Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has questioned the decision
of the Nigerian Bar Association to invite former Liberian President George Weah as a keynote
speaker at its annual conference.
Falana's criticism came a day after Weah addressed the opening of the NBA's 66th Annual
General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he spoke about democracy, judicial
independence and the responsibilities of lawyers.
The senior lawyer argued that Weah's record while serving as Liberia's president between 2018
and 2024 did not, in his view, justify his appearance before Nigerian lawyers to discuss the rule
of law.
Falana alleged that Weah's administration weakened Liberia's judiciary and failed to comply
with decisions of the ECOWAS Court. He cited the case involving members of Liberia's
Mandingo community, whose properties were allegedly seized during the country's civil war.
According to Falana, the regional court ruled in favour of the affected people, but the judgment
was not enforced during Weah's administration. He said the government of President Joseph
Boakai had subsequently established a committee to work towards implementing the ruling.
Falana also referred to the case of an associate justice of Liberia's Supreme Court who he alleged
was removed from office without proper justification. He said the matter was taken before the
ECOWAS Court, which overturned the dismissal and awarded the judge $200,000.
