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  • COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED AT THE END OF THE 51st ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE NBA HELD AT PORT HARCOURT

COMMUNIQUÉ ISSUED AT THE END OF THE 51st ANNUAL GENERAL CONFERENCE OF THE NBA HELD AT PORT HARCOURT

 

1.  Preamble 

The 51st Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) was organised as a week-long event with the theme ‘Sustaining an Enduring Democracy for Nigeria’. The Annual General Conference which held at the Civic Centre in the Garden City (Port Harcourt), Rivers State was consistent with the NBA’s well known aims and objectives coupled with her patriotic commitments, professional concerns and historical responsibilities to the Nigerian nation in particular and humanity at large. The conference was also intended as a platform for lawyers, judges and other stakeholders in the legal profession to learn, exchange notes, retool, understand, recharge, reflect and proffer solutions to the seeming ceaseless challenges confronting the profession and democracy in Nigeria.

The conference was declared open by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, GCFR, ably represented by the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke, SAN who equally delivered a goodwill message. His Excellency, the Governor of Rivers State, the Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi equally graced the occasion and formally welcomed all participants as the Host Governor. The Annual General Conference received an interesting and profound keynote address from the highly revered Nobel laureate and an uncommon patriot; Professor Wole Soyinka.

The conference was also graced by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, ably represented by Honourable Emmanuel Jime respectively, while Senator Ita Enang was in attendance as well. The President of the West Africa Bar Association (WABA), Mr. Moussa Coulibaly and the President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA), Mrs. Boma Ozobia, delivered goodwill messages as well.

 

2. Structure of the Conference

   The conference consisted of an Opening Ceremony, a Showcase Session, two (2) Special and twenty (20) other sessions on different areas and interests driven by the 3 major sections in the NBA namely – Section on Legal Practice (SLP), Section on Business Law and the Section on Public Interest and Development Law (SPIDEL) and other fora such as Corporate Counsel Forum, Women’s Forum, Young Lawyers Forum, Human Rights Institute, British-Nigerian Lawyers Forum, UK/NBA Session, Judges’ Forum and the NBA-NDCC Collaboration Forum.

 

3. Thematic presentations

Apart from the deep, detailed and roundly-applauded Welcome Address cum State of the Nation by the President of the NBA Mr. Joseph Bodunrin Daudu SAN, the conference received a keynote address on the conference theme from Prof Wole Soyinka, three goodwill messages and at least thirty two (32) other commissioned papers around the theme of the conference including but not limited to the following:

1)   Towards a New Nigeria; The Quest for Good Governance, and the Rule of Law;

2)   The Role of Lawyers in the Anti-Money Laundering Regime;

3)   The Role of Legal Practitioner as Strategic Partner in the fight against Money Laundering;

4)   Facilitating Investments and Regulation in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry: The Role of Lawyers;

5)   The New Tax Regime: Integrity of Tax Collection and the Relevance of Tax Appeal Tribunals;

6)   Non-Interest Banking in Nigeria – Is It Legal, Viable and Sustainable?;

7)   Impact of Corporate Governance on Business Management Procedures;

8)   Prosecution of Electoral Offenders: Sine Qua Non for Strengthening our Democracy;

9)   Stemming Electoral Violence in Nigeria – A Focus on the Adequacy of the Law and its Enforcement;

10)  Speedy Administration of Justice: Which Way Forward?;

11)  Locus Standi and Public Interest Litigation;

12)  Public Interest Litigation in an Emerging Democracy;

13)  National Unity and the Citizen Question in Nigeria: The Way to Go!;

14)  The Notary Public Act, Aims, Visions and Approach;

15)  Resource Abundance and Poverty in the Niger Delta – The Impact of NEITI;

16)  The Concept of Greater Port Harcourt and Its Implications to Extant Town Planning Law;

17)  Quantity Vs. Quality: Performance Evaluation of Judges and the Role of the Bar;

18)  Mutual Respect between the Bench and the Bar;

