BOSAN chides NBA president over comment on AGF

Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) has called on the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Yakubu Maikyau, to retract his allegation that BOSAN breached its rules by failing to recognise the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) as Chairman.

Maikyau reportedly made the statement in his address during a valedictory session in honour of a retired judge of the Federal High Court (FHC), Justice Ibrahim Buba, in Abuja on February 9, 2023.

But BOSAN, in a statement signed by its Secretary, Olumide Sofowora, expressed dismay, describing the criticism as unfair and unfounded.

According to the body, the NBA president has unrestricted access to the meetings of BOSAN, where he could have laid his complaints or conveyed it through a letter addressed directly to the body, rather than a public gathering.

BOSAN stated: “We are quite dismayed by the stinging criticism of the body, as these remarks are not only unfair but are quite unfounded. It is all the more disheartening that such criticisms were levelled at a public gathering when such complaints could very easily have been made at any of the meetings of the body or even conveyed through a letter addressed directly to the body.”

“The AGF, Abubakar Malami, has never complained to the body about his having been undermined in his role as Chairman. His interactions with the body, in fact, suggest the contrary. On one occasion when he attended the meeting in Lagos to address the body on the events surrounding the removal of Justice Walter Onnoghen as CJN, he actually presided over that meeting, though Prof. Ben Nwabueze was in attendance.”

BOSAN added that Malami was routinely served with notices of our meetings and always delighted to have him in attendance.