New legal practitioners called to the bar have been charged to serve Nigeria and humanity in justice without fear or favour.
The chairman Body of Benchers Mr. Wole Olanipekun, (SAN), gave the charge at a call to the Bar Ceremony of over four thousand successful candidates of the Nigerian Law School.
He encouraged them to act nobly in and out of court and behave honourably in all their dealings.
Olanipekun, while congratulating the new legal practitioners, assured those who will be plunging into legal practice, of a rewarding venture, urging them to be resolute and committed in the defense and ventilation of their clients, “whether in civil or criminal proceedings.”
He admonished them “not to be distracted by some colleagues who may come to challenge or accuse you for defending a particular client or taking up any specific cause, which in their thinking is ‘notorious’. Display your learning by your robust and forensic submission.”
While calling on Judges and magistrates to be patient with the new lawyers, the Chairman Body of Benchers warned the lawyers to beware of contempt, “whether in facie curiae or ex facie curiae.”
Olanipekun, who also called for the improvement and upgrading of law school campuses in the country, appealed to the National Assembly to avoid the idea of amending legal practitioners’ acts that may pave way for the proliferation of campuses.
The Director General of the Nigerian Law School, Professor Isa Hayatu, while addressing the new legal practitioners, said, that the legal education has trained over six thousand students annually from various campuses across the country.
Hayatu said, “The importance of the Nigerian Law School in manpower training and development for our country cannot be overemphasized, particularly in the aspects of the administration of justice and sustenance of the rule of law.”
He noted that the school has sustained its growth and development by leveraging on the achievements of its predecessors.
Professor Hayatu said that Nigerian law school has contributed to the training of the legal manpower of African countries such as the Republic of Gambia, Sierra Leone, and Cameroun.
The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, was among the top members of the Body of Benchers, friends and family members that attended the call to the Bar.
Olusola Akintonde
