The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Yakubu Maikyau, says the Bar will not hesitate to punish any lawyer who is found wanting while discharging their official functions if proper evidence is found against them.

Maikyau spoke at a news conference to herald the 2023 annual general conference of the association with the theme ‘Getting It Right, Charting the Course for Nigeria’s Nation-building.

The NBA president implored all lawyers to always abide by the ethics of the profession as justice was a key component in building a free, fair, and developed country. He disclosed his worry about the derogatory manner that some senior lawyers analyse court proceedings and judgements on television stations and social media.

“If you disagree with the judgement of a court, there are avenues that have been provided by the law to challenge same. It is not through social media or TV stations.

“Most times, you will see even senior lawyers analysing judgements that they have not even read to understand the full reasons given by the court, in a very derogatory manner.

“If judgement does not favour you, you describe it in a derogatory manner but when it favours you, it is a victory for democracy.

“As lawyers, we should not forget the fact that we are Ministers in the temple of justice.

“It is justice that will guarantee our continued existence and growth as a nation. Justice must always be within the ambit of the law.

“Let us respect the fact that the judiciary is one institution that has kept us going as a nation.

“I have said before that anyone that has any evidence of corruption or misconduct against any judge should bring it to us and we will escalate it.

“It is not enough to just go out there to raise spurious and unsubstantiated allegations against judges. We are hurting the nation through such actions.

“On the issue of access to justice, we have said before that there is the need to increase the number of judges. Look at the issue of our prisons for instance, we need the appropriate legislative actions to check cases of awaiting trial inmates.

“Also, look at the Supreme Court for instance, there should be a constitutional amendment to ensure that not all cases go to the Supreme Court.

“We seriously need to decongest the court. There is a need to guarantee access to justice and quick dispensation of justice. This is why we talk about the need for law reforms.

“As an association, part of what we do is to engage the government. For instance, in this conference, we have a section on subsidy removal.

“Other issues to be discussed will include the new rules of professional conduct for lawyers which was last reviewed in 2007. We will also look at the Anti-money laundering guidelines.

“As it stands today, we have a total of 139, 000 lawyers that have been called to the Nigerian Bar, so far,” the NBA President added.