NBA condemns alleged judicial bullying, demands release of detained lawyers
The Nigerian Bar Association has condemned what it calls a growing pattern of judicial overreach and intimidation of lawyers, following reports of judges ordering the detention of legal practitioners in controversial circumstances in Rivers State and Abuja. NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe said the association received reports from a Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt, where Justice Chinwendu Nwogu allegedly convicted and ordered the detention of defence counsel Mrs Lovinah Ugbana Benjamin for contempt after delivering judgment in Suit No. PHC/301/2016, Bodiseowei Zidougha v. Chief of Naval Staff and others. According to the NBA, the judge claimed the naval lawyer committed contempt in the face of the court by making false statements and imputations against the court in her written address. The association described the action as high handed and warned that such use of contempt powers undermines the […]