Ex-NBA Chairman urges security agencies to tackle ‘increased attacks on lawyers

Mr. Pius Oiwoh, the immediate past Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Benin Branch, has urged security agencies to tackle ‘increased attacks’ on lawyers.

Oiwoh made this known in an interview with the newsmen following the recent murder of Mr. Peter Awa, Vice Chairman of the NBA Ihiala Branch and Principal State Counsel in Anambra.

Awa was gruesomely murdered by unidentified gunmen at Eke Umudioka, Okija, in Anambra State, on Sunday.

Following news of his murder, members of the NBA in Anambra began a week-long boycott of all courts in the state in protest of his killing.

Supreme News reports that some members of the NBA in Anambra had also reportedly boycotted all courts in the state over the kidnapping of a state-based lawyer, Mr. Chukwubuikem Azoro.

Some yet-to-be-identified gunmen had abducted Azoro around the Abagana area in the Njikoka Local Government Area of the state, with his whereabouts unknown.

Moreso, on Tuesday, a Lecturer in the faculty of Law in the University of Calabar, Mr Roland Iponle, was again. reportedly abducted while attending a meeting.

Oiwoh said that these episodes, among several others, have become unbearable and now begs for urgent action from security agencies, as lawyers are defenders of the defenceless in society.

“This tragic incident follows closely the recent abduction of the secretary of the NBA Idemili branch by gunmen.

“The question is, what have we done as legal professionals to become targets of these senseless and heartless individuals?

“This situation is truly troubling and worrisome.

“I call on the security agencies within and outside the southeast region to rise to the occasion and stem this tide of violence.

“I urge them to ensure that those behind these dastardly acts are apprehended and prosecuted swiftly,” he said

Oiwoh noted that lawyers cannot afford to stand idly by while their colleagues face such grave threats.

While commending leadership of the NBA branches in Anambra, he reiterated the need for security agencies to ensure protection of lives and safety of lawyers.

“Lawyers, as defenders of citizens’ rights and promoters of the rule of law, must be treated with the utmost respect and protection.

“My thoughts and prayers are with Awa’s immediate family, his parents, and all those mourning his untimely demise,” he said