There is a sharp division amongst legal practitioners in the country over the amendment to the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) for Legal Practitioners 2007as lawyers claim it did not follow due process.
According to Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, the purported amendment is fraught with irregularities without the concurrence of the General Council of the Bar (GCB).
The development is coming on the heels of a petition to the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister for Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) by a splinter group known as the New NBA seeking recognition by the federal government.
The trouble in the NBA started last month following the decision of the association to withdraw its invitation to Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai, who had been billed to speak at its 60th Annual General Conference.
NBA President, Olumide Akpata stated over the weekend that the bar association does not recognise the new rules, saying “the NBA maintains that the RPC has not been amended and enjoins all legal practitioners to remain calm and continue to conduct their affairs in the same manner as they did prior to the issuance of the instrument.”
The NBA introduced the stamp and seal mainly to check quacks.
A human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), said although he agreed that the AGF’s action was illegal, “It is good riddance to bad rubbish.”
He said, “The NBA is a victim of impunity it nurtured to grow and develop. I have always opposed the stamp and seal because it was meant to restrict access to the temple of justice. Why must every court process be stamped by a lawyer when litigants have the constitutional rights to either appear for themselves or be defended by legal practitioners of their choice?
On his part, Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN) said there were consultations leading to the amendment carried out by the AGF.
