The Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen has charged the successful candidates of the April 2017 Bar examinations, to take the period of pupilage seriously before thinking about starting up on their own.
Justice Onnoghen, a life bencher himself, in his address at the 2017 call to bar ceremony for the 1468 candidates explained that, the period of pupilage is an opportunity they have to groom themselves.
According to him, rather than rushing to set up their own firms, as some new wigs are fond of, he emphatically advised them to acquire skills under the supervision of a reputable senior or a firm of competent legal practitioners.
“This will ultimately make you better practitioners as you would learn the rudiments of legal practice. You are also encouraged to have a mentor who will guide you and from whose pattern of practice you will also learn”, he urged the new lawyers.
Having been being entitled to appear before any court in Nigeria as “Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria”, the CJN further urged them to help rescue the society from pervasive lawlessness, corruption anti social activities.
While warning them against practices tantamount to the Legal Practitioners Act, Justice Onnoghen informed that between January 2013 and July 2017, a total of 140 petitions were filed at the registry of the legal practitioners disciplinary committee of the body of benchers, 26 of whom were disbarred lawyers, 10 got suspended, 40 got discharged while 64 petitions are currently pending before the committee.
Olanrewaju Onadeko SAN, Director General of the Nigerian Law School informed that amongst the 1468 successful candidates, 1390 were successful at the April 2017 bar final examinations, 78 candidates are from previous bar final examinations.
Amongst the list of the candidates is one Ismail Tukur who died before the ceremony took place.
SEYI ANJORIN, Abuja
