A Benin-based lawyer, Jefferson Uwoghiren, has condemned the reported arrest of the lawyer representing detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, describing it as an attack on the legal profession and a violation of the right to fair hearing.
Uwoghiren, in a statement issued in Benin City on Tuesday, called for the immediate release of the lawyer, stressing that the action of the police and the Presidency amounted to an “alarming assault on Nigeria’s adversarial legal system.”
He said every lawyer, like other citizens, enjoys constitutional protection to speak on public issues, including the right to criticise government and defend clients, within the limits of professional ethics.
“Lawyers can criticise government, including the courts and judges, and speak about public issues, subject to such narrow limitations professional rules permit,” Uwoghiren stated.
He argued that the lawyer’s presence at a peaceful protest in Abuja calling for Kanu’s release could not amount to misconduct or a breach of legal ethics.
“The Presidency’s statement and the police action are obviously a culmination of undisguised hostility towards the lawyer for having the temerity to represent a person the government has since prosecuted and convicted in the court of public opinion,” he said.
Uwoghiren maintained that no matter the gravity of allegations against a person, the right to legal representation remains fundamental and must not be undermined.
“This is a deeply concerning assault on our legal system and the right to legal representation. No matter the severity of the allegations or the repugnancy of the case, an accused person remains innocent until the courts rule otherwise,” he said.
The Benin-based lawyer stressed that an advocate’s foremost duty is to defend his client’s interests through all lawful means, including clarifying issues in the media or supporting lawful protests in solidarity with the client’s cause.
“A lawyer knows but one person in the whole world, and that person is his client,” Uwoghiren asserted. He added: “Arresting lawyers or making moral judgments about them because of the identity of their clients will inevitably impede access to justice and discourage representation for political dissidents.”
He cautioned government spokespersons such as Mr. Bayo Onanuga and others against making moral or political judgements about legal practitioners based on who they defend, warning that such actions would weaken the justice system and embolden authoritarian tendencies.
Uwoghiren, therefore, urged the authorities to release the arrested lawyer without delay and respect the constitutional rights of both lawyers and citizens to freedom of expression, lawful assembly, and fair hearing.
“To arrest a lawyer for representing his client is to attack the very foundation of justice,” he averred.
Recall that the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB leader is being prosecuted by the Department of State Security Service, DSS on a seven count charge, bothering on his alleged involvement in terrorism activities after he was re-arrested in Kenya and subsequently extradited to Nigeria in June 2021.
