NBA Reacts As DSS, Prison Officials Fight Inside Court Premises Over Emefiele

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has condemned the fight between the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and officers of the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).

Naija News reports that both the DSS operatives and correctional officers engaged in a tussle inside the Federal High Court in Lagos over the detention of the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.

In a statement on Tuesday night signed by its President, Yakubu Maikyau, the NBA condemned the overzealousness and excesses of the officers involved in the scuffle.

The association also stated that the incident was evidence of the lack of discipline and professionalism in the key security agencies of the country.

The statement reads: “While it is difficult not to hold the leadership of the two federal government agencies directly responsible for the shameful and disgraceful conduct of its personnel, one cannot discount the possible overzealousness or excesses of the officers involved, as being responsible for what we witnessed today.

“This incident regrettably is further evidence of the lack of discipline and absence of professionalism that continues to plague key security institutions in Nigeria, which, without doubt, is largely responsible for the limited progress in achieving a coordinated response to security concerns across the country.

“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.”

The NBA further condemned the disrespect for the sanctity of the court premises, stating that the courts and judicial processes remain the barometer by which the conduct of persons or agencies of government are gauged in assessing the rule of law.

The association also called on the two agencies to take immediate disciplinary measures against the officers involved in this disgraceful conduct.

It also added that there is an urgent need for 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.