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•Lumumba, NBA chair, urge protection of national assets
From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has challenged the Bench and Bar to safeguard Nigeria’s future through upholding justice, strengthening institutions, and protecting the rule of law.
Jonathan stated this over the weekend at the plenary session of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Yenagoa Branch Law Week, with the theme: ‘’Securing the Future’’ held at the Nigerian Content Tower, Yenagoa.
Jonathan, who lamented that Nigeria and, by extension, Africa’s enormous mineral resources have become a major source of crisis and conflicts, urged the judiciary to step in and ensure things are done properly and judgments are delivered according to the law.
He described members of the Bench and Bar as guardians of the nation’s legal and regulatory systems, stressing that Nigeria’s progress depends on an impartial judiciary, strong institutions, and a commitment to integrity.
He emphasized that the nation’s future can only be secured when justice prevails over power, institutions are stronger than individuals, the education system is reformed to meet contemporary challenges, and the law guarantees equal protection for all citizens, regardless of status.
The former President called on the Bench and the Bar, as stewards of Nigeria’s legal system and guardians of its regulatory frameworks, to fully embrace their critical nation-building responsibility, recognizing that the well-being and progress of our nation depend fundamentally on the impartiality of our judiciary, the strength of our institutions, and the integrity of our values.
The keynote speaker, Prof PLO Lumumba, who spoke on the topic, Sustainable National Assets Protection in Africa: Opportunities, Risks and Regulatory Pathways, said lawyers must put on their thinking caps and salvage the future of Nigeria and the African continent.
Lumumba, while noting that no country in the world would accord respect to a weak country, called on Nigeria to live up to its expectations as a strong nation by putting its acts together.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the NBA Yenagoa Branch, Mr Clement Kekemeke, noted that the choice of the topic was informed by the activities of criminal elements that have posed a threat to Nigeria.
‘’Statutorily, the national assets of countries all over the world are protected by security agencies established by those countries. No doubt, national assets are vital to the economic mainstay of countries all over the world. In Nigeria and other African countries, such national assets include: oil pipelines, maritime zones, critical infrastructure, government buildings, etc.
“In recent years, the activities of pirates, oil thieves, and terrorists have continued to pose a collective threat to national assets in the African Sub-Regions. The rising spate of such threats has compelled African governments to engage private security companies in addition to the statutory security agencies established by the respective governments of those countries. In Nigeria, the Navy and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps no longer have a monopoly on protecting the maritime sector, oil pipelines, and allied facilities. Rather, there is a collaborative relationship with notable private security organizations.’’
