Pension Scam: NBA Blames Talba's Judgement on 'Century-old' Law
…Says Kalejaiye’ll Face Disciplinary Committee
SAN FRANCISCO, February 27, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Wednesday, blamed the country’s outdated laws for the judgement of Justice Abubakar Talba of an Abuja High Court which sentenced a Deputy Director at the Police Pension Office, Yakubu Yusuf, to two years imprisonment with an option of N250,000 fine for stealing billions of Naira in pension fund.
Though Justice Talba is still being investigated by the National Judicial Council (NJC) over the controversial judgement, NBA President, Chief Okey Wali, who maintained that most of the criminal laws in the country were due for reforms, said Yusuf was charged under a law that was a century old and which did not envisage the present realities.
"The decision brings to the fore the compelling need to reform our criminal justice legislation and speedy passage of criminal justice sector bills before the National Assembly," he said.
He however commended the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukthar, for recommending two high court judges for retirement.
Wali, who also disclosed that NBA had received NJC's recommendation that one of the lawyers involved in the cases for which one of the judges was retired be taken before the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, said that Chief Kalejaiye, would be referred to the association's disciplinary committee for appropriate actions.
He disclosed that the association's human rights committee would also investigate the alleged killing of students of Nassarawa State University, Lafia by soldiers.
Maintaining that there would be no sacred cow in the fight against corruption, the NBA president implored Nigerians to report professional misconduct by lawyers in the country to the association.
"The National Executive Committee (NEC) endorses and commends the actions and steps taken by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Aloma Mukhtar, (GCON) in respect of the sanitising the judiciary and offers the unqualified support of the Nigerian Bar Association to the Chief Justice Nigeria in her drive to restore the glory of the Nigerian Judiciary," he said.