19)  Court Room Ethics and Decorum;

20)  Increasing Profitability in a Recession;

21)  Relevant Business Development Skills for Lawyers;

22)  The Legal Profession: Raising the Bar of Ethical Standards;

23)  The Legal Profession and Implementation of FOI Act;

24)  Litigating Before the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights;

25)  Alternative Disputes Resolution: How Profitable for Nigerian Lawyers;

26)  The Growth of Mediation Advocacy in the Nigerian Legal System;

27)  The Role of the Female Lawyer in Nation Building;

28)  Rain Making for the Female Lawyer;

29)  Emerging Trends in the Nigerian Legal Profession: The Young Lawyers’ Role;

30)  Mergers and Acquisitions: Identifying Opportunities and Avoiding Pitfalls;

31)  Managing External Legal Support, and;

32)  The Role of Broadcast Media in the Sustenance of Democracy in Nigeria.

 

4. Observations

Conference observes, inter alia;

1)  That the 21st century is a knowledge-based century wherein advances in Information & Communication Technology (ICT) have become so manifest and pervasive that they ought to be placed at the disposal of, and utilization by, the legal profession particularly the Bench and the Bar in the dispensation and administration of justice at all levels;

2)  That given the foregoing, the need for continued legal education for both the Bench and the Bar becomes even more imperative;

3)  That the powers and duties of the Bench are clearly articulated in the Constitution and other relevant statutory enactments, the most important being the promotion and protection of the Rule of Law and Due Process;

4)  That the Rule of Law and Due Process have lately been subjected to near unprecedented and debasing attacks by those actually entrusted with the responsibility of promoting and protecting the sacred principle;

5)  That a crooked and corrupt judiciary will promote anarchy and insecurity in the polity;

6)  That the Bar and the Bench must necessarily have a relationship that is mutually dependent and re-enforcing and that any blot on the judiciary is detrimental to the polity at large;

7)  That the ominous dark cloud in the polity today is traceable to the fact that the Constitution has unwittingly conferred upon the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) too much powers without any checks on the occupant of the office whatsoever, which powers subtly encourage abuse of power and concommitant corruption of the legal and judicial system;

8)  That the legal profession, the world over,  is undergoing constant and rapid transformational revolution, especially in terms of human resource capacity enhancement, broad-based composition, procedural and adjectival law reforms,  and application of technology;

9)  That the legal profession, particularly the judiciary, in a democratic polity like Nigeria must be properly insulated from undue political pressures and the attendant political manipulation or executive interferences;

10)      That the legal profession, particularly the Bench must strictly adhere to the Rule of Law encompassing unassailable integrity, solid reputation, transparency, equality before the law, fairness, accountability, honour, respect for human dignity, human rights and constitutionalism;

11)      That some of the challenges facing the legal profession in Nigeria include but not limited to incompetent and myopic judicial officers, careerism in judicial appointments, lack of a broad-based or balanced Bench, absence of leadership training and re-training, judicial corruption coupled with failure to implement a paradigm shift in keeping with best practices in the appointment of the leadership of the judiciary;

12)      That there are a lot of Legal Practitioners in Nigeria who are not only honourable, patriotic, transparent, hardworking and incorruptible but fit and proper for appointment to the Bench and elevation to the Higher Bench but who are regularly bypassed on account of mundane and mediocre considerations;

13)      That although there is corruption in every society and a notorious fact that it is widespread in
Nigeria, the corruption in the Nigeria Judiciary is increasingly uncontrollable even at the apex courts, thus portending serious danger to sustainable democracy and good governance in Nigeria and Africa; 

14)      That a courteous, cool, calm, decent and incorruptible judicial leadership is not only an asset but has the potential of converting the entire legal profession and indeed, the citizenry into a major watchdog effectively acting as checks and balances on the relevant authorities and their excesses. 

