NBA Conference: Disinvite Tony Blair, Obasanjo, and Wike, Muslim Lawyers demand

The Muslim Lawyers Association of Nigeria (MULAN) has indicted the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) of “selective justice and a slant application of the rule of law” concerning its removal of Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, from the speakers’ list of its forthcoming Annual General Conference.

The group requested that the NBA either “cancel the allotted time which Mallam El-Rufai was to talk, or disinvite any speaker(s) who has a record of human right infringement and disregard for the standard of law or has been arraigned in anyplace for demonstrations of war or other abhorrent act.”

According to Premium Times, MULAN made its position known through a statement titled “Selective Justice is an Injustice, Human Rights and Rule of Law are Colour Blind: Awakening Call to the Nigerian Bar Association,” Daily Times gathered

The Muslim lawyers said the NBA was unfair with heir decision as “there are more awful violators of Human Rights and the rule of law both locally and universally that’ll be speaking at the conference.”

READ ALSO: NBA unfair to me, withdrawal had political undertone – El-Rufai

It alleged that the NBA president took the decision without consulting with the Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) or weigh the unfortunate consequence of the decision.

The group alleged that the decision taken by the NBA authority to disinvite him is to abstain from getting the NBA involved in the agitation that followed the invitation instead of judging by the allegations levelled against him.

“This is because some of the local and international figures, having same or worse credentials in stirring controversies than the target, who are Speakers at the AGC were left untouched.”

MULAN said if NBA wants to live up to its mantra as indicated by the dis-invitation of Mr. El-Rufai, it should also honour the petition sent to its Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) on August 23 by the Justice Concerned Lawyers’ Forum (JCL), demanding that “former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Governor Nyesom Wike should be disinvited as Speakers at the Conference.

“The Forum chronicled a barrage of Human Rights violations and disrespect for the rule of law, including disobedience to Supreme Court order, perpetrated by the duo, especially the former. The Forum, like many other groups and branches of the Bar, threatened a boycott of the Conference if her demands are not met.”

The Muslim lawyers further demanded that, using the standard by which Mr. El-Rufai was disinvited, “Tony Blair, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom should also be on the list of Speaker to delist.”

It said Mr Blair’s country “has sufficiently indicted him in Sir John Chilcot’s Iraq Inquiry Report (1House o Commons (UK), “The Report of the Iraq Inquiry”, (UK: Controller of Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 2016) in which he was said to have ‘deliberately exacerbated the threat posed by Saddam Hussein when there was no imminent threat’.

“He did that to justify his joining the USA in attacking Iraq and killing millions of innocent people.”

MULAN said dis-inviting the three mentioned personalities to speak at the NBA Conference would do a great deal of damage control and show the whole World watching the ensuing drama that in the NBA, the rule of law and Human Rights are colour blind and know no class, tribe or religious affiliation.

MULAN said the way NBA leadership handles the issues it raised in the next few hours would determine the level of participation of a substantial number of members.

“Our invited Speakers, especially the international ones like Brian Speers (President of Commonwealth Lawyers Association), Steven Richman (American Bar Association) amongst others, would also be observing how we handle the issues bordering on Human rights, freedom of speech and the rule of law.

“The integrity crisis is brewing up, thereby, especially if they found substance in the complaints of those calling for non-discriminatory justice and colour blind human rights, the rule of law application may determine their participation too.”