The Jigawa branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Thursday said the body has expended N300,000 to provide palliative measures for some of its members and corps members serving with them.
The NBA Chairman in the state, Mr Bashir Hussaini, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse.
He said that the assistance would enable their members sustain themselves and their families under the lockdown occasioned by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
He said that 15 members have so far benefited from the gesture, saying that more will also benefit as the exercise is being conducted in batches.
Hussaini said the beneficiaries were selected from each law firm in the state, adding that practitioners are those who are not on government payroll.
According to him, the gesture is to cushion the effect of the stay-at-home order, as all court proceedings were suspended.
Hussaini said: “As the saying goes that charity begins at home, so that is why we selected certain number of practitioners in the state from each law firm.
“We ensured that those selected are not on government pay or pensionable.
“The palliative is to cushion the effect of stay at home order since they – beneficiaries no longer go to courts as proceedings were suspended, which is their major source of livelihood.
“We contributed and donated certain amount of money for at least one lawyer selected from each law firms in order to sustain themselves and their families.”
The NBA chairman also disclosed that the association had paid the annual dues of NYSC members serving in the state who are lawyers and could not go to court.
“Usually we pay our annual dues between February and March. So for this reason we decided to pay the dues of between 20 and 30 corps members who are lawyers.
“So this year, it is the NBA that will pay the dues for them from our account since they cannot go to court.
“This is our contribution towards the wellbeing of our members,” the chairman said. (NAN)
