At the 64th edition of the NBA Annual General Conference, it was a beehive of addresses as several vibrant personalities added colours to the event held at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos.

The keynote address was delivered by the Director General of the World Trade Organization WTO Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Oweala

On his part, Human rights advocates and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Femi Falana, challenged lawyers in the country to adopt stern measures to end illegal arrest and detention of innocent citizens by the police and other law enforcement agencies in the country.

While welcoming Nigerian lawyers to Lagos for the NBA 2024 annual conference, Falana said, “The NBA should take advantage of the conference to put in place a comprehensive mechanism for the implementation of the Administration of Police Establishment Act and Criminal Justice Act, which has been adopted by all the 36 states of the federation.”

He lamented that even though both laws had abolished arrest and detention of citizens for civil wrong and breach of contract and made provisions for legal representation of suspects in police stations, conditional or unconditional bail and humane treatment of suspects, the police and other law enforcement agencies had continued to breach the fundamental rights of suspects to personal liberty, dignity of the person and fair hearing.

He urged NBA to direct the members of the Human Rights Committee of its 128 branches to accompany Chief Magistrates during the monthly visits to all police stations in the country