Law in limbo 

By: Douglas Ogbankwa Esq @douglasogbankwa@gmail.com 

There is so much craze to contest and win elections at the Nigerian Bar Association(NBA) at all levels, but little desire for change in our profession.

If you ask many of those contesting what is their major reason for contesting , they hardly have an agenda. The craze for power and the false thinking that  there is money in the coffers. 

Our profession needs a change. The Independence of the Judiciary has been a protracted issue, left in the labyrinth of judicial politics.

We are unable to deploy technology to solve simple problems. A ₦4 SMS if the court is not sitting could save lives, resources, and time.

The Judges of the Federal High Court(FHC) give many obnoxious conditions for bail. Nigerians are roting in jail because of the very herculean conditions Judges of the Federal High Court give for bail. Many of those conditions cannot be met by the Judges themselves, if it was the other side of the coin.

Dates at the Supreme Court are like the thread passing through the proverbial eye of the needle. Appointment of Judges remains the exclusive prerogative of the rich and powerful. Human rights abuses have reached a new high. Agencies like the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency(NDLEA) in some states do not grant administrative bail.

We are at the Annual General Conference(AGC) in Enugu, which of these issues form our topics. We are bringing a South African to address us in the height of Xenophobic attacks on Nigerians.

The MCPD is a thorny issue that requires a secondary consideration. Practice of Law in Nigeria is regulated by the Legal Practitioners Act. The NBA is one of the bodies that make up the Body of Benchers and the General Council of  the Bar. If there is no law giving the NBA powers to do a thing, the NBA doing such will mean that we are resorting to self help. Also let the leadership of the NBA listen.