Eleven lawyers in Nigeria have been sanctioned for various acts of professional misconduct in 2021, by the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC)
Penpushing reports that, the chairman of the Nigerian Body of Benchers, Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, made this known in an update on the number of lawyers that have been sanctioned for misconduct at the call-to-bar ceremony of the Nigerian Law School in Abuja.
“From January to July 2021, five lawyers were disbarred, six lawyers were suspended (ranging from two years to four years and one lawyer was admonished’, the chairman who is a retired chief justice disclosed.
Penpushing further reports that, speaking at occasion where 884 new lawyers took their oath, advised them to shun act that could put them on a collision course with the disciplinary body and the Nigerian constitution.
“As a lawyer, you are an officer of the court. You are not to do any act or conduct yourself in a manner that will obstruct or adversely affect the course of justice”, Rodes-Vivour said
The retired justice of supreme court advised the new wigs “to be of good behaviour and abide by the ethics and tradition of the profession to avoid being brought before the (disciplinary) committee.
Penpushing also reports that, Rhodes-Vivour admonished them to “actively participate in the affairs of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA),” which is the umbrella body for legal practitioners in Nigeria
“The practice of law is not a right, but a privilege. It is a privilege that can be lost should you fail to live up to the requisite professional standards imposed upon you by virtue of your entry into the community of lawyers.”
“You are expected to represent or defend your client when called upon. You are to remain committed to the best interest of your client. This must however be within the purview of the law’, he added
Penpushing further reports that, the chairman of the Nigerian Body of Benchers told lawyers to undergo mentoring as a way of acquiring necessary legal skills for a successful career.
The Director General of the Nigerian Law School, Isa Chiroma in his remarks said adequate safeguards had been put in place on all campuses of the school, assuring that the school under his watch had witnessed more positive transformations in the areas of academics and other developmental indices.
“By providing and creating better learning and conducive environment for students and staff, our performance at the Bar final examinations effective 2018 have (sic) greatly improved,” Mr Chiroma said.
Penpushing reports that the law Professor revealed that the law school had on June 28, 2021, commenced a “special remedial course” for law graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN).
The law Professor in his presentation of the 2020 Bar Final Examinations results, said the total number of students who participated stood at 1561, while the number of successful candidates was 880.
Meanwhile ,the Body of Benchers is the Nigerian Body concerned with the admission of prospective students into the Nigerian Law School, regulates the call of graduates of the school to the Nigerian bar, and generally regulates the legal profession in the country.
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