The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has criticised the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for petitioning the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee over remarks by lawyer and politician Kalu Kalu about Justice Peter Lifu, cautioning the Association against being drawn into a political contest against the opposition.
In a statement on Saturday, the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, said the ADC supports temperance and respect for institutions but finds the NBA’s sudden outrage puzzling.
“He asked why the Association was speaking up now, and what Kalu had said about the judge that the Court of Appeal had not already said,” the statement noted.
According to the party, the Court of Appeal’s June 2026 ruling described Justice Lifu’s conduct as the “highest form of judicial impertinence” and cited a Supreme Court precedent that characterised such behaviour as judicial rascality that renders a judge unfit for the Bench.
The ADC wondered where the NBA was when the judiciary itself raised such grave concerns.
The party said it respects the NBA’s history in defending democracy and the rule of law but warned that the Association must avoid being seen as siding with a ruling party that, in the ADC’s words, openly boasts of hijacking judicial institutions and the Nigerian Bar.
The ADC argued that Kalu’s words are not what harms the judiciary. It said the real damage comes from judges it described as conscienceless, and from lawyers allegedly operating a network of client judges for politicians in power.
In its view, this conduct weakens the rule of law and public confidence in the justice system and should be the NBA’s focus instead of targeting a lawyer for expressing political views.
“The NBA is not a political party,” the ADC said, adding that it must not behave like a member of a political coalition against the opposition, whose demand is that justice be done and democracy preserved.
It insisted that respect for the courts must never become a demand for silence in the face of injustice, and that while lawyers should exercise restraint, the NBA cannot teach the opposition a respectful way to address evil.
The ADC’s reaction follows a statement issued a day earlier by the NBA President, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, titled “A Lawyer’s Duty of Respect Does Not End at the Courtroom Door.”
Badejo-Okusanya said her attention was drawn to insulting remarks about a judicial officer made by Kalu on the 11 November 2026 edition of Politics Today, hosted by Seun Okinbaloye, and that she had watched a recording of the programme.
She condemned the language unequivocally, saying disagreement with a judicial decision, however strong, cannot justify personal abuse of the judge.
She stressed that lawyers have every right to examine judgments, challenge their reasoning and expose errors, noting that rigorous criticism helps develop the law and keeps judges accountable.
Personal insults, she said, offer no legal analysis, give no remedy to aggrieved litigants and lower the quality of public debate.
Citing the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023, she said lawyers must treat the courts with respect, dignity and honour, and that complaints against judicial officers should go to the appropriate authorities. These obligations, she added, do not lapse when a lawyer enters a television studio.
She confirmed that she has forwarded a formal petition and the broadcast material to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee. Kalu will be entitled to respond, and the Committee will decide whether misconduct occurred and what sanction, if any, is appropriate.
She added that the Bar must be able to demand accountability from the Bench while insisting on discipline within its own ranks.
