Some senior lawyers in the country have rejected last Friday’s arrest and continued detention of one of their colleagues, Mr. Rickey Tarfa, SAN, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, without releasing him on bail, Vanguard reports.
While commenting on the development, former President of the NBA, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, said; “I think that this is an unfortunate development, a situation where lawyers are arrested in court while performing their lawful duties, this must be condemned in unequivocal terms. However, this is the work of an agency, no government can allow this, especially when you have a senior lawyer, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria as the Vice-President, the government will do its best to avoid such things. It is the work of overzealous agents, we will call on the Vice-President to intervene and ensure his release.
“Since the NBA President has intervened, they should release him to NBA President for him to appear on Monday to answer to whatever charges they have against him. He is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, he cannot jump bail. This is utter disregard for the rule of law and the sanctity of the legal profession guaranteed by the Constitution.”
Also speaking, another former President of the NBA, Mr. Joseph Bodunrin Daudu, SAN, said: “Well, you see, this is what we face with the current EFCC. Let’s get the facts straight, all of us who are defending accused persons are now endangered species, all of us are being investigated by the EFCC, so we are all waiting for the day they will come and carry us.”
In its reaction, the law firm, Rickey Tarfa &Co., in a statement signed by its Partner and Head of Chambers, Mr. John Olusegun Odubela, said: “It is germane to state that the matter before the court has no bearing with corruption related issue. It is purely between a husband and wife struggling for the control of a manufacturing company they jointly promoted. It is purely a matrimonial issue that went sour.”
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