The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) yesterday cautioned politicians against the use of the military and other security agencies in the 2019 general elections.
The NBA president, Mr Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN), gave this warning at the N100 million endowment fund, organised by the association in support of access to justice for the North-east region.
Mahmoud said it would not be in the interest of the country, if the growing trend of dragging the military and security agencies into the murky waters of the nation’s politics continued.
He said it was unpatriotic to “seek to enlist the military or security agencies in the ongoing political skirmishes.”
He appealed to the security agencies and the military to “maintain professionalism and abide by their constitutional duties and responsibilities.”
The NBA president decried the incessant challenges of law and order and communal conflicts across the country, noting that only a few states were spared from the violence of insurgency.
He said that as Nigeria approaches the election cycle, these challenges are likely to increase, as recent events have clearly demonstrated.
Mahmoud pledged that the NBA remains a professional non partisan organisation, and will remain neutral among political actors.
“We remain firm on the side of the constitution and the rule of law and will continue to demand that constitutional boundaries be respected and maintained by all governments and people in authority’’, Mahmoud said.