 

5. Resolutions and Recommendations

At the end of the Conference and Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Civic Centre Port Harcourt on the 25th of August 2011, it was unanimously resolved as follows:

 

1)  The Judiciary 

a)   Conference endorsed and or adopted of all the resolutions of the NBA/NEC held on Sunday, 21st August 2011 at the House of Assembly Complex Auditorium, Port Harcourt on the current imbroglio in the judiciary, namely;

 i.        That the purported suspension of the President of the Court of Appeal, the Honourable Justice Ayo Salami (OFR) by the National Judicial Council taken in full knowledge of pending litigation in the Federal High Court Abuja on the subject matter of the competence of the NJC, her agents and servants to discipline one of the Parties to the proceedings is not only legal anathema but is mala fide, unacceptable,  unconstitutional, illegal and damaging to the image of the nation, the credibility of the judiciary, the legal profession and our fledgling democracy;

ii.        That the appointment of Justice Dalhatu Adamu as the Acting President of the Court of Appeal is a breach of the due process and the Rule of Law;

iii.        That the President of the Federal Republic is advised to reinstate the President of the Court of Appeal, the Hon. Justice Isa Ayo Salami (OFR) forthwith;

iv.        That NBA representatives on the National Judicial Council (NJC) boycott forthwith the body until NBA demands for constitutional reform of the composition, chairmanship and functions of the NJC are met;

     v.        That all lawyers and the newly appointed SANs should boycott the Swearing-in Ceremony fixed for Friday 26th August, 2011 (a date that falls within our Annual General Conference) by the Chief Justice of Nigeria;

    vi.        That in the event that the newly appointed SANs disobey NEC Resolution, their names shall not only be entered into a Roll of Dishonour and their membership of the NBA withdrawn, they shall not be recognised as Senior Advocates at any function of the NBA.

    • That the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) shall no longer appoint other members of the NJC;
    • That the Five (5) Nominees of the NBA to the NJC should be increased to at least ten (10) by the necessary constitutional amendment;
    •  Furthermore, that the provisions of Paragraph (i) 20 (i) of the Third Schedule, Part 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which preclude all NBA nominees on the NJC from dealing with judicial matters other than appointments into the superior courts of record (i.e. only one item out of thirteen) is certainly discriminatory and unwarranted and should be outrightly amended. (After all Judges play prominent role in the disciplining of lawyers);
    • That as a result of over concentration of powers in the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria by the 1999 Constitution leading to the abuse of such powers by the incumbent Chief Justice particularly in all the matters leading to the faceoff between the CJN/PCA; the CJN should henceforth cease to be the Chairman of the NJC and all other similar constitutional and statutory bodies;
    • Furthermore, it is resolved that any suitable Nigerian with requisite experience, impeccable records of service and competence (like a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, former President of the NBA, Professor of Law, or any legal practitioner etc) could be appointed as Chairman for only one term of five years;
    • That the next CJN should not be any one who has either directly or indirectly participated in the on-going embarrassing murk at the apex judicial body and at best must be appointed from outside the Supreme Court to ensure transparency and continued sanctity of the judicial process;
    • That appointments into the Bench at whatever level, the Higher Bench especially, must henceforth be predicated upon merit and the recommendation of the Bar to ensure that only quality people are elevated as Judicial Officers and that corruption is reduced to the barest minimum;
    • That successive leadership of the judiciary should be trained on leadership, supervision, delegation, mentoring, coaching and human resource management as well as to ensure that relationships between Bench & Bar as well as amongst judicial officers are characterized by mutual respect, dignity, tolerance, civility, discretion, good humour, maturity, calmness, wisdom, transparency, tolerance and propriety, hallmarks of the esteemed learned profession;
    • That the Bar and the Bench must show mutual respect for each other so that the administration of justice would not be jeopardized.
    • That all levels of government in Nigeria must ensure the independence of the judiciary.
    • The Rule of Law must prevail in Nigeria and the NBA shall keep a vigilant watch to ensure this at all times;

     

    2.   Six Year Single Tenure Bill 

    • Conference affirmed and reiterated the stance of NBA/NEC at Katsina to the effect that the single term of six years proposed bill by the presidency for the President and Governors is a distraction as well as opportunistic and self serving as the President was expected to build on the gains of the last elections rather than on political exigencies.
    • The President should rather concentrate on economic transformation and deliverables rather than mundane constitutional amendments.  

