Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu, has cautioned members of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), over writing unnecessary and frivolous petitions against anti-corruption agencies and judges in the course of litigations.
The ICPC chairman issued the caution on Monday when he played host to the chairman and members of National Litigation Committee (NLT) of the NBA at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja.
According to Dr. Aliyu, “writing unnecessary petitions against officers of the Commission and Judges without concrete justification is not proper, as we are all colleagues and partners in the fight against corruption”, adding that appropriate professional measures should be explored in resolving issues arising between lawyers and anti-corruption officers in the course of investigations and litigations.
ICPC spokesperson, Demola Bakare, said in a statement last night that the chairman noted that writing frivolous petitions against judges and officers involved in the fight against corruption does not help matters, as it does not encourage those who are working so hard to rid Nigeria of corruption.
He assured his guests that, “in ICPC, there is no harassment of lawyers. We ensure that the rights of lawyers are protected, so also the rights of our officers in the cause of their duties”.
He however, advised the NBA not to hesitate to draw the attention of the commission whenever there are concerns, as ICPC is committed to looking into such issues objectively and addressing them accordingly.
“We at ICPC, we try our best to see that we protect the rights of suspects and their lawyers. Since I came in here as the chairman, I have not received any complaint of lawyers being harassed by the officers of the commission,” he stated.
Earlier, the chairman of the committee, Barr. Vincent Otaokpokpu, informed the ICPC chairman that they were at the commission’s headquarters to brief him on the responsibilities of the committee as contained in their terms of reference issued by the NBA.
He told his host that the committee was the first to be inaugurated by the current leadership of the NBA to protect the rights of the lawyers while doing their jobs, adding that ICPC in its fight against corruption will have causes to interface with lawyers hence, they considered the commission a critical partner in ensuring that the rights of their members are protected.