OPENING CEREMONY OF THE 55TH ANNUAL GENERAL

CONFERENCE OF THE NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION HELD AT THE

AFRICA HALL OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE,
ABUJA ON THE 23RD OF AUGUST, 2015.
THEME OF CONFERENCE: LAWYERS AND NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
1.0. Introduction:
The 55th Annual General Conference opening ceremony commenced
in earnest at 5pm with the arrival of the President of the Federal
Republic of Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Compere of the opening event was Richard Mofe-Damijo, film
actor, lawyer, and one-time Commissioner in the government of
Delta State. He invited O.C.J.

Okocha SAN, OFR, JP to say the

opening prayers, which was said in conformity with the NBA

prayers as drafted by Senator Onyeabo-Obi and Mrs. Hairat
Balogun.
2.0. Otunba Dele Oye, Chairman of the Technical Committee on
Conference Planning (TCCP):
His welcome address emphasised the activities and programs lined
up for them and encouraged participants to effectively participate
in all 38 break-out sessions. He further thanked all sponsors and
enjoined members to network as over 7000 delegates had registered
and more were being expected. He appreciated the Technical
Committee on Conference Planning (TCCP), Unity Bar, the NBA
secretariat as well as Sponsors for their support.
3.0. Agada Elachi Esq., FICMC, Chairman of the host branch, NBA
Abuja Branch:
Delivered the message from the host branch tagged Sounds and
Sights of Abuja in which he enjoined lawyers to visit popular sites

and places in Abuja. He urged NBA members to catalyse national

development by being the change they want to see.

4.0. Augustine Alegeh SAN, President of the NBA:

Mr. NBA Presidents prefatory remarks included a warm hand of
welcome to all participants followed by a prayer for colleagues who
had passed on since the last Annual General Conference at Owerri
in 2014. He rounded up his prefatory remarks by congratulating on
behalf of the NBA, President Muhammadu Buhari on his victory at
the 2015 polls.
The NBA President further
Noted that the THEME OF THIS YEARS CONFERENCE was
chosen specially to afford conferees an opportunity to take stock,
assess and evaluate our roles as lawyers in the development of our
communities and the nation;
Stated that the conference would also enable the administration
highlight on its achievements so far: identify the low points and
failings and map out a more progressive strategy for contributing to
National Development;
Announced that the NBA IS WILLING, READY AND ABLE TO
WORK with the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to
bring about the desired change in keeping with the theme of the
conference; and in our desire to fully harness the benefits of
democracy;
Highlighted some of his administrations ACHIEVEMENTS, viz.
o NBA insurance policy,

o NBA identity card in partnership with Access bank,

o NEC reforms,
o Practicing license in line with Rule12 RPC,
o NBA stamp in line with Rule 10 RPC,
o Increased number of investigative panels on disciplinary
issues (15 panels in all, Abuja has 2 and Lagos 4),
o Construction of NBA National secretariat,
o Secretariat reform to improve service delivery at the Bar,
o Affinity products such as discounts for services with some
service providers such as airlines, hotels et.al wherein lawyers
pay lower amount for services,
o Presidents dinner for new SANs where the rules and ethics of
the inner bar are given to them,
o Workshops,
o NBA pro bono centers
Took

credit

for

ELECTIONS

as

the
the

SUCCESS
NBA

OF

THE

inaugurated

LAST

GENERAL

mobilization

and

enlightenment centres and interactions; and an election working

groups;
Thanked

the

TECHNICAL

COMMITTEE

ON

CONFERENCE

PLANNING (TCCP) AND THE LOCAL ORGANIZING COMMITTEE

(LOC) for a job well done in putting together this years conference;
Expressed delight at the unprecedented PRESENCE OF THE
PRESIDENT AND VICE-PRESIDENT of the Federal Republic of
Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari and Prof. Yemi Osibanjo respectively

