General News of Wednesday, 3 August 2016

Source: ultimatefmonline.com

Lawyers who sign Montie 3 petition are irresponsible - Lawyer Adofo

Lawyer Kwame Adofo, Private Legal Practitioner Lawyer Kwame Adofo, Private Legal Practitioner

A Private Legal Practitioner Lawyer Kwame Adofo has described as ‘irresponsible’ on the part of lawyers who sign or will sign the petition seeking presidential pardon for the Montie three contemnors.

Lawyer Adofo contends all lawyers found signing the petition have acted irresponsibly and denigrated the integrity of their own profession.

He called on the Ghana Bar Association (GBA) to call lawyers signing the free Montie three petition to order.

The office of the president has been inundated with several calls for president John Dramani Mahama to intervene for clemency in the incarceration of the Supreme Court Contemnors.

Sympathisers and senior politicians from the governing party have been signing a petition book to collect one million signatures to coerce the president into granting the pardon.

But speaking on Ultimate breakfast show hosted by Lantam Papanko, fumed that instead of the lawyers protecting the court, they are rather maligning the court with their actions.

”I find it very sad that some senior lawyers have gone to sign that petition, a lawyer signing that petition, its absolutely irresponsible of any lawyer to go and sign that petition, for you to become a lawyer, you swear an oath to defend and protect the integrity and authority of the court, lawyers are officers of the court, by design lawyers play a unique role in any society, your job is to protect the judiciary which you yourself are part of it, so you go to court seeking justice for your clients, only for you to come out and malign the court.

What type of message do you think you are sending. Lawyers have duty to the client but our overriding duty is to the court. So any lawyer who signs this petition is irresponsible and to me I call on the GBA to call them to order, its wrong,’ he asserted.