A presidential aspirant in the forthcoming Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Elections, Mr. Jonathan Gunu Taidi has decried the absence of rule of law in Nigeria, adding that the security agencies have failed to protect lives and properties.

Speaking as a discussant at the NBA Ikorodu Branch Bar Week, the immediate past NBA General Secretary said the situation “confirms our inability to evolve a workable template that suits our religious and cultural diversity.”

Below is the full text of his remarks.

REMARKS BY PAST GENERAL SECRETARY OF NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION JONATHAN GUNU TAIDI AS DISCUSSANT AT NBA IKORODU 2022 LAW WEEK

Protocol

It is a great honour to be asked to give a few remarks on the occasion of the Ikorodu Law Week. Although this event is an annual event, it is no less critical for the opportunity it provides for national soul searching, improving jurisprudence and elevating the bar and the practice of law in this country.

Everyday seems to bring  with it new challenges and even more invidious assault on the constitution and the laws we we pledge to uphold and defend.

The recent gruesome murder and decapitation of Ms Deborah Samuel within the premises of Shehu Shagari College of Education Sokoto is a sad reminder that the rule of law is in abeyance and our security apparatus has failed – assuming there was ever any to speak of. It also confirms our inability to evolve a workable template that suits our religious and cultural diversity.

More disappointing, in a catalogue already filled with disappointments, is the comment by the Nigeria Police that some of the perpetrators of this heinous act were not even Nigerians but foreigners from Niger Republic. This is first an indictment on the Nigerian Immigration Service particularly, and the opportunistic and visionless leaderships which over the years have successfully superintended over failure in every facet of our affairs as an “independent” nation where impunity has become our coat of arms. As I write this the papers are awash with news of the arrest of the nation’s accountant general for allegedly perpetrating an N80 billion fraud.

We have made corruption a byword for governance and abominable violence is the new normal. This attitude of just condemning the vile actions of criminals by our leaders, without any deliberate strategy or action to check the menace, has not and will not redress our regression into anarchy.

It is unacceptable that our security agencies are always caught sleeping on duty.  It is time to invest more in intelligence gathering than on weapons especially in the face of scarce resources.

I urge all participants here to fully contribute to the discussions on Nation Building: Our Collective Responsibility. As legal practitioners we must always remember that we are the light of the nation, and we carry the torch of enlightenment and progress.

I hope this particular Law Week helps spearhead a national rebirth that will lead us on the road to a more progressive and prosperous nation.

Thank you and God bless our fatherland.

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