruption, Nigeria
needs lawyers that will never sacrifice the integrity of the legal
system to cover the misdeeds of their clients, no matter how lucrative
the brief may be.
"I am convinced that law, lawmakers, lawyers, law courts and the law
enforcement agencies all have pivotal responsibilities to discharge, if
the change we seek is ever to materialise.
This administration has taken on the challenge of improving security,
fighting corruption and revamping the economy, among many others.
The fight against corruption is a struggle for the restoration of law
and order. Corruption and impunity become widespread when disrespect for
law is allowed to thrive in society.
Disrespect for law thrives when people get away with all sorts of shady
deals and the court is unable to check them. Ability to manipulate and
frustrate the legal system is the crowning glory of the corrupt and, as
may be expected, this has left many legal practitioners and law courts
tainted in an ugly way.
In a gathering such as this, I do not need to elaborate on the way that
corruption and impunity have damaged our economy. But I would like to
say more on what, I believe, should be your role as legal practitioners,
in helping us back to the path of rectitude.
First, we need to make our courts functional and effective again. This
means that we must have lawyers who take the ethics of the profession
very seriously; lawyers who will not frustrate the course of justice,
even though they defend their clients with all legitimate means and
resources.
Nigeria needs ethical lawyers who always keep the end of justice in mind
and will never sacrifice the integrity of the legal system to cover the
misdeeds of their clients, no matter how lucrative the brief may be.”he
said