The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has tasked his colleague Senior Advocates of Nigeria on the need to uphold and promote ethics in the legal profession.
He said as the privileged custodians of the rank, they must act in manners that uphold its dignity, nobility and esteem.
The minister also cautioned junior lawyers against disrespect towards members of the inner bar (SANs), saying those conferred with the rank must be treated with utmost respect deserving of the exalted position.
A statement signed by Kamarudeen Ogundele, Special Assistant to the President (Communication and Publicity),
Office of the AGF and Minister of Justice stated that Fagbemi said this in Lagos on Saturday at the dinner held by the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN) in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the rank. He is the chairman of BOSAN.
At the event, 134 graduands of the BOSAN Induction Program – i.e., the 2024 set of 87 SANs and 2025 set of 57 SANs – were formally welcomed into the Body. Five students of various faculties of law in Nigerian universities were also awarded scholarship.
Thanking the CJN who was the special guest of honour and delivered the dinner lecture , the AGF said the partnership between the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) under her headship and that of the BOSAN had served to elevate the Rank and, more broadly, strengthen and advance the legal profession.
The AGF said, “There are those among us who appear to regard the Rank as a licence for misconduct and indiscipline, under the mistaken belief that once conferred, it is inalienable. That of course is not correct! The Rank is a privilege, and, like all privileges, it can be withdrawn if the recipient denigrates or lives below the standard of the privilege.
“The LPPC has made that very clear in its extant Regulations. But this goes beyond the LPPC. Enforcing discipline must start in-house, from our Body. It is in fact best that we, as a Body, self-regulate and not foist the entire burden of regulating the Rank on the LPPC or, worse, the LPDC. My take is that it is better to lead by example rather than precept.”