Austin Pade, Yenagoa
The directive of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to its members to boycott the courts to protest the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onoghen, grounded activities in courts in Bayelsa State, on Tuesday.
The Nigerian Xpress checked at some courts in Yenagoa indicated that lawyers complied with the directive, a development that made it impossible for judges to treat any case.
Members of the NBA executives were seen monitoring the compliance at the state high courts as well as the Federal High Court in Onopa area of Yenagoa.
Some litigants whose cases were slated for hearing today were disappointed to hear of the development and turned back from the courts.
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“I had expected to see my lawyer here today haven given him the mandatory transport cost few days ago, it was only when I called me that he informed me of the position of the NBA,” a litigant said.
Mrs Dise Ogbise-Ehisere, Chairman of Sagbama Branch of NBA said in a telephone chat that lawyers in the two branches of NBA in Bayelsa, complied with the directive of the National leadership of NBA.
“We complied to the directive of National Executive Council (NEC) of NBA fully in Bayelsa on Tuesday being the first day and we shall continue tomorrow.
“No court sat today in the two branches of NBA in Bayelsa because we set up a monitoring committee that went round all the courts.
“Their mission was to ensure that lawyers who did not get the notice and come to courts would be informed, some judges who heard of it did not turn up.
“The feedback is that compliance was total, I was at the NEC when the decision to boycott the court was taken and I just came back to ensure compliance.
“After tomorrow, if the CJN is not reinstated, we shall await further directives from the national leadership of NBA,” Ogbise-Ehisere said.