By Chibuike Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Jibrin Okutepa, has called on Nigerian lawyers to return to the core values of the legal profession and play a more active role in safeguarding the country’s democracy and justice system.
Okutepa made the call in a post on his X handle on Saturday, expressing concern over what he described as the deteriorating state of democratic processes within the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
He said lawyers remained critical to the growth and development of democracy, noting that historical jurisprudence across the world had shown the significant contributions of members of the legal profession to the advancement of developed nations.
The senior lawyer, however, lamented that the NBA appeared to be in a “worse state” in terms of democratic processes, saying the recently concluded NBA election had further reinforced his concerns.
“I have always believed that we the members of the legal profession hold the key to democratic growth and development,” Okutepa said.
He urged practising lawyers to assist courts and tribunals in the administration of justice without allowing selfish, primordial or partisan interests to obscure the real issues in disputes.
According to him, lawyers must ensure that their advocacy promotes justice rather than erecting obstacles to its attainment.
“When we as lawyers argue causes and matters in the chameleon’s manner to impose injustice and pervert the cause of justice and produce unjust decisions, we murdered justice and enthroned evil,” he said.
Okutepa argued that such practices had contributed to the emergence of what he described as “democratic dictatorship” in Nigeria’s electoral jurisprudence, while also emboldening political rascality in the country.
He also challenged members of the judiciary to be more vigilant in checking what he called the inconsistent advocacy of some lawyers who allegedly advance contradictory legal positions in ways that could undermine justice.
The SAN recalled a notable pronouncement by the late Justice Niki Tobi of the Supreme Court in Abubakar v. Yar’Adua (2008) 19 NWLR (Pt. 1120) 1 at 177–178, where the jurist declared that no human being could influence him in the performance of his judicial duties, stressing that only God could.
Okutepa questioned how many judicial officers in Nigeria today could confidently make a similar declaration about their independence.
He said growing public perception that lawyers contribute to Nigeria’s problems might not be entirely misplaced, stressing that while lawyers had a professional duty to represent their clients, they must never knowingly mislead courts or tribunals under the guise of professional responsibility.
“No lawyer should knowingly mislead the court or Tribunals in the guise of performing professional duties,” he warned.
The senior advocate further called on the NBA to “wake up and act decisively,” warning that continued deterioration in public confidence in the legal profession could have serious consequences for lawyers.
He stressed that he was not advocating doom but was instead urging members of the profession to reflect seriously on the way legal practice was conducted in Nigeria.
“ In advanced countries, lawyers are the light that shine in darkness. But here it appears that darkness has overshadowed the purity of legal practice to the prejudice of justice. This is so sad,” he said.
Okutepa also expressed concern over the absence of immediate remedies for victims of wrongdoing, arguing that delays in securing justice had contributed to the growth of impunity and corruption in the country.
He maintained that no society could achieve meaningful political or economic development where the justice system was weakened by delays and judgments that, in his view, failed the test of logic and justice.
The senior lawyer further stressed the importance of judicial independence to democratic development, describing an independent judiciary as the “cornerstone of democratic growth and development.”
He therefore urged Nigerian lawyers to recognise the weight of their responsibility in preventing what he called “democratic dictatorship” and in restoring public confidence in the country’s justice system.
