By Ndubuisi Orji
Ahead of the election of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) scheduled for next month, one of the presidential aspirants, Abubakar Mahmoud (SAN) said he is contesting in order to rebuild public confidence in the judiciary and raise the standard of legal practice in the country.
Mahmoud stated this yesterday during a visit to the corporate headquarters of The Sun Publishing Limited.
The senior lawyer, who was received by the Deputy Managing Director/Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Mr. Steve Nwosu, in company with other members of management said he is out to provide a credible direction for the legal profession in the country.
He said there was a crisis of confidence between Nigerians and the legal profession in the country, noting that if elected NBA president, he would strive to rebuild the confidence of the people in the judiciary and bequeath to posterity, a legal profession that all will be proud of.
Mahmoud, a former Attorney General in Kano State said that at the moment, there are gaps in the administration of justice in the country.
“There have been a lot of concerns about what senior lawyers are doing. A lot of concern about what judges are doing. We owe it as a responsibility to come forward and provide credible leadership, provide credible direction to raise the standard of legal practice and also try to rebuild this confidence between the Nigerian people and the judiciary. These are some of the concerns we have that are pushing us to present ourselves for the leadership of the association.
“We are concerned as to what legacies we want to leave behind. The main thing driving me is to see how we can redeem the image of the legal profession, build the confidence of the people in the legal profession, and to bequeath a legal profession that our children will be proud of. This is not a paid job. It is sacrifice, but we think it is something we have to do in the interest of the profession and the interest of the country. We owe it as a responsibility to provide credible leadership, raise the confidence and raise the bar, Mahmound said.