Stakeholders have canvassed for better regulation of the legal profession in the country.
The stakeholders stated this during the SPA Ajibade & Co. 16th Annual Business Luncheon, with the theme, “The Regulation of Legal Practice in Nigeria: Charting a Way Forward.”
They also added that the 2017 Legal Profession Regulatory Bill needed to be implemented so that the standard and the integrity of the judiciary could be restored, stressing the need for lawyers to be trained on the standards and ethics of the profession.
Speaking at the event, the Chairperson of the Nigerian Bar Association Legal Profession Regulatory Reform Committee, Anthony Idigbe (SAN), said that there are clear concerns about the falling legal, profession.
Idigbe said, “The problem is that in Nigeria there is no diversification everybody become barristers and solicitors and starts practising law when there are so many aspects of the legal profession that require lawyers, like in other countries.
“We need to ensure that our colleagues are trained. It means that we must appraise ourselves from time to time.”
Another lawyer, Chukwuma Ikwuazom (SAN), stated, “When we talk about regulating the profession, we’re talking about two primary things. How do you set the standards for entry into the profession? And how do you set the standards for people to remain in the profession? So it’s all about entry into the profession and remaining within the profession.
“Now, when you talk about entry into the profession, I think the focus is on legal education. Again, what we have at the moment is the Council of Legal Education.
“We have the Nigerian Law School. If there’s any attempt at all to make legal education by this body, that attempt starts when people are coming into the law school.
“I think that it should start way before people get to the law school, setting curricula for university education, licensing people.
“People who provide legal education should be regulated. The mood and quality of examination that people seek, even at the university level, should be regulated.”
Also, Tobenna Erojikwe (SAN), in his recommendations, stated, “We have a brilliant Bill that we can argue all we can and agree on a position on. But the reaction we have from a class of people is to say, kill it all together.”
The organiser of the business luncheon, Babatunde Ajibade (SAN), said the regulation of the legal profession currently is inadequate.
