The African Democratic Congress has accused the Nigerian Bar Association of siding with the ruling party by referring lawyer Kalu Kalu to a disciplinary panel over his comments about a Federal High Court judge.

The party said the NBA was applying double standards and warned the association against allowing itself to be drawn into what it described as a political campaign against the opposition.

In a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC said it supported constructive engagement, restraint and respect for institutions, but questioned the NBA’s decision to take action against Kalu over his remarks.

The party wondered why the association had not expressed similar concerns when the Court of Appeal reportedly criticised Justice Peter Lifu’s conduct in a June 2026 ruling.

The ADC cited the appellate court’s description of the judge’s conduct as the highest form of judicial impertinence, adding that the court had invoked a Supreme Court precedent that characterised such conduct as judicial rascality and rendered a judge unfit for the Bench.

It questioned the NBA’s silence at the time, arguing that the association should be more concerned about alleged judicial misconduct than sanctioning a lawyer for expressing his views.

The party also cautioned the NBA against being perceived as taking sides in the political crisis involving the ruling party and opposition figures.

“We respect the NBA for its noble history in the defence of democracy and the rule of law. However, the Association must be careful not to allow itself to be perceived as throwing its hat into the political ring on the side of a ruling party that already boasts openly of hijacking our judicial institutions and the Nigerian Bar,” the statement said.

The ADC maintained that comments by Kalu were not responsible for undermining public confidence in the judiciary, accusing some judicial officers and lawyers of engaging in conduct that compromises the administration of justice.

“We agree that lawyers must exercise restraint. But there is no respectful way to address evil, and the NBA cannot teach us one,” the party added.

The NBA had on Friday petitioned the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee over alleged insulting remarks made by Kalu against Justice Lifu during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today on November 11.

During the programme, Kalu reportedly referred to the judge as a “coconut judge” while discussing a judgment delivered against the ADC, which had triggered controversy over the political future of Atiku Abubakar ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Kalu, however, rejected interpretations that the judgment had invalidated Atiku’s presidential candidacy, arguing that there was nothing in the ruling that voided his eligibility.

The host of the programme cautioned Kalu against attacking a sitting judicial officer and asked him to withdraw the remark, which he later did.

NBA President, Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, condemned the language, saying a lawyer’s disagreement with a judgment, however strongly held, cannot excuse personal abuse of the judge who delivered it. She said Kalu would be given an opportunity to respond before the committee determines whether his conduct amounted to professional misconduct.