ADDRESS DELIVERED BY O.C.J. OKOCHA, MFR, SAN, JP DSSRS, CHAIRMAN, BODY OF BENCHERS AT THE CALL TO BAR CEREMONY HELD AT THE EAGLE SQUARE, ABUJA – FEDERAL CAPITAL TERRITORY OF NIGERIA, ON TUESDAY, 15TH SEPTEMBER, 2020
The vice chairman, Body of Benchers, Milord The Honourable Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, CFR, JSC;
Distinguished Past Chairmen of the Body of Benchers;
Distinguished Members of the Body of Benchers;
The Chairman of the Council of Legal Education, Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN;
Milords, Honourable Justices, Judges and Kadis;
The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Olumide Akpata;
Distinguished Senators and Honourable Members of the National Assembly;
Honourable Ministers of the Federal Government of Nigeria;
Your Excellencies, Governors of the States of Nigeria;
Distinguished Members of the Inner Bar and the Outer Bar;
Your Royal Highnesses, Respected Traditional Rulers;
The New Wigs;
Proud Parents and Guardians;
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Press;
Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,
May I, on behalf of the Honourable Body of Benchers, welcome you all to this happy and memorable occasion of Call-to-the-Bar of the several candidates who have this day been admitted into the Legal Profession in Nigeria. Even though this is, without any doubt, a happy and memorable day for many of us here present, and even for those not present, what we are engaged in is a serious and solemn occasion, because the New Wigs are now and henceforth, to be charged with great responsibilities and serious undertakings in a profession which prizes character, dignity, honour, learning and nobility above the merely external advantages of positions, rank and fortune.
I heartily congratulate all the New Wigs, jointly and severally, on their Call-To-The-Bar here in Nigeria. I have every reason to believe that, having received sound and rigorous training at the Nigerian Law School, and having successfully passed the Bar Final Examinations, as conducted by the Council of Legal Education, you are indeed fit and proper persons to be admitted into the Legal Profession. This has actually been confirmed by the Screening Committee of the Body of Benchers, which committee had scrutinized your personal details and records before recommending you for Call-To-The-Bar.
May I also congratulate the proud parents, guardians, friends and relations of the New Wigs, who must all feel proud and satisfied that their investments, in your training and welfare, have not been in vain. Even though they all may not be present here today, I would, however, like to say to them, that their duty is not fully and finally done, and that they all still have a responsibility to continue to assist and support the New Wigs in their journey to success and greatness in our Learned and Honourable Profession of Law. They, the New Wigs, will still need to buy decent clothing, the robes and other accoutrements that they require to practice, transportation and accommodation facilities, and much more. Every little help they can get will surely assist them.
May I also commend and congratulate the Body of Benchers for managing to hold this ceremony. As we may all recall, this ceremony was to have been held on Wednesday, 29th day of July, 2020. On account of the global pandemic caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19), and the resultant consequences, including lock-downs in Nigeria and worldwide, we could not finalize the necessary arrangements for this ceremony to hold on the earlier proposed date, and at any of our usual venues. With some restrictions still in place, and to duly observe and perform the protocols stipulated by Government and the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control, we managed to secure the use of this venue, the Eagle Square, Abuja, so that this Call Ceremony may not be delayed longer than necessary. May I, on behalf of all of us in the Body of Benchers, express a special word of gratitude to the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, for the kind assistance which he gave to us in the matter of securing this Eagle Square Venue for our use for this ceremony.
May I also express our thanks and gratitude to the Council of Legal Education and the Nigerian Law School, for the training programmes which were administered for the benefit of the students who undertook the same. Since its inception in the year 1962, the Council of Legal Education, through the Nigerian Law School, has continued to ensure that all candidates for admission into the Legal Profession in Nigeria are equipped with the requisite knowledge and skill to enable them practice as Legal Practitioners. It is my hope that the Council will continue to discharge, creditably as it has always done, the enormous responsibilities with which it is charged under the Legal Education Act, albeit in collaboration with the National Universities Commission, particularly here in Nigeria.
And now to you the New Wigs, my Learned Friends, I am sure you heard me when I said earlier that, from now and henceforth, you have been charged with great responsibilities and serious undertakings in the Legal Profession. Our Learned and Honourable Profession of Law demands and expects from you good character, becoming dignity, high honour, deep learning and demonstrable nobility. I must admonish you to adopt and always uphold honesty and integrity, which are also hallmarks of the Legal Profession. Note, and always remember at all times, that the governing law for our profession is the Legal Practitioners Act, 1975 (AS AMENDED), CAP. L11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, which is presently in the process of review for re-enactment. Even in spite of the on-going review, I believe that the extant provisions of the Act, particularly as they relate to your admission into the Legal Profession, will still remain in full force and effect.
The first thing to do hereafter is to proceed, as soon as you can, to the Supreme Court, with the Certificate of Call-To-The-Bar, issued to you by the Body of Benchers, so that you may be enrolled in the Roll of Legal Practitioners kept in the Supreme Court. It is only upon due enrolment as such that you will be permitted to practice as Legal Practitioners.
Section 2(1) of the Legal Practitioners Act unequivocally stipulates as follows:-
“Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person shall be entitled to practice as a barrister and solicitor if, and only if, his name is on the Roll.”
