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The Nigerian Bar Affiliation (NBA), on Tuesday, stayed away from the induction ceremony of recent legal professionals in Abuja.
The absence of NBA representatives from the occasion, the place new members had been inducted into their affiliation, was in protest in opposition to Wole Olanipekun’s refusal to heed the decision for his resignation because the chair of the Physique of Benchers (BoB).
Mr Olanipekun, in his capability because the chair of the BoB, calls new legal professionals to the bar, a job he performed once more at Tuesday’s ceremony.
Yakubu Maikyau, President of the NBA, had in a letter dated 4 December, requested Mr Olanipekun to resign from his submit following allegations {of professional} misconduct levelled in opposition to him.
Within the strongly-worded letter, Mr Maikyau, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), requested Mr Olanipekun to not administer oaths on the brand new legal professionals – an unique perform of the chairman of the BoB.
However Mr Olanipekun clung on to his submit and swore-in 4, 641 new wigs in Abuja on Tuesday.
In a press release on Tuesday night disclosing why the NBA shunned the call-to-bar ceremony, Mr Maikyau mentioned, “…having regard to my agency persuasion that the issues raised in my letter ought to have led the BoB to ask the Chairman to recuse himself within the curiosity of safeguarding the integrity of the Authorized Career, I’m in good conscience unable to attend and take part within the Name to Bar Ceremony.”
He mentioned attending the ceremony would have meant condoning “a observe that I contemplate unwholesome and unprofessional, by advantage of the Guidelines of Skilled Conduct for Authorized Practitioners 2007.”
He pledged the NBA’s dedication to the safety of the “integrity of the Bench and the Bar and won’t shirk that accountability.”
Whereas congratulating the brand new legal professionals on their induction into the Nigerian Bar, Mr Maikyau promised to supply them with “honest mentorship” steeped in ethics and professionalism.”
Olanipekun cautions lawmakers in opposition to Regulation Faculty proliferation
In his deal with on the call-to-bar ceremony, Mr Olanipekun, a SAN and former President of the NBA, urged the Nationwide Meeting to “… cease toying with the concept of promulgating legal guidelines or amending the Authorized Practitioners Act, to pave manner for the proliferation of Regulation Faculty campuses, significantly, across the neighbourhoods of some lawmakers.”
He mentioned the Council of Authorized Schooling together with the BoB has the “unique prerogative” to ascertain new Regulation Faculty campuses.
Acknowledging the powers of the Nationwide Meeting to enact legal guidelines, Mr Olanipekun, nonetheless, famous that the present Regulation Colleges wanted upgrading.
“What we’d like now could be the development and upgrading of the present Regulation Faculty campuses, utilizing the newly commissioned Graham Douglas Regulation Faculty Campus, Port Harcourt, constructed and outfitted by the Rivers State Authorities as a mannequin. I dare say that it’s the greatest within the nation for now,” Mr Olanipekun mentioned.
Cost to new legal professionals
Mr Olanipekun admonished the brand new legal professionals to desist from acts that might painting the career in a nasty mild.
“Don’t interact in strife, blackmail, mudslinging, marketing campaign of calumny, treachery or any try and run or pull anybody down.”
“Our career boasts of, and parades three key phrases: noble, honourable and discovered. Covet these flagship phrases in your endeavours, understanding and relationship with others,” he mentioned
The previous NBA president urged the brand new wigs to brace up for the skilled challenges forward.
He urged senior legal professionals to enhance the welfare of junior legal professionals and spoke of plans to mentor new legal professionals nationwide via a mentoring committee of the BoB chaired by Joe Gadzama (SAN).
Mr Olanipekun suggested judges to be lenient with younger legal professionals, saying: “To our noble judges, earlier than whom these younger ones will begin showing, please be affected person with them.”
Talking on BoB actions, Mr Olanipekun mentioned the physique is just not an appendage of the federal government.
He added: “It’s an unbiased and autonomous physique, and its conferences, affairs and selections should not influenced by any energy or authority in any respect.”
Mr Olanipekun defined that though the Authorized Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), the physique accountable for the self-discipline of legal professionals, is a committee of the BoB, the LPDC is a juristic persona by itself, unbiased of the BoB.
He cautioned that “ proceedings earlier than the LPDC shouldn’t be politicized, sensationalized, publicized and marketed prematurely or whereas the proceedings are ongoing by complainants for no matter motive howsoever, as so doing, negates the precept of truthful listening to, which all legal professionals subscribe to.”
Mr Olanipekun’s warning comes amid protests by the NBA, urging him to resign his chairmanship of the BoB.
PREMIUM TIMES reported that there have been allegations {of professional} misconduct in opposition to Mr Olanipekun.
Whereas presenting the legal professionals for the swearing-in, the Director Basic of the Nigerian Regulation Faculty, Isa Chiroma, disclosed that the brand new legal professionals efficiently accomplished the vocational coaching on the Nigerian Regulation Faculty as prescribed by the Authorized Schooling Act of 1962.
Mr Chiroma, a Regulation professor and SAN, mentioned the brand new legal professionals are those that emerged profitable on the August/September 2022 Bar Last Examination. He mentioned out of a complete of 5,802 college students who participated within the exams, 4691 emerged profitable representing 80.81%.
A breakdown of the outcomes confirmed that 119 college students got here out with 1st Class; 789 with 2nd Class Higher; 2, 460, 2nd Class Decrease; and 1, 323 got here out with Cross; whereas college students had been from the final examination.
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