Advocacy for Bar Licence Freedom, ABLIF, has written to heads of courts across the country, requesting administrative compliance with the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja Judicial Division, which declared Rules 10, 11 and 12 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023, void to the extent of their inconsistency with the Legal Practitioners Act.
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The letters, dated June 8, 2026, were addressed to the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the President of the Court of Appeal, the President of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, and the Chief Judge of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory.
The letters were signed by Hameed Ajibola Jimoh, Esq., National Convener of ABLIF.
The request followed the judgment delivered on May 8, 2026, by Justice B. F. M. Nyako of the Federal High Court, Abuja, in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2241/2025, between Christabel Zoe Ayuk and 11 others versus the Incorporated Trustees of the Nigerian Bar Association and four others.
According to ABLIF, the Federal High Court, in the said judgment, declared Rules 10, 11 and 12 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2023, void to the extent that they are inconsistent with the Legal Practitioners Act.
The group stated that the court also reaffirmed the supremacy of the Legal Practitioners Act as the principal legislation governing legal practice in Nigeria.
It said the implication of the decision is that subsidiary instruments or regulatory provisions that are inconsistent with the Legal Practitioners Act cannot stand.
ABLIF maintained that the significance of the judgment goes beyond the immediate parties to the suit, particularly as it affects the practical administration of legal practice and filing procedures in courts across the federation.
The group said its understanding of the judgment is that any restriction or administrative impediment founded solely on the affected provisions can no longer enjoy legal efficacy unless and until the judgment is set aside by a superior court or otherwise varied by due process of law.
Citing Section 287(3) of the 1999 Constitution, ABLIF stated that decisions of the Federal High Court, National Industrial Court, High Court and other courts of coordinate jurisdiction must be enforced by all authorities and persons throughout the federation.
The group said the constitutional command is mandatory and imperative.
In the letters, ABLIF invited the attention of the affected court heads to the practical implications of the judgment for court administration, especially in relation to legal practitioners who may present processes for filing without NBA seals or other requirements founded on the provisions affected by the judgment.
It requested the issuance of appropriate administrative guidance, where necessary, to ensure that no legal practitioner is denied access to the filing process or suffers administrative disadvantage solely because of non-compliance with provisions that have been declared void to the extent of their inconsistency with the Legal Practitioners Act.
ABLIF, however, clarified that its position is not that legal practitioners should not pay the statutory Annual Practising Fee payable under the Legal Practitioners Act.
Rather, it stated that proof of payment of the statutory Annual Practising Fee ought to remain sufficient evidence of entitlement to practise, pending any contrary pronouncement by a superior court.
“For the avoidance of doubt, our position is that proof of payment of the statutory Annual Practising Fee payable under the Legal Practitioners Act ought to remain sufficient evidence of entitlement to practise pending any contrary pronouncement of a superior court,” the letter stated.
ABLIF said the request was made in good faith and in furtherance of the constitutional obligation imposed on all authorities and persons to give effect to subsisting judgments of courts of competent jurisdiction.
The letters bear received stamps from the President’s Chambers of the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court of Nigeria, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, the Office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, and the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.
ABLIF described itself as a body committed to the promotion of the rule of law, constitutionalism and fidelity to the provisions of the Legal Practitioners Act.
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