President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Olumide Akpata has berated lawyers who stormed the Accreditation Centre and carted away conference bags and other items.

Akpata, who was delivering an apology for his lateness to the President’s Dinner on Tuesday night as one of the highlights of the ongoing NBA Annual General Conference, expressed his disgust over the behaviour of the conferees over the issue.

Akpata apologised to guests at the dinner for his late arrival, explaining that he was held up by the chaos that broke out yesterday evening over delivery of conference bags.

He said that it was not in his character to attend such events late.

To buttress the matter, the NBA Akpata President beamed a clip of the riot on the wide screen.

He said: “It is a sad commentary. But this is really who we are. We must not delude ourselves. We are as good as our weakest link.”

He noted that the Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) had explained that it insisted on top quality bags for the conferees, leading to its rejection of the low quality bags supplied by the vendor.

He wondered why the conferees would not exercise patience, more so when the quality bags had been supplied.

On Tuesday, the Chairman, Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) Tobenna Erojikwe had in an update to conferees explained that the committee had rejected the bags because they did not meet the agreed standards.

Erokjikwe had pleaded with his professional colleagues to exercise patience, promising that they would all get quality bags.