The Sole Administrator of the state, through the Ministry of Justice, sent a question to Cordelia Eke, the Chairman of the Port Harcourt Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), which the eight branches in Rivers State vehemently refused.
Ebiriemg Deresima, Director of Administration at the Rivers State Ministry of Justice, signed the April 25 question accusing Eke of “serious misconduct.”
She allegedly co-signed a statement denouncing the state government for what it called “severe and brazen acts of lawlessness and impunity,” which included allegedly tearing down democratic institutions and putting down nonviolent protests.
The inquiry further asserted that such behavior was deemed unsuitable for a federal official and in violation of the Public Service Rules.
The chairmen of the Rivers NBA chapters responded to the action in a unified press release on Monday, calling it an obvious attempt to intimidate Eke and other state legal professionals.
They emphasized that Eke wrote the aforementioned communication in her capacity as the elected Chairperson of the NBA’s Port Harcourt Branch, which gives her the authority to speak for the branch as a whole, rather than in her status as a public servant.
The statement claimed that the April 9 communique represented the agreement of all NBA branches in Rivers State and was the result of official NBA discussions.
The chairmen added that their stance aligned with the NBA’s national stance, which was delineated by Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, the Association’s president.
They continued by characterizing the inquiry as a component of the Sole Administrator’s larger effort to stifle dissenting opinions and undermine democratic values in the name of promoting peace.
The query to our brother Chairman is nothing but a ploy by which the Sole Administrator seeks to intimidate her into discontinuing her functions and duties as Chairman of NBA Port Harcourt Branch, and an attempt to intimidate lawyers in Rivers State and by extension other good people of Rivers State from standing up and speaking against executive rascality and impunity,” they said.
“It must be noted that the main objective of the Nigerian Bar Association is the promotion of the rule of law thus, as watchdog of the society, it is our duty to speak truth to authority on behalf of lawyers and the general public and cannot be intimidated to shy away from this sacred responsibility.
“Consequently, we, the Chairmen of NBA Branches in Rivers State, condemn in its entirety the query issued to our Brother Chairman of NBA Port Harcourt Branch and demand an immediate withdrawal of the same.
“We consider the issuance of this query to our brother Chairman as an unfortunate act the Sole Administrator has decided to use to suppress freedom of speech and constitutional rights of the good people of Rivers State against his various incidences of dismantling of peaceful democratic institutions already in existence in Rivers State and other acts and actions capable of causing breach of peace instead of maintaining the peace which was the primary claim for his appointment as Sole Administrator in Rivers State. We condemn in its entirety the query issued to our colleague and demand its immediate withdrawal,” the chairmen stated.
The chairpersons of several NBA branches in the state, including Dr. Hilda Desmond-Ihekaire (Ahoada), Dr. N. A. Duson (Bori), Dr. Celestine Nwankwo (Okehi), Simple Dioha, Esq. (Isiokpo), and Abiye Abo, Esq. (Degema), signed the statement.
Reiterating their position, they promised to keep opposing any forms of victimization or intimidation directed at Rivers State residents, NBA executives, or members of the legal community.
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