Amid raging controversy over alleged N300 million “gift” by the Rivers State government under the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to host its 2025 annual conference, a group of lawyers under the aegis of the Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL) has called for the immediate resignation of the President Afam Osigwe, senior advocate of Nigeria, (SAN) and the Chairman of the Annual General Conference Planning Committee, Emeka Obegolu, SAN, as well as the return of the N300 million in contention.
The lawyers, who also demanded the publication of a full and audited account of all funds received in relation to the Nigeria Bar Association’s 2025 Annual General Conference, further called for the establishment of an independent panel of past NBA Presidents and senior lawyers to recommend reforms for improved transparency and accountability in the beleaguered association.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, PILL stated that “These resignations are not punitive; they are necessary acts of organisational cleansing”, emphasising that “They are first steps toward the restoration of credibility and trust in the NBA.”
While it described the development as a “sordid scandal” that had jeopardised the NBA’s integrity, the lawyers said, “the association has failed to uphold the standards of transparency and accountability it demands of others”.
According to PILL, “Today, we address the sordid scandal involving the acceptance, and indeed, the quiet and clandestine collection of Three Hundred Million Naira (N300,000,000) by the leadership of the NBA from the suspended Governor of Rivers State, His Excellency Siminalayi Fubara.
“The revelation of this transaction did not come from the NBA. It did not come from the leadership of the Bar. It was not disclosed in any financial statement or publication to members. The Chairman of the Annual General Conference Planning Committee did not acknowledge it. No, it came from the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, who, in an explosive public declaration, unveiled this dark secret to a shocked nation. Let that sink in.
“The NBA, an association of legal practitioners sworn to uphold justice, transparency, and ethics, collected N300 million from a sitting governor and failed to disclose it until an external political appointee exposed them. This scandal is not only about money. It is about principle. It is about integrity. It is about the soul of the Nigerian Bar Association.
“We are gathered here today under the weight of a heavy moral cloud that hangs ominously over the Nigerian Bar Association, the NBA, an association of legal practitioners sworn to uphold justice, transparency, and ethics, collected N300 million from a sitting governor and failed to disclose it until an external political appointee exposed them.
Accusing the NBA leadership of “an egregious abuse of the trust of its membership,” for failing to publish the donation in its financial reports or notify members, PILL argued that “This scandal is not only about money. It is about principle. It is about integrity. It is about the soul of the Nigerian Bar Association”.
Also questioning the relocation of the 2024 NBA Annual General Conference from Rivers State to Enugu, the lawyers alleging it could be a “face-saving manoeuvre” to distract from the scrutiny of the controversial donation.
PILL therefore issued a rallying call to lawyers across the country: “This is your Bar. This is your profession. If we are silent in this moment, we become accomplices to the desecration of an organisation that once stood tall as a beacon of democratic resistance and public advocacy.”
Vowing to pursue legal and civic action to restore integrity to the Bar, if necessary, the displeased lawyers cautioned that “History is watching. Posterity is taking notes. Let it be recorded that when the Nigerian Bar Association strayed from its path, there were still lawyers who stood for truth, for justice, and for the ethical rebirth of our great profession.”
Newsmata.com.ng recalls that when the sole administrator of Rivers State, Ibok-Ete Ibas blew the lid on the transaction following his demand for the return of the money since the 2025 NBA conference had been relocated from the state, the Chairperson of the conference’s Planning Committee, Emeka Obegolu insisted that they would not return it because it was a “gift” and not tied to any hosting right.