The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) is set to wade into the case of two Lagos lawyers being detained at the Ikoyi Police Station, Lagos in connection with their clients.

In a post on the subject, NBA Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kunle Edun urged lawyers not to abandon their detained colleagues in the midst of Christmas merriment.

His words: “Good morning dear colleagues. While we celebrate another beautiful Christmas season, we still have to remember two of our colleagues who are being alleged to have been detained by Policemen in Lagos. From the report, the colleagues are members of Ikeja branch.”

Noting that cases of harassment and intimidation of lawyers were becoming alarming, the NBA spokesman said: “The excesses of security agencies have reached boiling point. It is obviously illegal to arrest any person in place of another, arresting by proxy. It is even a sacrilege to arrest a lawyer as a proxy for his client. I will liaise with Ikeja branch on this and ensure a resolution of this matter.”

Also reacting to the lawyers’ plight, Mr. Douglas Ogbankwa, a legal practitioner, said: “I have read the story from City Lawyer! If it was (sic) true, this should be a test case, as it will determine how some impunity prone security officers will treat lawyers!

“We must send a signal to these security agencies (that) we cannot be treated like common felons for performing our duties as lawyers and that if that ever happened, they will not go scot free! Merry Christmas, with sober reflections!”

CITY LAWYER had reported that two Lagos based lawyers were detained by the Nigeria Police in connection with an alleged fraud by their clients.