Law & Justice Sector Agenda; A Case for Nigeria

Today’s occasion affords us another opportunity to articulate some issues that have continued to threaten the continued existence of the law and justice sector in Nigeria. These issues have continued to erode the significance of legal practice and I am afraid that if these issues are not urgently addressed, we may find ourselves in the helpless situation where we may not be able to guarantee the future of our profession. The confidence of the public in the sector may also be affected. The solution therefore is for us to take deliberate steps in order to rescue the system form this imminent danger.

I have attempted to set out some of these issues and I will proceed to treat them in no particular order of importance.

Conference on Law & Justice Sector

From a review of the law and justice sector, it is difficult to trace any deliberate national policy or strategic future developmental plan to the sector; long term, short term or medium term. It would therefore suggest that the current state of the sector is a product of series of professional accidents or mistakes or a combination of both. More worrisome is the fact that the only strategic effort at developing the legal profession in Nigeria was the inauguration of the Unsworth Committee on the Future of the Nigerian Legal Profession. That was in 1959. The recommendation of the committee brought about the establishment of the Nigerian Law School and the enactment of the Legal Practitioners Act. In fact, the present structure of training of legal practitioners in Nigeria today owes its existence to the historic work of that committee.

The question that comes to mind is this; Can this be the future of the legal profession in Nigeria as contemplated by the Unsworth committee in 1959? From the summary of its recommendations, I am convinced that what obtains in the sector today is clearly at variance with the intention of the committee. Where we are today (with due respect) is the outcome of the lack of a developmental plan which has continued to elude the sector for over five decades. As a fervent believer in reforms, I do not think we should continue to fold our arms. Our current situation can be remedied. Although there may have been attempts by various component States to reform the justice sector of those individual States, it has now become necessary that we draw up a sector-wide and a nationwide Law and Justice Sector Agenda.