     

    3.  The Legal Profession and Human Rights 

    Conference resolved also:

    1)  That there should be urgent strengthening of the internal control, regulatory mechanisms and disciplinary procedures in the legal profession as well as effective oversight by the relevant committees;

     

    2)  That the legal profession should put in place a comprehensive strategy to fighting corruption within the profession and in the larger Nigerian polity which strategy should be systematic, comprehensive, consistent, focused, publicized, non-selective and non-partisan;

     

    3)  That the legal profession should reform the mechanisms for measuring judicial performance, efficiency
    and effectiveness with the Bar playing a pivotal role in this as opposed to the old order where it was completely excluded from performing this all-important role;

     

    4)  That the excess money accruing from the applications for the rank of the Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) be used to establish and give scholarships to indigent Law Students in the Nigerian Law School;

     

    5)  That the Justice Sector Trust Fund be activated and made up of 5 trustees;

     

    6)  That as part of NBA social responsibility agenda, the AGM resolved that a Trust Fund for children dying of famine and starvation in most parts of the world, particularl Somalia, be created with every member of the NBA contributing a minimum of N500 (Five Hundred Naira) so as to ensure that the plight of the needy and those who are socially disadvantaged are brought to the attention of the world;

     

    7)  That a Human Rights Institute Trust Fund be set up to which NBA members, international development partners, corporate entities would donate funds for the implementation of programmes aimed at strengthening the Human Rights Justice Sector;

     

    8)  That two new Branches of NBA be created in Bori and Olleh having met the criteria for the creation of branches;

     

    9)  That in future all proposed motions for resolutions be forwarded to the Secretariat well ahead of the Annual General Meeting (AGM) for orderly presentation as future meetings of the NBA will not entertain any motion that is unwritten and not previously circulated;

     

    10)      That the NBA should activate a Members Welfare Fund;

     

    11)      That the 1999 Constitution be further amended to import items in the Chapter 2 that grant or enhance social, economic and political rights of Nigerians to Chapter IV of the same Constitution so that the said items become justiciable;

     

    12)      That henceforth the NBA prayer shall be recited or otherwise read at every NBA function.

    4.  Social, Economic, Cultural Rights, Indigineship and Citizenship Rights, Public Interest Litigation and Non-Interest Banking

     

    Conference further resolved:

     

    1)  That the Nigerian Governments and Legislatures should pass laws for the effective enforcement of social, economic  and cultural rights by Nigerians irrespective of indigineship or residency;

     

    2)  That government at all levels should urgently take measures to address the contentious yet never-ending issue of ethnic identity or indigenship versus citizenship with greater emphasis on Residency Rights so as to effectively address and permanently solve the recurring ethnic crises in many parts of the country;

     

    3)  That the opposition to non-interest banking was as a result of lack of information as well as undue emphasis on terminologies of particular religious beliefs and further that non-interest banking should be secularized and shorn of any divisive principles or terminologies;

     

    4)  That being social engineers, the Nigerian Legal Practitioner particularly Senior Counsel, should rise up and be involved in socio-economic rights and public interest litigation to ensure the prevalence of the Rule of Law and due process as well as sustainable democracy and good governance in Nigeria;

     

    5.  Establishment of Notaries Public Forum & Reform of Notary Public Act in Nigeria

        Conference equally resolved as outlined hereunder:

    1)  That the Notaries Public Forum is hereby established as an additional structure of the NBA to take charge of all matters relating to the Notary Public Institution;

     

    2)  That there was urgent need to review and reform the Notary Public Act given that the extant law is obsolete and not in tune with current realities and global best practises, the NBA hereby undertakes to lead this initiative in conjunction with all stakeholders and the National Assembly;

