The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has warned the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) against partisanship over its move to discipline lawyer and politician, Kalu Kalu, for comments concerning Justice Peter Lifu.
In a statement on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC warned the NBA not to allow itself to be drawn into a political fight against the opposition.
It supports restraint and respect for institutions, but challenged the NBA’s “sudden indignation” over Kalu’s comments.
The ADC said Kalu’s remarks were prompted by concerns about the conduct of Justice Lifu, citing a June 2026 Court of Appeal ruling which strongly criticised Justice Lifu’s conduct.
According to the party, the NBA should be also be concerned about judicial conduct capable of undermining public confidence in the justice system.
It reasoned that the credibility of the judiciary is better protected by confronting such conduct than by sanctioning lawyers for expressing political opinions.
“It is not Kalu’s words that smear the judiciary,” the ADC said, blaming alleged conduct by judicial and legal practitioners that could erode confidence in the administration of justice.
The party also accused some lawyers and politicians of allegedly compromising the integrity of the judicial process, saying such practices, if established, should attract greater attention from the NBA.
It implored the NBA to focus on issues affecting the independence and credibility of the judiciary rather than what it described as victimisation of Kalu for expressing his views.
“The NBA is not a political party. It must, therefore, not be seen to be behaving like a member of a political coalition against the opposition,” the statement added.
The party maintained that respect for the judiciary should not mean silence whenever concerns about alleged injustice or misconduct are raised.
