NBA says abduction of judge is ‘one kidnap too many’

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has expressed concerns about the rising cases of attacks on judges in the country.

Reacting to the kidnap of Chioma Iheme-Nwosu, a judge of the court of appeal, Paul Usoro, the NBA president, said the country’s democracy is potentially shackled.

On Wednesday, gunmen abducted the judge in Benin, Edo state and killed her police orderly in the process.

The judge is the chairperson of the three-man panel sitting on appeals arising from the 2019 state and national assembly elections in Edo state.

“This kidnap incident is one too many and utterly condemnable by everyone for and from multiple fronts,” Usoro said in a statement on Saturday.

“First, it truly should be a taboo for criminals to breach and tamper with the safety of judges generally. We made this point in the Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) release following the recent kidnap of honourable justice Abdu Dogo of the federal high court.

“Given the sensitive nature of judges’ assignments, it behoves on us to make criminal attacks on them most unprofitable for the criminals lest justice becomes imperilled and shackled.

“Some of the venues for these court of appeal tribunals are in cities that are inaccessible by air or not easily accessible by air, which means our justices are left with no option but to travel to these locations by road. And, in that process, their lordships are exposed to great harm and danger in the hands of underworld men and women.

“Couple that with the fact that Iheme-Nwosu JCA was criminally assaulted and kidnapped right in the city where she works and in broad daylight and the conclusion and prospects become inescapable, to wit, that justice and indeed, our democracy is potentially shackled and totally imperilled by the criminal men and women in our midst.

“This crime must not end up as part of our crime statistics. We owe ourselves the responsibility of stopping these criminals now. They must not go unpunished.”

The NBA president urged the security agencies to find the perpetrators and bring them to book.