The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has voiced strong solidarity with the Istanbul Bar Association, condemning the criminal and civil proceedings instituted against its leadership in Türkiye. The charges, which target President Professor İbrahim Kaboğlu and ten executive board members, stem from a public statement made by the Istanbul Bar Association in December 2024, urging protection for journalists in conflict zones and calling for investigations into the deaths of two Kurdish journalists. The NBA described the prosecution and dissolution of the Bar’s executive board as a direct assault on the independence of the legal profession.
In its statement, the NBA aligned with international organisations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute, stressing that the actions of the Turkish authorities undermine fundamental human rights obligations, particularly freedom of expression and association. The Association urged Ankara to discontinue the proceedings immediately and reaffirmed its commitment to defending the rule of law and the independence of lawyers worldwide.
Read full statement below;
NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION EXPRESSES SOLIDARITY WITH THE ISTANBUL BAR ASSOCIATION
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has followed with grave concern the ongoing criminal and civil proceedings against the leadership of the Istanbul Bar Association before the courts of the Republic of Türkiye.
We note that the proceedings stem from a public statement issued by the Istanbul Bar Association on 21 December 2024, in which it recalled international legal protections for journalists in conflict zones, called for an effective investigation into the deaths of two Kurdish journalists allegedly killed in a drone strike, and demanded the release of protesters and lawyers detained at a demonstration.
The prosecution of the Istanbul Bar Association’s President, Professor İbrahim Kaboğlu, and ten executive board members for “propaganda for a terrorist organisation” and “disseminating misleading information,” together with the civil proceedings that led to the dissolution of its executive board, represent a clear assault on the independence of the legal profession.
The Nigerian Bar Association aligns with the concerns already expressed by the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), Amnesty International, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists, and other international organisations, that such proceedings are incompatible with Türkiye’s international human rights obligations, particularly those concerning the rule of law, freedom of expression, association, and the independence of lawyers and bar associations.
As an association with a long and tested history of defending the rule of law, human rights, and the independence of the legal profession, the NBA views these proceedings as a dangerous precedent that risks silencing bar associations worldwide from carrying out their statutory and internationally recognised duties.
We therefore:
1. Call on the Turkish authorities to immediately discontinue both the criminal and civil proceedings against the leadership of the Istanbul Bar Association.
2. Urge respect for the fundamental rights of lawyers and bar associations to freely engage in rights-based advocacy without fear of intimidation, reprisal, or dissolution.
3. Stand in solidarity with the Istanbul Bar Association and reaffirm our shared commitment to defending the legal profession as a cornerstone of democracy and the rule of law.
The Nigerian Bar Association remains steadfast in its duty to resist any attempt, anywhere in the world, to weaken the independence of lawyers and bar associations.
MAZI AFAM OSIGWE, SAN President
DR. MOBOLAJI OJIBARA General Secretary
