Mohammed Shosanya
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has criticized the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS) for the face-off that ensued between them on Tuesday.
Both agencies engaged in a squabble in the premises of the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, over the custody of the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Yakubu Maikyau,NBA President, in a statement on Wednesday, called on the two agencies to take immediate disciplinary measures against the officers involved in the misconduct.
Maikyau said the duel between officers of the two government agencies in a federal court was a prescription for anarchy and chaos, adding that it was a brazen disrespect for the sanctity of the court premises.
He said: “A situation where officers of Federal Government agencies engage in a fight as witnessed by the public, for whatever reason, is antithetical to our security as a nation and creates a recipe for anarchy and chaos.
“Both the DSS and the NCoS are important institutions dealing with national security and administration of justice respectively, and the need for them to work in concert towards attaining justice in a secured Nigeria cannot be overemphasised.”
“While it is difficult not to hold the leadership of the two federal government agencies directly responsible for the shameful and disgraceful conduct of the personnel, the NBA President has particularly called on the two agencies “to take immediate disciplinary measures against the officers involved in this disgraceful conduct.”
Mr Maikyau also advised “a complete overhaul of the institutions and a total reorientation of the personnel, to achieve professionalism and ensure synergy in the discharge of their respective constitutional responsibilities.
“The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) remains committed to the promotion and protection of the principles of the rule of law and due process, within a safe and secured Nigeria.”