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History of the Legal Profession in Nigeria

Posted by This Day Online on 2005/09/13 | Views: 628 |

History of the Legal Profession in Nigeria


To write history of a nation or an institution which spans over a century is naturally a Herculean task. To chronicle the accounts of a profession which is older than the nation itself, is bound to be a self-inflicted ordeal.

Book Review
Title: History of the Legal Profession in Nigeria
Author: Aham Njoku, Esq.
Reviewer: Gbolahan Gbadamosi
Pages: 156

To write history of a nation or an institution which spans over a century is naturally a Herculean task. To chronicle the accounts of a profession which is older than the nation itself, is bound to be a self-inflicted ordeal.

Therefore, the author of the book: ‘History of the Legal Profession in Nigeria' Aham Njoku must be congratulated for his courage in embarking on a voyage of discovery or a voyage to refresh our memories at the time we are facing dearth of legal literature in Nigeria.

I consider it an honour and privilege to be called upon to review the 156 page book with nine chapters.

Chapter 1 is captioned: ‘The Bar'. Here, the author leaves no one in doubt that other chapters will be opened with quotations from literary world. Perhaps, this is to demonstrate that he is a student of legendary Williams Shakespeare.

By his account, he recalled that Williams Nash Hamilton was the first lawyer to be enrolled to practice law in Nigeria in 1886, 'but the man who is generally believed and accepted to be the first lawyer who was enrolled at the Supreme Court in 1888 is Christopher Sapara Williams". He also reminds us of Sapara's charge to the legal practitioner that he must lives for the 'direction of his people and the advancement of the cause of his country".

Legal Practitioners Act (LPA), the legal regime that governs the practice of law was referred to. He also reproduced the provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC).