Now, while it is true that upon enrolment, you are entitled to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor, I will advise that you do not launch yourselves directly into practice, by opening your own Law Firms and Law Offices. This is because you are yet to acquire cognate experience in practice and procedure. The Body of Benchers actually does recommend a few years of pupillage, under an already established Law Firm, where Legal Practitioners who are more experienced than you are will be able to show you the way, and how to meet the several challenges that lie ahead of you. Continue to maintain the attitude of a student, and be very willing to learn. There are several areas of law practice that are now emerging, and you should not see yourselves as being only court room lawyers. In all that you do while in practice, commit yourselves to upholding the Rule of Law and the pursuit for Justice. I speak of JUSTICE in its finest and purest elements. This applies equally to all of you, those who may continue to practice as legal practitioners and those who may proceed to become Magistrates and Judges.
As Legal Practitioners, we are all bound to observe and uphold the Rules of Professional Conduct in the Legal Profession, as may for the time being be in force. The current Rules are the ones made by the General Council of the Bar dated 2nd January, 2007. Rule 1 thereof unequivocally stipulates as follows concerning the general responsibility of every lawyer, namely-
“A lawyer shall uphold and observe the rule of law, promote and foster the cause of Justice, maintain a high standard of professional conduct, and shall not engage in any conduct which is unbecoming of a legal practitioner.”
Also in the Rules are stipulated some essential duties which we as Legal Practitioners owe to our Clients, our Colleagues, i.e. other Legal Practitioners, and to the Court. As you all should know, the greatest duty we owe is to the Court, especially in the administration of justice.
For those of you who will go on to become adjudicators, i.e. Magistrates and Judges, codes of conduct and general behaviour have also been put in place, and the Rules and Regulations in that regard are also to be strictly observed and performed. Any breach of the aforesaid Rules and Regulations is a very serious matter, and severe censures and sanctions can be meted out to those found to be in breach.
Still as Legal Practitioners, I must remind you about the existence of the one unified Association for all of us in the legal profession, i.e. the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA). As you begin practice, register as a Member of the Branch of the Association in the place or nearest to the place of your practice. The NBA is the foremost professional association in Nigeria, and its influence on national affairs cannot be overstated. The motto of the NBA is PROMOTING THE RULE OF LAW and among its aims and objects are the following, namely:-
- Maintenance and defence of the integrity and independence of the Bar and the Judiciary in Nigeria.
- Improvement of the system of administration of Justice, its procedures and arrangement of court business and regular law reporting.
- Maintenance of the highest standards of professional conduct, etiquette and discipline.
- Promotion and protection of the principles of the Rule of Law and respect for enforcement of fundamental rights, human rights and people’s rights.
- Creation of schemes for the encouragement of newly qualified members and assistance to aged or incapacitated members of the Association.
I assure you all that your active and regular participation in the activities of the NBA will help you to make a daily advancement in the Legal Profession, and also help you to make your contributions to the entrenchment of the just and egalitarian society which we all desire to have in Nigeria.
As I proceed to conclude this address, let me remind you all that the Body of Benchers, which has this day called you to the Bar, also has power to enforce discipline and decorum at the Bar. This is done through the instrumentality of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC), which is a Standing Committee of the Body of Benchers, which conducts the trial of any Legal Practitioner charged with infraction of the Rules of Professional Conduct or with Infamous Conduct. The LPDC has power to recommend that, with respect to any Legal Practitioner found liable for a breach of the Rules or for Infamous Conduct, such Legal Practitioner’s name be struck-off the Roll of Legal Practitioners, or the lesser sanction of such Legal Practitioner being suspended from practice for a stated period, or that such Legal Practitioner be admonished. These sanctions all have their repercussions, which I am sure none of you will find palatable.
And so, I encourage you all to be of very good character and conduct, and not to be found wanting, in any way whatsoever, in your conduct as Legal Practitioners.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, let me remind you all about the need to learn and know about those things which they did not teach you in the Nigerian Law School. A lot of it has to do with your emotional intelligence and your social intelligence, and the willingness at all times to be pragmatic and to face the realities of every occasion. The current experience with COVID-19 has exposed some of the weaknesses in our systems for doing things in Nigeria, and particularly the weaknesses in the machinery for the administration of justice. I reckon that you all must have heard about remote court sittings, virtual court sittings, and the judicial stamp of approval given to the same by the Apex Court in Nigeria. And so, there is an urgent need for all concerned to come up with systems and procedures that can enable us to quicken the pace of justice, and the pace of doing legal business in Nigeria. These will demand our creative attention, and a new CAN-DO SPIRIT which will make us all the better enabled to discharge our duties as Legal Practitioners, and more importantly as patriotic citizens of Nigeria.
CHAIRMAN’S CHARGE TO THE NEW WIGS
In line with our time honoured tradition, I hereby close this my address with the Chairman’s Charge to the New Wigs, and I now invite you all to be upstanding.
“YOU MAY NOW GO FORTH IN YOUR NEW WIGS, FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, TO SERVE NIGERIA AND SERVE HUMANITY IN JUSTICE, WITHOUT FEAR OR FAVOUR, AFFECTION OR ILL WILL”!
Milords, Distinguished Benchers, Proud Parents and Guardians of the New Wigs, Your Excellencies, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you all for being part of this epoch-making ceremony, and I thank you all for your kind attention.
MAY GOD BLESS US ALL! AND MAY GOD CONTINUE TO BLESS THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA! AMEN! AND AMEN!
O.C.J. OKOCHA, MFR, SAN, JP, DSSRS
Legal Practitioner; Life Bencher
Chairman, Body of Benchers
15th September 2020