AFBA Defends AGF, Says Amnesty Overstepped in NBA Electoral Dispute

The African Bar Association (AFBA) has defended the intervention of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), in the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) electoral dispute, describing Amnesty International’s criticism of the move as unwarranted and beyond the organization’s human rights mandate.

In a statement issued on Saturday in Nairobi, Kenya, AFBA expressed disappointment over Amnesty International’s characterization of the Attorney General’s involvement as “interference,” insisting that his intervention was aimed at facilitating a lawful, peaceful and institutional resolution of the dispute within Nigeria’s foremost legal association.

According to the association, the Attorney General merely offered suggestions to encourage dialogue and uphold the rule of law, stressing that such efforts neither amounted to coercion nor undermined the NBA’s independence.

AFBA argued that while Amnesty International has earned global recognition for promoting and protecting human rights, internal electoral disagreements within a professional association do not ordinarily fall within its core mandate unless there are clear allegations of violations of fundamental rights.

The association warned that Amnesty’s intervention in what it described as a matter of institutional governance and professional self-regulation risked politicising an issue better resolved through established legal and institutional mechanisms. It added that such actions could undermine the organisation’s perceived impartiality on genuine human rights concerns.

Reaffirming its commitment to the independence of the legal profession and the rule of law, AFBA urged all stakeholders in the NBA electoral process to exercise restraint, abide by the association’s constitution, respect its institutional dispute resolution mechanisms and uphold due process.

The association also called on Amnesty International to exercise institutional restraint and remain focused on its globally acknowledged mandate of promoting and protecting human rights, arguing that doing so would strengthen its credibility in addressing pressing human rights challenges across Nigeria, Africa and the wider international community.

The statement was signed by AFBA’s Director of Publicity and Protocol, Nicholas Sumba, and dated July 11, 2026, in Nairobi, Kenya.