at the conference; and particularly on the Presidents commitment

to the Rule of Law and maintained that change is possible when
there is a will and conviction;
Asserted that his administrations commitment to MOVE THE BAR
FORWARD remains unshaken;
Highlighted CHANGES IN THIS YEARS CONFERENCE FORMAT
from previous conferences, viz.:
o Jumat prayers;
o Church prayers;
o Visit to two IDPS;
o Football match;
o Opening ceremony of conference on a Sunday and
prays that it becomes the trend;
o One

young

lawyer

each

registered

free

for

the

conference from each NBA branch, there being a total

of 104 NBA branches;
o Enumerated some AREAS OF INTEREST TO THE NBA such
as:
o JUSTICE SECTOR REFORM, viz:
That the PRISONS should be brought under the
justice

sector

and

not

the

Ministry

of

Environment;
BILLS of the 7th Assembly which have not been
assented to should be sent to the 8 th Assembly for

amendment before assenting. This is because

some of the bills have overlapping functions etc.
o Asserted NBAS WILLINGNESS TO SPONSOR BILLS if
government is willing;
o Emphasised new scopes and definitions of DISCIPLINE OF
LAWYERS to include any act of lawyers in their various extracurricular endeavours which has the effect of bringing down
the

profession.

These

shall

be

taken

hereinafter

as

Professional Misconduct;
o Announced the enhancement of the WHISTLE BLOWING
MECHANISM of the NBA to curb judicial excesses and
indolence is enhanced;
o Postulated the IMPERATIVE OF REFORM in the Judiciary,
and asserted that proper funding of the Judiciary was
necessary to curb corruption; and in conclusion;
o Submitted that the choice of the Honourable Chief Justice
and President of the Supreme Court of Kenya Dr. Willy
Munyoki Mutunga was inspired by the innovative steps that
the Chief Justice has taken to transform the Kenyan judicial
system since his appointment as Chief Justice; and
o Thanked President Muhammadu Buhari and all present and
promised to do all within the power of the NBA to defend the
Rule of Law.
5.0. Hon. Justice Mahmud Mohammed
the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN)
o Acknowledged the support of the Executive to the Judiciary in
UPHOLDING THE RULE OF LAW;

o Deprecated the role played by lawyers in DELAYING JUSTICE

ADMINISTRATION THROUGH INTERLOCUTORY APPEALS;
and
o Deprecated the rise in PETITIONS AGAINST JUDGES by all
sorts of people.
On REFORMS IN THE JUDICIARY he:
o Enjoined counsels to imbibe the ADR in resolving disputes
and in this light, stated that there will be a functional Multi
door court house in all the state High Courts.
o Called for collaboration between the NBA and the Judiciary to
secure

functional

emails

to

enable

exchange

of

correspondences
o Issuance of e-notices: The e-hearing notices with SMS to
determine effective service
o E-delivery post by email, short term messages at no legal cost
to lawyers initially
o Acknowledged general problems facing the judiciary which
requires ICT solutions as judges are still taking notes in long
hand form, this however requires adequate funding and
utilization of the resources provided.
o Noted that there is a PROLIFERATION OF PETITIONS which
the NJC has no jurisdiction to entertain, stating that
counsels resort to attack judges when they are on the wrong
side of the law, he discouraged this practice and stated that
petitions on judicial officers should be firmly supported by
strong evidence.

o Added that ONE OF THE CORE FUNCTIONS of the NJC is

fishing out indolent judges and showing them the way out of
the system and reward hard working judges
o Creation of