     

    3)  That a Code of Conduct be created to regulate and guide the activities of Notaries Public in Nigeria; and further, to avoid inaccuracy, identification problems and for record purposes, a Directory and Register of Nigerian Notaries Public shall be compiled and published and maintained by appropriate authority;

     

    6.  ADR, Female Lawyers, Young Lawyers, FOI Act and Lawyers in Media: 

    Conference, in similar vein, resolved:

    1)  ADR - That the use of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is a veritable tool of importance to lawyers and the citizenry. Accordingly, stakeholders are encouraged to utilize ADR Mechanisms.

    2)  FEMALE LAWYERS - That a constitutional amendment or relevant statute has become necessary to guarantee Nigerian women a minimum percentage in politics and national life so as to actualize the government policy on the issue;

    3)  That female lawyers need not see any part of the law as difficult and should be trained in specialist areas, taking interest in human and woman rights and public interest litigation as a means of demonstrating competence, and helping to ensure progress in society;

    4)  That to prevent cervical cancer women should get tested as early detection is the key to prevention. Furthermore, in the light of the discovery of a new vaccine which prevents cervical cancer, all efforts should henceforth be put in place to ensure that the female gender at age 12 and above should get vaccinated;

     

    5)  YOUNG LAWYERS - That the young lawyer should work hard, building integrity, earning a good reputation and pedigree, particularly in the areas of the law hitherto unexplored such as Patents, Intellectual Property, including learning foreign languages like French, Arabic, German, Chinese, Spanish etc;

    6)  That there must be better understanding between the in-house lawyer and the external solicitor for the relationship to blossom;

    7)  MEDIA - That for the sustenance of democracy, the media must report the truth at any and all times;

    8)  That excessive control by the Government is adversely affecting the broadcast media, especially in the issuance of licenses as licenses should be given to every qualified applicant who satisfies the criteria set by the laws;

    9)  That Internet Publication being subject to the Law of Defamation, the law on Internet Libel should be developed in leaps and bounds;

    10)      FOI - That the NBA should set up a compact committee to act as a watch dog to ensure the implementation of the FOI Act;

    11)      That the NBA should provide legal aid to those wanting to access the African Court on Human and People’s Rights and other similar regional and global mechanisms as well as take urgent steps to ensure that qualified Nigerian legal professionals are appointed as staff and judges in these regional & global mechanisms;

    12)      That there should be a Partnership between NBA and the African Court on Human and People’s Rights and similar bodies regionally and globally;

     

    7.  General Council of the Bar

    Conference, after due deliberations, approved the list of names of members submitted to her for election of  20  members of the Bar as required by the Legal Practitioners Act to be forwarded to the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and the elected representatives of the Bar are as follows:

     

    1. Joseph Bodunrin Daudu SAN
    2. Chief Oluwole Olanipekun SAN
    3. Olisa Agbakoba SAN
    4. Olumuyiwa Akinboro
    5. Adeyemi Candid-Johnson SAN
    6. Emmanuel C. Ukala SAN
    7. Funke Adekoya SAN
    8. Marcus Saleh Yarkasuwa SAN
    9. S. I. Ameh SAN
    10. Okay Wali SAN
    11. Blessing E. Ukiri
    12. Hajiya Fatima Kwaku MFR
    13. Victor Grant
    14. Ebitu Akpadia
    15. Oseloka Osigwe
    16. Andy Odum
    17. Usman Shehu
    18. G. A. Adesina
    19. Mohammed B. Audie
    20. Kazeem Adebanjo 

     

    8.  Appreciation

    Conference appreciates the Host Governor, the Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, Governor of Rivers State, the Government and the good People of Rivers State for their hospitality and support in hosting the roundly successful conference as well as the leadership and members of the Technical Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP) and the Local Organising Committee (LOC).

     

    Signed: 

    Joseph Bodunrin Daudu SAN
    President Nigerian Bar Association
    Port Harcourt- 26th August 2011