Several Nigerian lawyers in the last few days have taken into online mediums to criticize the invitation of the governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir
Several Nigerian lawyers in the last few days have taken into online mediums to criticize the invitation of the governor of Kaduna State, Malam Nasir El Rufai as a speaker at 60th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
The conference is scheduled to hold between August 26, and 29, 2020. The theme of the conference is, ‘A United Nigeria; The Myths and The Next Generation.’
The protest against El-Rufai invitation may not be unconnected with the mass killings of indigenes of Southern Kaduna which many people and organisations, including the Christian Association of Nigeria(CAN), has described as a genocide.
Many lawyers vowed not to attend the virtual conference, the first of its kind in the history of the association. They accused El-Rufai of showing blatant disregard for the rule of law and constitutional liberties. They formed a campaign under #CancelElRufai2020.
A non governmental organization, Space For Change have severally accused the governor of dictatorship. “On October 26, 2016, Dr John Dan Fulani, public commentator and lecturer at the Kaduna State University, was arrested and detained for 13 days. His offense: he made a Facebook post criticizing the government of Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna State.
A reporter with a local newspaper, for publishing a story claiming the governor had assets worth billions of Naira, was equally detained for 13 days. Luka Binniyat, a Kaduna-based Vanguard journalist, published reports on the recent Southern Kaduna killings. For so doing, he was constantly harassed by agents of the state government, and was even tagged “a threat to the security of the state” by a media aide to the governor.
Rights activist, Gloria Ballason’s radio programme was shut down and reassigned to another person, never mind she owned the intellectual property rights. The state government had found the programme “troubling and upsetting.”
The group further stated: “A recent survey by a non-governmental organization, Spaces for Change, assessing freedom of expression within the Kaduna civic space, reports gross abuses. All 13 civil society actors interviewed bemoaned incessant government harassments and especially social media muffling. The social media invites more intimidation for its more democratic nature, its dynamic of spread.
“While the conventional media can be silent to ensure its survival from government patronage, the social media, like el-Rufai’s Twitter account, is sustained by cheap, powerful clicks. It is depressing that the governor, an otherwise shining example in brilliant and intellectual capital idealized for Nigerian leadership, is the one manning the dark work of blighting expression. Being accused, sometimes plausibly, of Fulani sectionalism, is bad enough.
“Our request is simple. We don’t want part of our 100Million naira be used to entertain someone that have no regard for what the association seek to promote. Do it now. #CancelElRufai2020
“Imagine same El-Rufai who has being accused of being the grand master of terrorism in Nigeria by many witnesses. That same grand master of terrorism in Nigeria is invited to speak #NBAAGC2020 openly.
#ArrestElRufai instead
#NBARemoveElrufaiNow
#cancelElRufai2020
“The President of the @NigBarAssoc and the Conference Planning Coonmittee should not be tone deaf. The NBA-ABC is a gathering of lawyers for lawyers. If Nigerian lawyers say they do not want Governor @elrufai at their Conference then the organisers should #CancelElRufai2020”
