I have seen the press statement by the President of the NBA Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN, a man I do hold in very high esteem, condemning the reported case of a judge ordering a lawyer to kneel down in open court in the course of proceedings. I have no idea of what transpired in court that would have driven the judge to anger and I’m not ready to speculate at this time.
Let me state right from the onset that if we are to be truthful to ourselves as lawyers, we must admit that the standard of decorum and the character that lawyers exhibit these days in court is appalling, disgraceful and condemnable. It is so bad that if we are to go by the stipulations in the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) some 75% of legal Practitioners today in Nigeria ought to have their names struck off the Rolls kept by the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court and barred from practice.
Read Also: “Unacceptable!” Uganda Law Society defends lawyers’ dignity, throws weight behind NBA
Today you see a lawyer talk back at a judge and even throw tantrums and storm out of the court while the judge is speaking. I do not know what else we can do to stem the tide of these madness being exhibited by lawyers everyday in Court except to crack down hard on indiscipline. Nobody is talking about the conduct of the lawyer in question that day but everybody is talking about the reaction of the judge . Is the judge mad to flare up to the extent of asking the lawyer to kneel? What if he had sent the lawyer to Kuje for at least 6 months ?
On 23rd September 2025 the Supreme Court of Nigeria (coram M.Lawal Garba, Tijani Abubatkar, C. E. Nwosu-Iheme , H. S. Tsamani and A. Y. Tukur JJSC) unanimously dismissed Appeal No SC/180/2018 Economic Financial Crimes Commission vs Chief Nkereuwem Udofia Akpan and Access Bank – a frivolous Appeal brought by the EFCC challenging the judgment of the Court of Appeal Abuja (coram T. Akomolafe-Wilson, E. Akommaye-Agim and T. Yusuf Hassan JJCA) in CA/A/282/2013 Chief Nkereuwem Udofia Akpan vs EFCC ,& 2 Ors) delivered on 17th August 2017directing the EFCC to tender a public apology to my humble self and publish same in National Newspapers. Today six months later the EFCC is yet to comply yet the same EFCC is busy arresting lawyers and trying them for various offences but when the judgment is against EFCC, the EFCC wont obey, anyway that is a story for another day.
What is relevant for today’s discussion is what I witnessed firsthand at the Supreme Court on that fateful day. In the course of proceedings, a lawyer of more that 28 years standing practically insulted a 5 man Panel of the Supreme Court with uncouth language and slanderous conduct and utterances . On that day I was in Court with colleagues Levi Uche Abonyi Esq, Moni Olih Esq and we were led by Victor Abasiakan Ekim Esq who are all living witnesses to those unfortunate event . In fact sitting in the Supreme Court that I concluded within me that some lawyers actually deserve to be flogged sincerely. The other day a junior lawyer told a magistrate “na lie” in open court and we think such lawyers deserve any modicum of respect?
So back to the Proceedings of 23rd September 2025 , all 5 justices were so angry and they wanted to walk out the lawyer and order that the lawyer should never appear before them as well as refer the case to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC)
It took the intervention of about 4 SANs led by one Adegburuwa SAN (I hope I got that spelling right. )The court decided to forgive that day and I personally was angry.
Truth is many lawyers deserve to be walked out from the courts and ordered never to return but I think the controversy will be if they are ordered to do frog jump on the way out.
Now the power of a judge to punish for contempt brevi manu is unquestionable, however, what is questionable is the exact limit of extent of such powers. In the absence of a clear delimitation of what a judge can do or not do in the circumstances, the options are open ended and like everything that is open ended there is a chance is same being abused by overzealous or jumpy men on the bench
Can a judge order a contemnor to do press-ups, frog jump, write an apology or in the instant case, kneel-down?
I know the court has power to walk out counsel from the court, commit to prison or refer unsavory conduct to the LPDC . It has happened that a judge even specifically chosed a particular prison for a convicted contemnor as in the case of my late mentor Chief Gani Fawehinmi, who was ordered to be incarcerated in Gashua (wherever that is on the map)
So what’s the extent of the judges power to punish for contempt brevi manu and what other options are open to the convict?
I was at a joint last night with friends who were all lawyers and we discussed everything from the upcoming NBA elections to national politics , the Presidents State Visit to the UK and the general insecurity in the country and I put the question to my drinking mates whether they will rather spent 6 months in prison for contempt or kneel down for a few brief seconds in open court and everyone agreed that kneeling down is better .
I know who Afam Osigwe SAN is speaking for but definitely not for those 13 lawyers drinking beer with me at that joint last night. So the Ayes had it 13-0 in favour of kneeling down so as to escape prison time in the event upon a conviction for contempt brevi manu This is the difference between political correctness and the stark reality on the ground. Would you say we reached a wrong decision on account of being tipsy?
I believe in a democracy, the majority will carry the day but it’s doubtful if the majority is always right
Anyway what do I know about personal choices and voting patterns in democratic settings not being a politician – if you follow my drift
Seriously speaking there is an urgent need to amend the relevant statutes and give our judges more powers to punish erring lawyers for contempt brevi manu and I don’t care if such amendments includes the power of telling lawyers to do frog jump out of the Court.
One way or the other the current madness being exhibited by lawyers in court must end and drastic situations requires drastic situations.
While.my good friend Mazi Afam Osigwe SAN is within his rights to issue a statement condemning the act on behalf of the NBA as President I respectfully disagree in principle with him that the statement did not devote ample space to condemn the dwindling state of professional ethics and increase of rascality I and unprofessional conduct at the Bar. We must not be misunderstood by the public as
condoning uncouth language and slanderous conduct at the Bar We should not send mixed messages to the public on this vexed issue We should go beyond bellicose rhetorics and political correctness in dealing with this hydra headed monster. Everything from dress code to mode of addressing the court has been affected
I should conclude on a personal note that may God forbid that I should ever be disrespectful to the Court or misbehave in court and may that day never come but if it does happen, then I will be glad to be ordered to merely kneel down than be sent to 6 months in prison in this country untill I’m purged of said contempt.
Given a choice between being remanded in prison for six months or to to kneel down, as punishment for unruly conduct and or contempt brevi manu, I will chose the later.
Chief Nkereuwem Udofia Akpan, Constitutional Rights Advocate and Author writes from Abuja
and can be reached at chiefnkereudofia@gmail.com or on X formerly Twitter @Chiefnkereuwem
The views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Law & Society Magazine.
