Lawyers in Oyo state on Tuesday defied the directive of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to boycott courts as they turned out in large numbers to attend to their cases in High and Magistrate courts respectively in Ibadan, the state capital.
The NBA yesterday directed members to boycott court proceedings following the suspension of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Judges in Magistrate Court 17, Iyaganku division were carrying out their usual activities until the officials of the Ibadan branch of NBA led by its Secretary General, Akeem Okelola stormed the premises to inform the judges and colleagues of the directives given by the association.
One of the lawyers who spoke to journalists complained that the information from NBA was not well circulated adding that they couldn’t act on uncertainty hence they needed to come to court to confirm the news.
Another lawyer, Babatunde Bello said he heard it on radio last night that they are to boycott court today, adding that, “our coming to court today is the mistake of not passing the information rightly across to members.
“We were not sure if the directive cuts across all the states. I came to court today and discovered that the state is included. It is a good idea for us to boycott for that two days. What Mr. president did is too bad, it is a rape on democracy. He’s acting through to type – a dictator.
“Is there any CJ in this federation who does not have millions of dollars in his account?”
Speaking on the development, Okelola, the secretary of the Ibadan branch of the association, confirmed to journalists that some courts were sitting but the association had to come out to spread the information as directed by NBA.
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