…Says things are not normal
Worried by emerging developments in the legal profession and justice delivery system in Nigeria, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Chief Jibrin Samuel Okutepa, on Sunday night posed a strong question to members of the legal profession and all those involved in the justice delivery system in the country, asking “Where are our elders?” in a post on his verified X.com ( formerly Twitter) account @jibrinSAN.
Okutepa SAN, who bemoaned some developments in the legal space in the country, argued that in days gone by, some of the things happening now would have been checked by the intervention of the strong voices of elders in the profession. He said in the post that his question was prompted by the need to save the legal profession from coming to what he called a “calamitous end”.
The lengthy post reads:
“In those days when the members of the legal profession were the hope of the maginalised and oppressed, there were strong and impeccable elder statesmen of the legal profession. These strong elders then were very strict when it came to the professional integrity of the legal profession.
“When there was misbehaviour or when any members within the legal profession exhibited conduct that had (the) potential of lowering the integrity of the legal profession, these elders weighed in and ensured that the integrity of the legal profession did not suffer jeopardy in the hands of bad legal practitioners and judges.
“Do we still have elders of spartan courage and mien in the profession? I am asking because the legal profession is in need of elders who can save the profession from coming to a calamitous end.
“Today, things are no longer easy. Today, judgments that defiled logic and justice are flying here and there. There are strong perceptions of state capture of our justice systems. Things are not normal.
“Where are our elders. This is not the best time for the legal profession.
“Politics has entered the legal profession. There are many people who are waiting and looking unto our elders. Where are our elders. Some of the things that are threatening the corporate survival of the legal profession are too visible for our elders to keep quiet. Where are our elders. Silence cannot be golden at this stage. Are our elders too siding bad things. Where are our elders.
“I get worried now more than ever before that those who should be angry at the deteriorating state of the legal profession and practice are the very ones that appear to take sides with political interferences with the purity of justice. While I agree that judgments and decisions of courts should be obeyed, it is not every judgement and decision of courts that must be defended and supported.
“That is why, as lawyers, we have duties to a higher cause, the cause of justice. As lawyers, our personal and pecuniary interests must be subordinated to the interests of justice and society’s peace and stability. Any professional discharge of our duties that can lead to the breakdown of law and order must be avoided at all costs. Again, given what we see today and the general perceptions of growing injustice and / or lack of justice in judgments in some decisions, where are our elders?
“Today, it appears our elder statesmen in the legal profession are divided along political lines. There is a charade going on, and we, the lawyers, are taking sides depending on who pays our bills and not in the interest of any Rule of Law or preservation of Democratic principles.
“Are lawyers in Nigeria today still social engineers as we professed to be.
Justice in Nigeria is no longer seen in the prism of purity as it ought to be. I have consistently hoped that the legal profession will serve as a beacon of hope for sustainable democratic development in Nigeria. What I see in Nigeria now is divisive political interests that have whittled down the elder statesmen capabilities of the legal profession to uphold the sanctity of the legal profession. I fear things are not getting better. Where are our elders in the legal profession,” Okutepa SAN, wrote.
