As part of efforts to reposition legal practice in Nigeria, improve its acceptability and retain its leading role in the comity of professional bodies in the country, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has said that it is considering reviewing rules guiding conducts of members in discharge of their professional duties.

NBA General Secretary, Mr. Isiaka Olagunju, who disclosed this to journalists in Ibadan, said the main focus of the initiative would be to curb professional misconduct by members and nudge them on high moral and ethical standards.

He said the body was disturbed and somehow embarrassed by the deluge of petitions against some members on allegations of misconduct, adding that the NBA was making moves to re-invigorate its members’ disciplinary process and improve on ethics development.

The first step, according to Olagunju, was to constitute a Legal Professional Regulation Review Committee which will be inaugurated by the NBA President, Mr. Mahmoud Balarabe (SAN), in Abuja this week.

He further disclosed that “the core mandate of the committee is to review the current regulatory objectives and the regulatory architecture of the legal profession and advise on its suitability to meet the current requirements for a robust, responsive and independent modern legal profession in Nigeria.”

While identifying enthronement of sanity and full restoration of the glory and pride of legal practice in the country as core of the current NBA leadership’s mandates, the scribe vowed that the association would treat every petition fairly, saying there would be no sacred cow in handling professional misconduct cases against members.

“If there is a rule and you are in breach of that rule, of course, you will face the wrath of the law. It is going to be a holistic process of regulating the legal profession in Nigeria. Some members have been dealt with in the past and some more will face disciplinary actions as soon as allegations against them are established.

“Nigerians expect a high level of integrity from lawyers. And that has been our strength as professionals. The moment you are a lawyer, people believe you must be incorruptible. So, if any lawyer is found wanting in his conduct, the fellow will face proper disciplinary measures.

“We want the whole world to know that there is a new sheriff in town now in the NBA, in the person of Mahmoud Balarabe (SAN), who is bent on regulating the legal profession for the benefit of the entire Nigeria. There won’t be any sacred cow. I can assure you of that,” he said.

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