NIGERIAN Bar Association (NBA) has dismissed claims that $2,000 was distributed to some Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) as an “attendance fee” during its recent engagement in Maiduguri, insisting that no such payment was made or authorised.

According to the NBA National Secretariat, the allegation is baseless and unsupported by evidence, warning that it unfairly casts aspersions on the integrity of the association’s leadership.

The secretariat noted: “The Association neither received nor authorised the distribution of any such sum.”

It further stated that there was no documentary evidence to support claims that the Borno State Government paid $2,000 to any group on behalf of the NBA.

“There is no payment voucher, no government schedule of disbursement, no official list of beneficiaries issued by any state authority, and no identifiable budgetary head under which such a payment could have been processed,” it maintained.

The NBA President, Afam Osigwe (SAN), also insisted that no NBA funds were diverted, misapplied, or shared in Maiduguri.

A review of the association’s accounts, it said, showed no transaction reflecting the alleged payment.

Addressing speculation surrounding the NEC meeting held in Maiduguri, he noted that although the state governor attended a cocktail reception during the event, he neither addressed the gathering nor made any financial presentation.

The NBA emphasised that allegations of public fund disbursement could be verified through lawful channels, including formal inquiries or requests under the Freedom of Information Act, but noted that no such evidence had been produced. (The Guardian)