Can we truly say the Nigerian legal profession stands out or stands tall in the pursuit of justice and fair play? By J.S Okutepa

Whether to “Get ir Right” or “To Stand Out, Stand Tall” – What NBA needs to do to remain relevant in Nigeria

This year’s Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) was held in Enugu, the Coal City, and it was well attended by lawyers across the country. The theme was: “Stand Out, Stand Tall.” Many debates have since trailed the conference, especially on social media, regarding the propriety of allowing certain young lawyers to play prominent roles. I will not dwell on such arguments, now valid as some of the issues raised may be, as some of those issues may not sufficiently address the fundamentals confronting our profession.

At the 2023 conference, the theme was “Getting It Right.” Then, I wrote: “The theme presupposes that we have not been getting it right. Many things are simply not right with Nigeria and with our legal profession. While I am glad that the Association recognised this, the reports from that conference showed otherwise. Issues of unity among leaders persisted, with some officers alleging they were sidelined from performing their constitutional duties. In response, the NBA President accused them of being more interested in personal gains than prudent management of the Association’s resources. Whatever the truth, it revealed one undeniable fact: as an association of learned men and women, we are still not getting it right. The NBA was founded to promote the rule of law and uphold professional ethics, not to dance naked in public or to court those who pollute the streams of justice. Inviting such persons to pontificate at our gatherings is a betrayal of our ideals. If we must get it right, the NBA must first put its own house in order and hold lawyers and judges accountable as to whether they are still fit and proper persons to remain in this profession.”

Fast forward to this year’s theme: “Stand Out, Stand Tall.” But can we truly say the Nigerian legal profession stands out or stands tall in the pursuit of justice and fair play? Does our profession deliver timely remedies to victims of injustice and constitutional violations? I do not think so. While the leadership of the NBA may be doing its best, the deeper truth is this: our profession must retrace its steps if it is to remain relevant to Nigerian society. The way the leadership of the legal profession allow members to conduct themselves outside the professional code of doing things needs to be tackled urgently.

As I have repeatedly argued, the slow pace of justice in Nigeria has eroded public confidence in the system. A justice system that does not deliver quick, proportional, and fair remedies to the majority cannot truly be called justice. Instead, it becomes a tool of oppression. The poor and vulnerable are the worst victims. Our criminal justice system is slow, punitive, and often unjust. The deliberate sabotage of judicial independence by those in power has reduced the law to an instrument of oppression. Those with “long legs” evade justice, while the powerless languish in prison, many awaiting trial for years, some detained on trumped-up capital charges in violation of the presumption of innocence. Worse still, prosecutors and lawyers sometimes willingly lend themselves as instruments of injustice, framing charges for political purposes without accountability. This pollution of justice with partisanship and corruption is unsustainable.

As lawyers, we must refuse to be tools of evil. Law must be practised with conscience. The argument that law and morality are poles apart may be true in theory, but in practice, our conscience must guide us. Even in the “kingdom of darkness,” a lawyer’s light should shine. Any practice that supports wrongdoing under the guise of professionalism is unethical. The NBA, as our professional body, must take this responsibility seriously. It should enforce the Code of Conduct for legal practitioners with integrity. Unfortunately, the Association often mirrors the Nigerian way of doing things compromising, lowering standards, and neglecting discipline. If the NBA gets it right, Nigeria will get it right.

But today, we are far from it. Even the way we organise our affairs exposes us to ridicule. Colleagues dress shabbily to NBA functions without sanctions. Electioneering for NBA offices is marred by inducements and vote buying, euphemistically called “consulting.” How then can we expect to “stand out” or “stand tall” when we cannot stand against wrongdoing in our own house? At the AGM in Enugu, it was free for all violations of the constitution of the NBA that prohibit vote buying and inducements. Campaigning and all sorts of unethical malfeasances were openly exhibited and tolerated by all of us. That is the reality on the ground. We need to deal with it and retrace our steps.

The NBA must rediscover its founding purpose: to uphold justice, discipline, and integrity. Only then will society take us seriously. Until then, we risk being remembered as an association that preached ideals but practised contradictions. We cannot stand tall in wrongdoing and expect society to respect us. Our leadership recruitment processes must be looked into very seriously. We cannot complain of democratic desecration against Nigerian politicians when we aid and abet desecration of our own rules in electoral contests. The NBA must enforce discipline in the leadership recruitment processes. Now we are not getting it right there. We are not standing out well and stand tall in our electoral processes.

That is my take.