NEW GUIDELINES

IN

APPOINTMENT

OF

JUDICIAL OFFICERS to superior courts of records. Hestated

thattheoldguidelinesforappointmenthavebeensweptaway
givingroomforallLegalPractitionerstomakeittoallcourts
includingthepostoftheChiefJusticeofNigeria. Headded
that this will give room for prominent legal officers and
appointments of competent and qualified lawyers directly to
higher courts;
o Statedthatthisparticularinnovationwillmakeroomfor
improvingthequalityoftheBench;
o Stressedthatjudicialoffcersneedtobekeptalertthrough
ON-THESPOTASSESSMENTandthatjudicialofficers
manifestingbadbehaviourwillbesanctioned,whilejudges
whoactwellwillreceiveheartyapprobation;
o AppealedtoJUDGESTOSHOWDUEDILIGENCEinthe
performanceoftheirduties,inparticulartoupholdtherights
ofthecitizeninfairhearingaccordingtotheconstitution.
o Urged that Bar and Bench speak with one voice in the
provision of SPEEDY DISPENSATION OF JUSTICE AND
RULE OF LAW, and develop the mastery and knowledge to
tackle the problem;
o Highlighted THE CHALLENGES OF THE JUDICIARY to
include the
Recording of proceedings by judges in long hand;
Incessant petitions to the NJC;

 Independence of the judiciary;

o In

CONCLUSION,

he

wished

all

conferees

fruitful

deliberation and wished for better days to come.

6.0. KEYNOTE SPEAKER: DR. WILLY MUNYOKI MUTUNGA (CHIEF
JUSTICE AND PRESIDENT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF
KENYA)
6.1. TRANSFORMINGJUDICIARIESINAFRICA
(THEKENYANEXPERIENCE)
On a lighter note, he commented on lengthy protocol before
speeches in Nigeria, and said in Kenya protocol consisted
simply of, I honour you all or I respect you all and
Congratulated the Nigerian President on his success at the
general elections in Nigeria;
Commended Nigerians for their achievements continent-wise,
mentioning that he met lots of Nigerian law lecturers and
professors in his University of Dar Es Salaam, including Prof.
Umozurike, Prof. Osita Eze, and Prof Ben Nwabueze
EmphasisedHIGHLIGHTSOFHISPAPER;
Posedquestionson
o Whether Judiciaries Contribute To The Social
TransformationinAfrica;and
Maintained that the Role of Law in Social Transformation
hasbeenadebate;but
ConcludedthattheLawIndeedHasARoleToPlayInSocial
Transfromation;
Focused on the Kenyan constitution, its role and theory
generation,

jurisprudence

and

aspects

of

various

transformation and paradigm shifts;

StatedthattheKenyanConstitutionssuperstructureisbased
onthepeopleandtheKenyanruleoflaw;
Shed light on the Kenyan Judiciary and addressed some of the
issues that helped the Kenyan judiciary and country get to
where they are today;

6.2.
KENYANEXPERIENCE/KENYACONSTITUTION
ThenewKenyanConstitution:
o Makes provisons in the democratization and
decentralizationofthejudicialsystem;
o Prioritisesintegrityinpublicleadership;
o Enforcespoliticalandcivilrights;
o Strengthensinstitutions;and
o Notedthatthecreatedinstitutionsshouldreflectchecks
andbalances;
On social transformation, he called for a change and noted the
Presence of Western Contemporary Capitalism In The
Inherited Constitutions and statedthattheKenyanpeoplein
the2010Constitution,chosearootoftransformationfromthe
old Constitution; chose to retain their integrity; and chose a
constitution that reflects freedom from the British colonial
masters;
The Application of the Rule of Law is of utmost importance to
Transformation and Justice;
Generally acknowledged that law has a great distributing effect
and cannot be overlooked;
The Constitution not the historical pact is key to Promoting
Transformative Constitutionalism;
Constitutionalism is anchored on Jurisprudence which
allows us to be shapers, producers and promoters of theoretical
honours;
Enrichment

of

jurisprudence

in

Kenya

helped

resolve

challenges;
Kenyans allowed their past experience to reflect in their new
Constitution;
The provisions of the Constitution on Decentralization of
Executive Powers gave Kenyans hope that the Constitution is
not to deal with them but to help them;

