Alegeh (SAN)
When the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), introduced the Stamp and Seal project, aimed at curbing the rising cases of fake lawyers in the system, not many believed in its feasibility. But the NBA president, Austin Alegeh (SAN), said over 1000 fake lawyers have been discovered through the process. He also spoke on other topical national issues in this interview with select journalists. JOSEPH ONYEKWERE was there.
The Human Rights Commission set up a committee to review all anti human rights laws. What areas would you advise they look at?
We must understand the functions of the Commission. The Human Rights Commission was basically set up to protect human rights and to ensure that all our laws are created to respect human rights. So when the Commission now creates a committee to look at legislations, you start asking what their function is as a Commission. The committee is being giving principal function of the Commission. When any law is being proposed, it is their job to look at how it observes the protection of human rights at all levels. Are they saying that they have not been doing that? We must not take a fire brigade approach to ensure that human rights are enthroned. Even if this committee discovers those laws that does not ensure that human rights are protected, what then happens? You then need to go for legislative amendment. I admire the great work that the Commission is doing, but they need to be proactive. It is easier to ensure that those legislations don’t get to be laws, than to wait till the end of the day before trying to get the law back to the assembly to amend.
Your administration just impaneled a committee of the NBA to go and investigate human rights violation in the North Eastern part of the country, specifically in Maiduguri. Why did you choose to embark on such dangerous journey?
We are not going to investigate human rights violation. There has been talks from amnesty and every person that our troops in trying to quell insurgency by Boko Haram is committing the violation of human rights. Amnesty and human rights commission said they have investigated. Our duty is to sensitize the military. So we are not having investigative foray into Maiduguri. We are going to have a human rights workshop with the military, where the former attorney general of the federation and minister of defence, Adetokunbo Kayode (SAN) will present a paper, trying to highlight what they have to do. We want to have a collaborative effort with our military. There are rules of engagement, even in war situations. Our duty is to sensitive the military. What we want to do is to let those who are leading them to know what they can do in war situation and what they cannot do. Sensitization is critical. If we all investigate and investigate and nobody has told them this is the minimum of standard expected of you, in a war situation, then we will be doing the same thing that amnesty has done. To our own risk, we want to engage them constructively. Additionally, we are working with the military command to create response team. We are going to set up NBA monitoring team. One thing is to tell them what to do, but another is to monitor them to be sure they are doing it. Conversely, we would like the military to provide us with numbers so that the soldiers can easily be identified. But from my interactions with the military, you will discover that these are perfect gentlemen. They are not people interested in abusing human rights but are preoccupied with how to quell the insurgency. We have members in those Branches such as Damaturu, Maiduguri, Gombe, Wukari, Mubi. They live there and pay their practicing fees. It is from that, that we raise funds to build our secretariat. So how will it lie in our mouth to say the places are too dangerous for us to go? But we must show that we love our people that we have not abandoned them. We love our country too and must ensure that every part of Nigeria remains.
Will foreign countries not use this as an excuse to deny us the opportunity of buying arms?
We feel that as a group in NBA our task should not be to complain but should be to do something positive to affect the situation and not to complain. Yes, everybody is complaining, but...
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