NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau, (SAN) Tuesday appealed for the release of Chief Okey Wali, (SAN), who was abducted on East–West Road, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
The gunmen waylaid and abducted Wali on Monday, April 17, 2023, after killing two of his aides
The kidnappers, dressed in military camouflage, were said to have also shot three of the policemen attached to his convoy.
Maikyau, in a statement by the association’s National Publicity Secretary, Akorede Habeeb-Lawal, urged the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, to “leave no stone unturned as they work towards the safe release of our dear learned friend”
Maikyau said: “It has come to my attention that one of our respected elders and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Okey Wali, SAN was reportedly abducted in the early hours of yesterday, 17 April 2023, after his convoy was attacked along East–West Road, in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State,”
“Mr Okey Wali, SAN was the 26th President of the NBA and has served this nation in varying capacities, contributing immensely to the growth of legal practice and in the promotion and entrenchment of the rule of law.
“He is a known philanthropist who has helped in the development of his community in no small measure
“I, therefore, hereby plead with the abductors not to harm Mr Wali, SAN and make a passionate appeal for his release to his family.
He said the NBA stood with and assured his family of its full support “in this trying period, even as we join in praying for his safe return home.”
“This ugly incident is yet another sad reminder of the weakness in our security system and the failure of successive governments to live up to the Constitutional duty of providing for the welfare and security of all Nigerians
“We urge the Inspector General of Police and the Commissioner of Police, Rivers State Command, to leave no stone unturned as they work towards the safe release of our dear learned friend,” Maikyau added.