Creation of Institutions Providing Checks and Balances

reflects the will and commitment of Kenyans to pursue peace,
eradicate poverty and build individual persons.
6.3.
ANEWJUDICIARYINKENYA
The new Constitution created a new judiciary and required that the
judiciarytransformitselffasttobethechangeandmeettheethosofa
transformativeCconstitution.
AppointmentToTheJudiciaryInKenya
Interviews for appointment to judgeship in Kenya are
conducted in the public domain and televised;
Recruitments into the Kenyan judiciary are fair and just;
In Kenya, anyone qualified can apply for the post of judicial
offices, be interviewed, appointed on the merits in a process
devoid of corruption
Independence of Judiciary and Judicial Officers
Kenyan Constitution institutionalised the independence of
the judiciary and judicial officers;
Funding and Welfare of the Judiciary
Kenyan Constitution sets out a judiciary plan which protects
the funding and welfare of the judiciary, which prompted for
the creation of a new judiciary;
Training of Judges
A judicial institute to train judicial officers for effective
service exists in Kenya;

Sundry Reforms
The

Kenyan

judiciary

has

been

male

dominated

but

deliberate work on gender balance and gender equity is

ongoing;
In Kenyas (pre-2010 constitution) judiciary, the Chief Judge
rarely sat in public with the President of Kenya or Speaker of
the National Assembly but it is no longer so;
In Kenya, the courts are paperless, the bench socializes
lightly and relates with the litigants.
IndependenceOfTheJudiciaryInKenya
IndependenceofthejudiciaryisheavilychallengedinKenya
bytheexecutiveandparliamentaryarmsofgovernment,as
well as communities where judges come from, families,
friends,race,region,clan,gender,etc;
There is Constitutional Supremacy in Kenya although
Parliament needs a shift in mindset from seeing itself as a
ParliamentarySupremacy;
The2010Constitutionexpresslystipulatestheindependence
ofthefundsavailabletothejudiciary.
HighlightsOfTheNewConstitution
Inthepre2010 Constitution,the Chief Judgewassupposed
tomakerulesforthebillofrightswhichmadeitimposiblefor
thecitizentoenforetheirfundamentalrightswithoutthebill.
Thishaschanged;
The new Constitution will be interpreted in a manner that
priotizes its aim and principle and also promotes good
governance and the provisions of the constitution will be
interpretedasitis.

ThenewConstitutionfacilitateseconomic,socialandpolitical
growth.
InterpretationLawTheory
Thetheoryofinterpretationbindsthecourtandismadeby
theSupremeCourt.Itisatheoryaboutvaluesandgivesan
interdisciplinary aproach to the Constitution. It seeeks
development,participationandinfluence.
TheJudiciaryTransformationFramework(Jtf)
TheJTFisablueprintinfourforms
o AccesstoJustice
o Infrastructure
o Transformativelaw
o UsingTechnologyasanenablerforjustice.
HestatedthatthegoalofapaperlessSupremeCourtwasto
enabletransparencyofrecordsandabridgecorruption.
CulturalRevolutionsInKenyaJudiciary
Democratization of the drinking of tea in the judiciary
expandedtoincudeallcourtworkers,notjustjudges;
Judicialofficersaretrainedtowishlitigantsandvisitorsin
thecourtwell,greetandwelcomethem,maintaineyecontact
withlitigantandassurethemcategoricallythatjusticewillbe
done;
There was a debate as to whether judges in the Supreme
courtshouldnotwearwigs;
MagistrateandJudgesintheHighCourtareaddressedas
YourHonour;

WedonotdeservetobecalledJUSTICESifwedonottreat
peoplefairlyandequally;
AttendanceofconferencesforJudicialOfficerswasmadefair
andjust;
Promotions of court workers and judicial officers under the
old Constitution was unfair, and in 2011 when he became
Chief Justice, he made sure promotion was done with
transparency.
Creationofjudicialtraininginstitutes.
Corruption in the Kenyan Judiciary
Kenya also encounters failings among judicial officers;
Corruptionencounteredfromcartelsinsideand outsidethe
BarandBench;
Kenya is moving forward with the introduction of a system for
forensic lifestyle audit;
JudicialLazinessbeingaddressed.
WayOutofJudicialCorruption
ThoroughAuditbeforeRecruitmentofJudges
ForensiclifestyleAudit.
GenderEquality
Historically, the juduciary is maledominated in Kenya but
women are now deliberately accommodated in the new
Constitution and new thinking with the salutary effect of a
riseinthenumberoffemalesinthejudiciaryasfollows:
o 47%FemaleMagistrates
o 29ladyJusticesattheHighCourt

o 8ladyjusticesoutof26attheCourtofAppeal
o 2ladyjusticesattheSupremeCourt.

