I think the leadership of the legal profession must do something urgently to save Nigeria from lawlessness, the desecration of the nobility of the legal profession, and the democratic strangulations that Nigeria as a nation faces. The Nigerian justice system, as my lord Hon Justice Oludotun Adefope-Okojie, JCA Rtd, put it most frankly and in an undiluted truth, during his lordship’s speech at the book launch recently, is almost in a comatose”.
The snail pace of justice delivery, the nearand almost non-immediate available remedies for victims of oppressive proceedings, and the use of state apparatus for persecution are so grievous to be ignored. It is a time bomb waiting to explode. There is this almost everything goes kind of legal practice in Nigeria, and the almost near total collapse of ethical standards in legal practice has almost made the legal profession the most hated and the greatest enemy of the people. The legal profession has failed, in my view, to take advantage of the constitutional duties bestowed on it to instil discipline and ensure corruption-free society.
As my learned friend of the Inner Bar, Rotimi Jacob SAN, put it most admirably: “There is no better test of excellence of a government than the efficiency of its Judicial system, for nothing more nearly touches the welfare and security of the average citizen than his sense that he can rely on the certain and prompt administration of justice. Law is respected and supported when it is treated as the shield of innocence and the impartial guardian of every private civil right. If the law is dishonestly administered, the salt has lost its flavour if it is weakly or fitfully coerced, the guarantee of order fails. If the lamp of justice goes out in darkness, how great is the darkness”
In response to this view, I said: “I think the light of justice has not only gone out in darkness, but darkness has overwhelmed the light of justice in our legal system. Sadly, those who are responsible for this sorry state are members of the legal profession at the bar and on the bench.
Lending his learned voice to this, my learned friend Olajide Akinola Esq said: “I honestly agree with this. The truth is, the light of justice didn’t just go out on its own. We, as lawyers and judges, allowed darkness to overwhelm it. Every time a lawyer uses technicalities to frustrate justice, every time a judge compromises integrity, we contribute to this sorry state. The system is not failing by accident; it’s failing because the very custodians of justice, the Bar and the Bench, have failed to protect it. Until we admit our own complicity and take responsibility, no government reform will save the profession.If the temple of justice has collapsed, then we, its priests, must be held accountable. And if there’s any hope of rebuilding, it must start with us”
There is an urgent need for the legal profession to save itself from the ridicule the profession has put itself in. The crooked manner legal practice is being done in Nigeria needs a thorough review. We are too religious in appearance but far from God and the fear of God in action and practice. In most cases, truths are murdered on the altar of fabricated lies and stories to support fraud and fraudulent practices. If you have handled electoral cases, you will see the lawlessness and fraudulent practices by some practitioners to support democratic improprieties and impositions. That is where you see how not to practice law. Nigerians are in hell because the legal profession is failing the nation and its citizens.
As I keep saying there is nothing wrong with the institutions. It is those in charge of institutions who have destroyed the institutions. When a judge knows the law but applies the law in his adjudications to serve a predetermined agenda, that judge, in my view, is a lawless judge not fit to be on the bench. Yet we have seen judgments delivered by these lawless judges, and we kept quiet. Too bad. There are lawless lawyers, too.
The justice system is sinking not by chance but because those meant to defend it—the Bar and the Bench—have failed to live up to their duty.