In Chapter 2, of the book captioned: ‘The Bench', the author traced the history of the Bench from the first indigenous Chief Justice of Nigeria at Independence in 1960 i.e. Sir Adetokunbo Ademola to when 'a woman of history", Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar was sworn in by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Muhammadu Lawal Uwais on June 8, 2005 as the first female Supreme Court Justice.
He also reproduced in the next six pages, the Code of Conduct for Judicial Officers.
Chapter 3 is titled: ‘Council of Legal Education'. Like the opening chapters in the book, he quoted Shakespeare's King Henry the Sixth to the effect that 'But in these nice sharp quillets of the Law, Good faith, I am wiser than a daw".
Here, Dr. Olakunle Orojo's Legal Education and Socio-Political Future of Nigeria 2003 was used as a guide from 1861 to the present.
It is instructive to quote Section 76 of the Supreme Court Ordinance, 1876 as reproduced by the author on page 53:
'Every barrister shall be entitled to practice also as solicitor and proctor, and every solicitor shall be entitled to practice also as an advocate".
Although this provision was repealed in 1943, but it laid the legal framework for the fusion of the legal practice in Nigeria unlike in Britain where we inherited the profession.
Chapter 4 of the book captioned: ‘Nigerian Law School' has the history of the school from 1963 to the present structure of decentralisation policy with its headquarters at Bwari, Abuja and three other campuses notably Lagos, Enugu and Kano. The eagle eye of the author did not overlook those who laboured to bring the school to all acceptable standards for the practical training of law graduates in the country. He commended the efforts of the first Director (as it was known then) Mr. G.R. Rudd (1962-1966), Dr. Olakunle Orojo (1966-1975); Hon. J. Sofolahan (1976-1978); and Chief Babatunde Ibironke, SAN whom he remembered for 'his impeccable dressing."
The history of the Law School is not completed, according to the author without Ibironke's successors, notably Chief John Kayode Jegede, SAN (1995-2004) and the current Director-General, Dr. Kolade Abayomi, also a Senior Advocate designate.
The author while treating the Continuing Legal Education under the same chapter 4 bemoans the collapse of the project in 1972 and observed that 'some form of continuing legal education is being provided for judges by the National Judicial Institute...", it was a matter of regret that to date the Nigerian Bar Association was still considering how to provide the service to its members.
Chapter 6, has Legal Aid Council as the title. He traced the enactment of the Legal Aid Decree to the Legal Aid and Advice Act, 1949 of England and Wales.
He further revealed how Chief Chimezie Ikeazor, SAN convinced the then Head of State, General Olusegun Obasanjo to support the scheme 30 years ago. The author also reproduced the Act, which covers 12 pages.
Chapter 7 dwells on the Employment for Lawyers. It explains various ways of source of employment for legal practitioners and concludes it with advice from Chief Afe Babalola, SAN and Hon. Justice Akinola Aguda to new and old wigs.
The author captioned Chapter 8 as JAMB Examination Requirement. Here, he dug out the information that 'The first Faculty of Law in Nigeria is the Spapara Williams College of Law of University of Nigeria, Nssuka, established in 1961. Its Dean was Dr. G.M. Johnson."
He also reproduced the JAMB Brochure, which outline guidelines for admission to first degree course in Nigeria Universities.
Chapter 9, is titled: ‘Law Practice in United Kingdom'. He linked the ‘historical connection' between Nigeria and the United Kingdom. He also relied on the former Rouse Ball Professor of Law, Glanville Williams and the Editor of Client's Guide to UK Law firms, John Pritchard as 'our mirror" in the last chapter (9).
The book also has the names of the Senior Advocates of Nigeria since 1975 to the 15 newly designated silks. He also supplied the names of the Chief Justices of Nigeria since 1960 to date as well as the Attorneys-General of the Federation from Dr. Taslim Olawale Elias 1960- 1965 to the incumbent, Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN.
Also to be found in the book are the Directors of the Nigerian Law School, Presidents and General Secretaries of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) since 1959 to date.
Comments:
The Honourable Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos State, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, SAN in his forward to this book observed rightly that 'Not a few observers of the Nigeria Legal Profession feel concerns about its current travails."
These travails came for discussion at the just concluded Nigerian Bar Association Annual Conference in Jos, especially during the session on ‘Review of Cases of Professional Misconduct'.
To my mind, the entry of this book would not have come out at a better time now.
May I with respect and humility seize this opportunity to commend Hon. Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Chief Bayo Ojo, SAN for his declaration at the NBA Jos conference that 'I plan to constitute for the first time in many years the General Council of the Bar." The Constitution of the General Council of the Bar will no doubt in the words of the former President of NBA, O.C.J. Okocha, SAN at Jos conference, would take necessary action on the Justice Olakunle Orojo's ‘Report on Professional Ethics for Lawyers - A Review of Rules of Professional Conduct in the Legal Profession'.
Furthermore, the General Bar Council would specifically address the issues of whether lawyers should be allowed to advertise in view of the new information technology of website, e-mails, text messages through handsets.
The author on page 35 reproduced Rule 50 of Professional Conduct (RPC) on partnership.
This occasion also bring to the front burner of discussion, the desirability of the adoption of partnership among lawyers. It is of a matter of regret in Nigeria that one can count on one's finger tip the number of lawyers, especially the senior ones who have embraced this idea.
It is also a matter of professional misconduct for the ‘learned friends' who indulge in not paying their practising fees.
In order to encourage the compliance of this provision, the NBA conference just ended in Jos, was informed that five per cent of the practicing fees collected would be paid to the branches where their members have been paying the fees.
It is my suggestion that the association should take a further step by liasing with state Chief Justices to deny defaulters right to of audience.
The time has come to consider the suggestion of the former Justice Minister Chief Akinlolu Olujinmi, SAN to the effect that the constitutional provision of Section 271(3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which stipulates ten years post call - as criteria for appointment as a judge should have other conditions attached to it.
Having been qualified and called to the Nigerian Bar should not only be yardstick, an aspirant to the Bench must be able to furnish his or her contributions to the development of law whether as a advocate or in teaching cadre.
As I observed earlier, the NBA should take it as a matter of urgency, the insitutionalisation of continuing legal education as brilliantly advocated by Justice Emmanuel Ayoola in his keynote address at the just concluded NBA conference in Jos.
Listing ‘ten careers' open to the Nigerian lawyers, the author named local government as one of them on page 88.
In order to make the lawyers to benefit from this, the NBA should sponsor a bill at the National Assembly whereby each of the 774 local government councils in the country employ a legal practitioners as a legal adviser. This will reduce by 774 the number of our learned friends in the cold world of unemployment market.
The reproduction of the JAMB Brochure on page 96, by the author should also serve as the renewal of the debate started by late Chairman of the Body of Benchers Chief Debo Akande, SAN that it was anathema for the universities of technology to be offering courses in law programme.
Recently and to be specific, in March this year, I was able to monitor while I was in London the radical reforms being proposed in Britain which will permit outsiders to invest in legal firms and see non-legal practitioners sitting in judgment over complaints against lawyers.
The changes arose under a new proposal by Tony Blair's government through Lord Charles Falconer of Thoroton, QC, the Lord Chancellor. The proposed law is called TESCO LAW.
The law, if passed, will allow lawyers to enter into business with non-legal practitioners, such as accountants and strip legal profession of control of its own complaints - handling procedure.
It is my submission that despite our present development of law practice, it will not be out of place to debate whether or not Nigeria is ripe or not for the adoption of TESCO LAW.
On the production of the book, as an editor, I observed few errors like on page 73 where small ‘m' is used to start the word ‘March'; page 74, where in the word ‘otherwise', the letter ‘e' has been eating up; while on page 155, letter ‘I' was omitted in the name of Olagbegi.
As noted by the author himself in the introduction of the book, 'no single work, no matter how brilliant can capture all the facts and perspective of a historical narrative," but we take consolation in his pledge that he intends 'to review this book every three years to make necessary updates."
It is not possible to list all the ‘travails' against the legal profession in the country at this type of forum, but suffice it to say that the few that have been named, if properly addressed will, in the slang of our political class, ‘move the legal profession forward'.
In the final analysis, this book ‘History of the Legal Profession in Nigeria' has opened up vistas of information that are unprecedented in most previous text in the history of the legal profession in the country. The book will certainly meet the practical needs of judges, lawyers, law students and non-lawyers alike.

• Mr. Gbadamosi is Assistant Judicial Editor Guardian Newspapers

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