SecurityandFreedom
TheconversationtoensuresecurityofthestateofKenyain
suchawaythathumanrightsandfreedomarenottrampled
uponwasexpandedtoincludethesecurityforcesunderthe
thinking that the security concerns of the state have the
potentialtotrampleuponthefreedomsofthepeople.Itwas
resolvedthatsecuritybeimplementedwithintheConstitution
andHumanRights.
DecentralizationOfCourtOfAppeal
The Court of Appeal was decentralizedtopromoteefficiency
andreducejudiciallaziness.
AccessToJustice
Only50%ofcitizensaccessKenyancourts.
ADRismostlyused.
He concluded by drawing on the lessons stating that the
Kenyan studies shows tranformation at two levels and the
constitution is very important. He urged the judiciary to
interpretethelawsintheappropriateway.
Advice To Nigerian Courts
Urged the courts/the judiciary in Nigeria to develop rich
jurisprudence to promote the countrys history;
Called for theories that will help promote the Constitution,
clear violence and promote independence of people;

 Urged the Bench to shun corruption as the Bench does not

deserve to be called Justices if they disrespect people and
fail to shun corruption;
The challenges encountered in the judiciary should not be
cause for surrender but that all must keep pressing on for a
better judicial system while conquering those challenges;
If we succeed, Africa could lead the rest of the world in the
promotion of justice.
7.0. INAUGURATION ADDRESS

BY

PRESIDENT

MUHAMMADU

BUHARI, GCFR, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF

NIGERIA
Lawyers should shun corruption, nepotism and urged them not to
sacrifice the integrity of the countrys legal system in a bid to cover
the misdeeds of their clients no matter how lucrative the brief may
be;
Lawyers to support his administrations war against corruption and
help the country return to the path of rectitude by making Nigerian
courts functional and effective again, further tasking the lawyers
on their role to take the ethics of the profession seriously;
The law, law makers, lawyers, law courts and law enforcement
agencies all have pivotal responsibilities to discharge, if the change
we all seek is to materialise;
The administration has taken on the challenge of improving
security, fighting corruption and revamping the economy amongst
many more, opining that the fight against corruption is a struggle
for the maintenance of law and order. Corruption and impunity
become widespread when disrespect for law is allowed to thrive in
society. Disrespect for law also thrives when people get away with
all sorts of shady deals and the court system is somehow unable to
check them;

 He further stated that ability to manipulate and frustrate the legal

system is the crowning glory of the corrupt and as may be
expected, this has left many legal practitioners and the law courts
tainted in an ugly way;
Noted that lawyers are the vanguard of human rights and that
corruption diverts national resources to the pockets of a few, which
in his view, is the greatest violation of human rights and which
leads to the destruction of the system;
Increased engagement with the outside world is necessary to
enhance the capital importation, and called for a prompt and
advanced

legal

system

to

promote

foreign

investors

and

management of facilities noting that enforceable agreements

promote a good legal system;
Noted the slowness in the enforcement of contracts, acquisition of
licenses, approvals etc. He stated that in all things, lawyers have a
key role to play;
He observed that enforcement of contracts, processes for obtaining
licenses and permits are too slow; that in all these, lawyers have a
key role to play in the improvement in the legal system giving the
human touch of effectiveness;
TheKenyanstudiesshowstranformationattwolevelsandthatthe
Constitution is very important; and urged the judiciary to
interpretethelawsintheappropriateway;
Acknowledged the role of the NBA in the 2015 general elections to
ensure voters awareness and stated that the nation is indebted to
lawyers;

And further, congratulated the NBA on its role towards the success
of a violent-free election and that the nation is indebted to her.

President Buhari declared the conference open by wishing the

conferees an enjoyable conference and happy deliberations.