The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Olumide Akpata, has asked the Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), to “immediately” withdraw or rescind the amendments he unilaterally made to the 2007 Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners.
Akpata, in a September 15, 2020 letter to Malami, said the unilateral amendments made by the AGF to the RPC had created confusion and exposed the NBA to ridicule.
Malami had reportedly deleted the portions of the RPC that made it mandatory for Nigerian lawyers to buy the NBA stamp and seal and affix the same on papers they are filing in court for authenticity.
Akpata pointed out that the provision for stamp and seal, which Malami deleted, was an instrument being used by the NBA to check the incursion of quacks into legal practice and protect lawyers’ source of income from being taken away by non-lawyers.
The NBA President noted that his letter, titled, “Statutory Instrument No 15 of 2020 Amending the Rule of Professional Conduct of Legal Practitioners,” was coming after he met Malami in his office on September 14 to discuss the issue, following media reports.
He reiterated that Malami lacked the power to unilaterally undertake an amendment to the RPC, noting that such an amendment was the preserve of the General Council of the Bar.
Akpata said, “I have been duly informed, by NBA representatives on the Bar Council and other members of the Bar Council who have reached out to me, that to the best of their knowledge no meeting of the Bar Council was convened to discuss any amendments to the RPC or to approve the instrument. It, therefore, appears that the instrument was enacted without proper authority.
“Above and beyond the argument around the proper authority to amend the RPC, the purported deletion of some provisions of the RPC is also curious. A number of those provisions are aimed at checking the infiltration of quacks into the profession; protecting the turf and revenue of lawyers; improving professional standards through mandatory continuing professional development; and keeping track of the number of law offices operating in Nigeria at various branches of the NBA.
“It is therefore concerning that these provisions, many of which are forward-looking and seek to place the Nigerian legal profession at par with other self-regulatory professional associations around the world, would be targeted for deletion.”
Akpata said he admitted though that many of the provisions of the RPC had become outdated and he had decided to set up a committee to review the RPC and make recommendations to the Bar Council for possible amendments.
He said, “Pending such proposed holistic reforms to the RPC, I urge you to immediately rescind the instrument in the interest of the rule of law, the unity of the Bar, and the sanctity of the legal profession.
“The NBA has been subject to needless controversy and ridicule on account of the instrument and this does not augur well for the sanctity of the profession, of which you (Malami) are a stakeholder.”
