The NBA-SARC, chaired by Joe-Kyari Gadzama, SAN was constituted by the NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata at the National Executive Council meeting of Thursday, December 16, 2021 and inaugurated on Friday, January 7, 2022.
Since then, the NBA-SARC is not resting on its oars, having continued in its relentless efforts at providing succour to legal practitioners who had been, or are being, harassed, detained and/or intimidated by security agencies across the country, especially in the course of the discharge of their professional duties to clients.
It is worthy of note, that the Gadzama-led NBA – SARC, presently comprised of legal practitioners who have solid background in relations with security agencies; and/or relevant network in interfacing with security agencies across the country has left no stone unturned in its commitment to achieving its mandates. The Committee has since swung into action, intervening in a plethora of cases already, amongst which is the passionate case of one Yemi Abdulkareem v NPF (LASG/JPI/233/2020).
Yemi Abdulkareem was brutalized and killed by a police officer during the EndSARS protest in 2020. Consequently, his family petitioned on his behalf demanding for the sum of 10 Million Naira. Upon the intervention of the NBA-SARC with the Nigerian Police Force and through continued and sustained efforts, the petition was treated under the Police brutality cases. The petition by Yemi Abdulkareem’s family was found meritorious and the family was awarded the sum of 10 Million Naira by the EndSARS Lagos Judicial Panel.
The family of Yemi Abdulkareem who was awarded the damages has since sent a message extending their gratitude to the NBA-SARC for its timely assistance and intervention in the above matter.
The NBA – SARC has continually sought for the cooperation of everyone in its quest to achieve significant success in its mandate and has further reiterated that Legal Practitioners who have, or are being unjustly intimidated, harassed, humiliated, or subjected to unwarranted hardship in the course of their interaction with any security agency, are enjoined to report same to the Committee via the telephone numbers of the NBA – SARC members earlier provided.
