Nigerian lawyers boycott court over killing of colleague

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Jalingo, Taraba state in Northeastern Nigeria, on Wednesday, boycotted court proceedings as a mark of respect for their colleague, Aliyu Abubakar, slain by unidentified gunmen.

Abubakar was shot and killed at his Jalingo residence on 4 December by some gunmen.

According to The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), cases slated for Wednesday could not hold as lawyers were not available to defend their clients.

When contacted, the Chairman of the branch, Mr Ibrahim Effiong, said that members staged the boycott to mourn the deceased, whom he said, was “brutally killed’’.

“The way and manner in which people are killed in this country, even in their bedrooms, signifies a total collapse of our security system.

“It is horrible to see that when the killers are going digital by the day, our security operatives are still using analogue methods of crime prevention and management,” he said.

Effiong urged the police to identify and arrest the perpetrators of the heinous crime and make sure that they face justice.