Lawyers encourage corrupt Judges to hinder justice delivery, it says
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Corrupt lawyers are part of the impediments to justice delivery in the country, acting as conduits between Judges and litigants who offer bribes to buy court judgments, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has lamented.
Adamawa NBA branch Chairman Jibril Jimeta made the point during the Law Week organished by the branch in Yola.
“Corruption in the legal profession is now in full scale às some of our members serve as the conduit for exchange of money between the Judges and litigants,” he said.
“We are not measured by our success but by the number of us who proved to be deviants.”
In his view, the legal profession is in disarray due to breach of the rules of professional conduct and other practices inimical to proper justice administration.
“Giving clients false hopes on the true fate of their cases while some lawyers approach Judges for bribes among other things re some of the bane in legal practice today.”
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Redeeming the image of the legal profession
To redeem the image of the profession, Jimeta argued, lawyers need to engage themselves in capacity development, obey court orders, and help strengthen the discipline mechanism of the National Judicial Council (NJC), per Daily Nigerian.
“The battered image of the profession can only be redeemed, strengthened and cleaned by the legal practitioners themselves,” he insisted.
He also advocated for a robust working relationship and synergy between the Bar and the Bench, reiterating the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.
Jimeta disclosed an interactive session was held during the Law Week where issues affecting Police Duty and the Solicitor Scheme (PDSS) were thoroughly addressed.
He listed the issues to include the gap between the legal aid and lawyers, actions of police in taking statement of a suspect, and the need for a good working relationship between lawyers and security agencies.
