THE OUTCOME of the judicial proceedings involving victim Jessica Lloyd and her American husband, Pastor Richard Lucas came as a shock to the public. And the reason was clear. Lucas’s failed attempt to kill had drawn the attention and ire of the public.
HE WAS ARRESTED and charged accordingly for attempted murder and brought to trial but was absolved of wrong amidst a barrage of allegations of attempted bribery of Jessica by lawyers representing the criminal minded Pastor Lucas Richards.
IT CAN BE recalled that for several years running, corruption in the nation’s judiciary has been flagged in nearly all United States Department of State Official Human Rights Reports. According to these reports judicial officials, including judges and lawyers routinely take bribes in order to influence the outcome of Court cases.
FORMER CHIEF Justice Korkpor as well as his predecessor and successor have all flagged corruption as a serious problem plaguing the Liberian judiciary. And the role of the National Bar in curbing this unwholesome practice cannot be overemphasized.
WHY? It is because lawyers are actually arms of the Courts which can be rightly considered as “Altars of Justice” where justice can be freely dispensed without fear, favor or respect to any party.
AND IF LAWYERS engage in corrupt behavior or unethical practices, such will not only negatively affect the image of the judiciary but it will serve to undermine the dispensation of fair and unfettered justice to all and sundry.
IN THIS REGARD, much too often successive leaderships of the Bar, save a few, have remained indifferent to such concerns and have not been proactive in regulating the conduct of lawyers practicing before the various Courts of the Republic as well as monitoring the conduct of judicial officials particularly Magistrates and lawyers in rural parts of the country.
EXCEPT FOR the recent case of lawyer Ndubusi Mnwabudike who was accused of fraudulently obtaining Liberian citizenship and who was subsequently expelled from LNBA membership, there is no other case in recent memory where the Bar has acted very proactively to rein in lawyers gone rogue.
AND ACCORDING to sources, there are indeed a number of lawyers gone rogue including judicial officials operating in the system.
IN THE CASE of Nmwabuidike who had been appointed by President Weah to serve as Chairman of the Governance Commission, he fought an unsuccessful uphill battle trying to convince his accusers that he legally acquired Liberian citizenship but failed to do so.
AND SINCE non Liberians are prohibited from practicing law before Liberian Courts, Nmwabuidike was eventually banned or disbarred from practicing law before Liberian Courts for fraudulently obtaining Liberian citizenship.
THERE WERE however suggestions from some quarters that despite a show of support from President Weah, his (Nmwabuidike’s) arrogance and defiant attitude served to undermine his cause.
BUT THAT ACTION taken by the Liberian National Bar Association to reprimand Nmwabuidike served to convey the impression that at long last Liberian lawyers had unanimously taken a strong stance against fraud in the Courts and fraudulent behavior by any of its members.
HOWEVER, whatever goodwill and trust the LNBA had garnered in the public now appears to be fast waning since the announcement of the Court verdict absolving murderous pastor Lucas Richards of charges of attempted murder.
THIS IS NATURALLY because disclosures by victim Jessica Lloyd that she rejected the US$20,000 bribe offer from lawyers representing murderous pastor Lucas Richards and the not guilty verdict pronounced by Judge Nelson Chinneh served to enrage the public.
And this was well reflected in comments on the social media platform, FaceBook.
AGAINST the backdrop of the ensuing public rigmarole, the displayed sheer indifference of the Liberia National Bar Association to allegations by attempted murder victim, Jessica Lloyd that lawyers representing Pastor Lucas Richards had offered her hush-hush money US$20,000 in order to get Richards off the hook is indeed disturbing.
JESSICA LLOYD had openly accused lawyers Jimmy Bombo and Eric Morlu of offering her “Hush-Hush money and although hopes were high that the National Bar Association would have launched an investigation into the matter, given the gravity of the charges, it failed to do so preferring instead to remain silent or rather indifferent.
THIS IS IN STRONG contradistinction to the stance taken by the LNBA against Nmwabuidike who was accused of fraud and was subsequently disbarred from legal practice.
The question is why has the LNBA chosen to remain indifferent to allegations of bribery attributed to two of its membership? If a probe and subsequent disbarment was good for the gander, Nmwabuidike, why not for the goose Bombo and Morlu?
HOW CAN the leadership of the LNBA explain the variance between its standards of fairness and justice applied in the Nmwabuidike case and this recent case of attempted murder victim Jessica Lloyd and defense lawyers Eric Morlu and Jimmy Bombo who allegedly offered bribes( Hush-Hush money) to victim Jessica Lloyd.
IN THE MIND of the public, the least the LNBA could have done in this case was to launch an investigation or probe into the matter as a way of ensuring justice and fairness for all parties concerned. But it did not and has not to date.
SADLY, the voice of the Female Lawyers Association of Liberia has not been heard on this matter neither have female activist and social justice civil society organizations including the gender fashionistas.
THEY HAVE not been heard calling for a probe into the allegations of attempted bribery and the denial of justice to attempted murder victim Jessica Lloyd. Perhaps it is because they have or are consumed by other donor driven preoccupations.
THIS IS INDEED SAD.
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