A convener of the New Nigeria Bar Association (NNBA), Abdulbasit Suleiman, has said that the proposed new NBA is not for only northern lawyers but a national association.
He added that over 5,000 lawyers spread across the nation have shown interest in joining the proposed body of lawyers. The intending members are from the North and seven Southern states, Suleiman said.
He said prospective members had been asked to compile lists in their branches across the country.
Those who have subscribed to NNBA membership, he added, included Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) from the North, though no SAN from the South had indicated interest.
Last Thursday, two Kaduna-based lawyers, Nuhu Ibrahim and Suleiman, announced the formation of the NNBA.
They said this followed the Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA’s) withdrawal of an Annual General Conference (AGC) speaking engagement it offered Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, among other grievances.
But the decision of the NBA National Executive Committee (NEC) was mostly opposed by Northern or Muslim lawyers who alleged political, ethnic and religious bias against the governor.
In a protest, some branches of the NBA in Bauchi, Dutse (Jigawa) and Kaduna (Muslim lawyers) boycotted the conference, which held last week.
But the immediate past president of the association, Paul Usoro, denied any other reason than those stated by NBA’s NEC for asking El-Rufai to stay away.
The NNBA promoters have notified the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) of their plans in an August 28 letter by Ibrahim as Convener 1 and Suleiman as Convener 2.
Suleiman told The Nation yesterday that the conveners had also written similar letters to the Attorneys General of the 36 states.
He added: “I never called for only lawyers from the North (to join NNBA); it was a general call. We are all lawyers, we are brothers. So, it is not restricted to Northern lawyers only.
“I am not a northerner; I am from Oyo State, Ogbomoso. Nuhu Ibrahim is from Kaduna, Southern Kaduna, to be precise.”
Suleiman explained that although he could not confirm the exact number of lawyers that had indicated interest to join NNBA, they were more than 5,000.
“I can’t give the exact figure. Some minutes ago, I received a call from Lagos, from some lawyers who said they were interested. So, I directed the lawyer to compile the list over there. So, we are still counting, and I can’t give you a particular figure now,” he said.
According to him, legal practitioners from at least four other Southwest states had indicated interest.