COURT ORDERS NEW LAWYERS ASSOCIATION’S REGISTRATION TO COMPETE WITH NBA

The registration of a new attorneys association to compete with the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has been approved by the Federal High Court in Abuja.

In a decision pertaining to a lawsuit filed by a few attorneys against the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), High Court Judge Gladys Olotu mandated that the CAC grant approval for any suggested names that the plaintiffs submitted.

A few attorneys filed a lawsuit against the CAC for neglecting to register their organization as a national legal practitioner body.

The plaintiffs argued in their case that the names being evaluated for registration as a body of attorneys should not be confused with the Nigerian Bar Association’s name in order to avoid misleading the public.

Plaintiffs proposed the following names: “Nigerian Law Society,” “Nigerian Bar Society,” “Nigerian Lawyers’ Society,” and “Association of Legal Practitioners of Nigeria.”

The judge ordered the CAS, “To approve for registration and thereafter register any of the proposed names submitted to it on behalf of the plaintiffs, being: The Nigerian Law Society,” “Nigerian Bar Society,” “Nigerian Lawyers’ Society” and “The Association of Legal Practitioners of Nigeria” and issue a certificate of registration to that effect.”

Olotu claims that Section 40 of the Constitution, Article 10 of the ACHPR, and Article 20 of the UDHR all defend the right to peaceful assembly and association, which includes the kind of association the plaintiffs want to register.

Founded in 1933, the Nigerian Bar society remains the only professional society in Nigeria for lawyers.
Since the NBA’s founding, numerous organizations have submitted numerous applications to register as attorneys’ associations.