FALANA FAULTS DEFENCE OF VDM’S NBA CONFERENCE ROLE, CALLS FOR EXPERIENCED SPEAKERS
Read Time:2 Minute, 23 Second
By:Tajudeen Aminat
Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has criticised the Nigerian Bar Association for inviting social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, to speak at its annual conference.
Falana spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Thursday while reacting to the controversy surrounding VDM’s appearance at the NBA’s 66th Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, where he addressed insecurity in the country.
The senior lawyer argued that speakers at a lawyers’ conference should possess relevant expertise or practical experience in the subject being discussed.
He said the NBA’s conferences should focus on intellectual engagement and knowledge-sharing rather than entertainment.
Falana said, “In those days, the NBA brought individuals who had paid their dues, who were coming to engage lawyers intellectually. We wanted to learn from them, and so the NBA was not… none of our conferences was a side show in the past.”
He maintained that discussions on specialised issues, particularly national security, should involve experts who have contributed to or have direct experience of the country’s security architecture.
“So, if you are bringing an expert to discuss the security of the country, either from the private or public sector, such an individual must have contributed to the security architecture of the country,” he said.
Falana added that inviting individuals without relevant experience to speak on specialised matters could undermine the purpose of the conference.
“But when you bring people who have nothing to do with the security of the country, there are problems. It’s like talking about media freedom, press freedom—you are going to bring practitioners in that field, whether in the academics or in the newsroom,” he said.
He was responding to arguments, including those made by Professor Chidi Odinkalu, that VDM’s invitation provided an opportunity for lawyers to hear directly from members of the public who interact with the justice system.
Falana acknowledged the importance of public engagement but said that position did not necessarily justify inviting someone without specialised knowledge to address lawyers on national security.
“With profound respect to my very good friend Chidi Odinkalu, he was talking in the general sense. We’re talking of this particular case,” he said.
The former NBA president also urged the association to return to what he described as the intellectual tradition of its conferences, recalling presentations by renowned legal scholars and jurists that sparked debates within and beyond the legal profession.
Falana further advised the NBA to scrutinise the records of political leaders invited to speak on democracy and the rule of law, arguing that their conduct while in office should be considered.
He said anyone invited to address lawyers on democracy or the rule of law should be able to demonstrate respect for court orders, human rights and press freedom while in office.
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