By Anthony Ochela, Abuja
Former Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Babantunde Fashola, SAN, has tasked the leadership of the legal profession to continue to ensure quality control to sustain credibility in the profession.
Fashola stated this in his keynote address on Wednesday in Abuja during the Maiden Edition of the Body of Benchers Annual Lecture and Public Presentation of the Report of the Directions of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee.
Fashola, who was speaking on the theme of the lecture “Half a century of the body of benchers: the past, the present, and the future of maintaining the ethics of the legal profession in Nigeria” said the fears of the present is that their are badly trained lawyers in the system who are giving it a bad name.
Fashola, also a former governor of Lagos state, said if quality control fails in the training of lawyers and a bad product enters the society how can the situation be remedied.
Fashola emphasised that, “there is also good reason for us to be concerned about public perception of our administration of Justice system in which lawyers produced from the law school and admitted to the Bar by the Body of Benchers play a prominent role.”
According to Fashola, “this meeting is our golden moment to start a new journey for the Nigerian legal system by demonstrating that there are internal self-correcting mechanisms that ensure that the dispensation of justice is speedy, credible and reliable.”
In his remarks, Vice President, Kashim Shettima, said laws are not mere scaffolds but the pedestals that holds the nation.
Shettima, who declared the lecture open, said the legal profession carries a burden heavier than none other and the professionals should be alive to this challenges and be true to its ethics of justice and fairness.
He assured that the administration of President Bola Tinubu is well aware of the tripartite leg on which the constitution guides governance and holds the judiciary in high esteem.
On her part, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, said there is urgent need for members of the legal profession to recommit themselves to the ethics of the profession and the Body of Benchers are well placed to ensure this.
According to her, the report of the directions of the legal practitioners disciplinary committee will serve as a vital resource for scholars and students in the administration of discipline in the profession.
The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, represented by Beatrice J.D. Abba, the Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, charged members of the legal profession to continue to adhere to the core values of justice, integrity and fairness of the profession.
Fagbemi urged the body of Benchers to be proactive in adopting the innovations of modern technology to help address the challenges in the conduct of their assignments.
Also speaking, the Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, in his remarks said the leadership of the Body of Benchers is inspiring.
Gov. Aiyedatiwa recalled that he is a proud beneficiary of the rule of law as he was rescued by it when he faced the shenanigans of politics last year and would not have been governor but for the fairness and justice in the administration of the rule of law by some eminent members of the Body of Benchers.
Earlier in his Welcome Address, the Chairman of the Body of Benchers, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo, noted that law is at the heart of every human activity and is now even more dynamic because the society that benefits from it is dynamic.
Chief Awomolo, however, pointed out that; “the revolution in science and technology has thrown up changes in world society faster than the law can keep pace.
“ The advancement in artificial intelligence(AI) is not fiction but real, indeed we are in the most massive changes and advancement in space based technology surveillance, and how government functions,” he added.
Awolomo said he is optimistic that by the close of the lecture the body would have gained much from speakers.
