By Editor

*Charges NBA to consider the Bar Council as an alternate advisory body which is a link to Federal and State Governments *Commends NBA leadership for inclusive approach of stakeholders *Charges new set of Bar Council members to show commitment to statutory duties of the Bar Council

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami SAN CON has charged the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) to see the General Council of the Bar (hereinafter referred to as the Bar Council) as a platform for driving the developmental agenda of the association.

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice said this in his speech at the inauguration of the new members of the Bar Council on 9th January, 2023 a Abuja, where he also established that the inauguration was very significant in strengthening the capacity of the Nigerian Bar Association to deliver on its mission and core values, as well as expanding the frontiers of the fundamental essence of the legal profession in Nigeria. ” The inauguration of the Bar Council today represents a remarkable milestone in our legal profession. It presents an opportunity for constitutional heads of the legal profession and members of the Bar to meet and deliberate on pertinent issues affecting the legal profession, especially in view of current challenges and public perception of the profession”, he said.

Remarking on the history of the Bar Council, the Hon. AGF noted that the Bar Council was established by the Legal Practitioners Act and saddled with functions as may be prescribed by the Act and the Constitution of the Nigerian Bar Association, and as such, there is an obvious need to reinvigorate the Council by ensuring that necessary structures are put in place which will allow it perform optimally.

He further referred to the scholarly article titled, The General Council of the Bar: A Call for a New Temple, wherein Professor John Akintayo, who coincidentally is to be inaugurated today as a member of the Bar Council, traced the origin of the Bar Council in Nigeria to the terms of reference of the Committee on the Future of the Legal Profession and Education in Nigeria which was set up in April 1959, called the Unsworth Committee, named after its chairman, Sir Edgar I. G. Unsworth, QC, a former Attorney-General of the Federation and former Justice of the then Federal Supreme Court, the other members being the Attorney Generals of the various regions. According to the Hon. AGF the Committee was charged with the responsibility of establishing a General Council of the Nigerian Bar, however, the NBA took a preemptive Step by amending its constitution which established a general council of the Bar chaired by the NBA President in a quest to preserve the independence of the bar and limit government or State control and regulation over the legal profession, contrary to what is obtainable in other professions.

Commenting on the need for the Bar Council and the NBA to work together, Malami SAN noted thus: “While I must appreciate the agenda or spirit of exclusivity and limiting State control, I must say that we are all members of the same family and as such our commitment and focus must be on the development and sustainability of the legal profession, rather than on issues that perpetuate distrust or disunity.”

According to the AGF, the NBA has the mandate of promotion and protection of Human Rights, the Rule of Law, and Good Governance in Nigeria, and it actually needs the Bar Council to be able to achive this mandate. “A critical look at the composition of the Bar Council shows that the NBA requires the backing of the Bar Council in achieving the foregoing mandate. A body which consists of all the Chief Law Officers in the Federation, cannot simply be ignored by any leadership of the NBA which is truly desirous of making significant impact on the administration of justice and promotion of the rule of law generally in Nigeria”, Malami SAN noted.

As such, the Hon. AGF charged the NBA to see the Bar Council as a vehicle or platform for driving the developmental agenda of the NBA, implementing NBA resolutions, and influencing government policies in view of its composition by the Attorneys-General who are strategically positioned to influence their Excellencies the President and State Governors. He also pointed out that the NBA should consider the Bar Council as an alternate Board of Trustees or advisory body, a link or liaison with the Federal Executive Council, State Executive Councils, National and State Assemblies, Nigerian Governors Forum, Conference of Speakers of State Assemblies, etc.

Consequently, it was the advise of the Hon. Attorney General of the Federation that the NBA leadership, serving as a vehicle of social conscience, should not seek to isolate its members in government who are positioned to drive its success. We must work collectively to build an enviable legal profession that will be beneficial to us all.

Going, further, Malami SAN commended the the new leadership of the NBA under the dynamic leadership of its erudite and amiable President, YC Maikyau, SAN for what he tagged as “his novel and inclusive approach of stakeholder partnership and engagements, which is breaking new grounds.”

He also went on to admonish the newly inaugurated members of the Bar Council to continue to show commitment and dedication to the statutory duties of the Council, especially with regards to making and reviewing rules of professional conduct under Section 12(4) of the LPA as well as the rules of account to be kept by legal practitioners under Section 20(1)(a) to (e) of the LPA. According to the Hon. AGF it was his fervent hope and desire that the Bar Council will strive to overcome inherent limitations to reinvent and reassert itself in the legal architecture of the nation and restore the confidence which the public hitherto reposed in members of the legal profession.

Finally, he inaugurated the General Council of the Bar and congratulated its new members.

The Hon. AGF, Abubakar Malami SAN shall also double as the President of the General Council of the Bar.

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