NBA President, Akpata Pays Courtesy Visit To Plateau State CJ, Holds Interactive Session With Lawyers

*Assures Plateau CJ Of Association’s Commitment To Advocating For Reform In Justice Delivery

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Olumide Akpata is on a 3-day working visit to Jos, Plateau State.

This is contained in a statement issued by the NBA Publicity Secretary which was made available to TheNigeriaLawyer.

Meanwhile, during the visit, he paid a courtesy visit to the State Chief Judge and equally held an interactive session with members of the Legal Profession in Jos.

The statement reads:

NBA PRESIDENT HOLDS INTERACTIVE SESSION WITH LEGAL PRACTITIONERS IN PLATEAU STATE; PAYS COURTESY VISIT ON THE CHIEF JUDGE OF PLATEAU STATE.

Dear Colleagues,

As part of ongoing efforts by the leadership of the Nigerian Bar Association (“NBA”) to deepen its engagement with the legal community, and to ensure that the NBA works for its members, the NBA President, – Mr. Olumide Akpata, within the week, embarked on a 3-day working visit to Jos, Plateau State.

During the course of the visit, the President took part in the activities marking the Law Week of the NBA Jos Branch, and held an interactive session with Legal Practitioners in the State. He also paid a courtesy visit to the Chief Judge of the State – The Honourable Justice Yakubu Dakwak.

At the interactive session with Lawyers in Plateau State which took place at the Sarau Event Centre, Jos, Plateau State, the NBA President reassured legal practitioners in Jos, of the focus of his administration in improving the Association, its members, and the society at large. He informed the members that the essence of the interactive session was to lay down the agenda of his administration and also get feedbacks from the members directly on how the Bar can work for all in various branches, while taking into cognizance, the peculiarities of each jurisdiction.

The NBA President outlined some of the steps he is currently taking to improve the welfare of the members, especially in the area of comprehensive insurance cover for all legal practitioners in Nigeria. He also commented on the ongoing discussions with financial institutions to ensure access to finance for lawyers.

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A number of Bar-related issues were also raised during the interactive session. Part of the pledge made by the NBA President to the members in response to their questions was to organize a ‘State of Legal Education in Nigeria Symposium’ where all critical stakeholders including the N.U.C., members of NBA on various committees (F.J.S.C., N.J.C., B.O.B., C.L.E., etc.) will attend and critically tackle the issues bothering legal education in Nigeria; Reactivation of the Bar and Bench Forum at the National level; Amendment of the NBA Constitution to allow for inclusion of Young Lawyers as statutory NEC members; and empowerment of the NBA Women Forum to tackle the issue of sexual harassment of lawyers in law firms. Others were the NBA’s ongoing engagement with prospective sponsors for the NBA Annual General Conference, which is expected to have a positive impact on the conference fees payable by members; and a host of other issues.

The NBA President reiterated that the reason behind his visits to various Branches of the NBA, is to fulfill part of his campaign promises which is to bring the NBA closer to the members to interact with her members, and to have a firsthand knowledge of the peculiar issues faced by the various branches.

Earlier in the day, the President paid a courtesy visit to the Chief Judge of Plateau State, Hon. Justice Yakubu Dakwak, at the High Court of Plateau State. During the visit, the Chairman of NBA Jos Branch, Y. S. Bawa, Esq., stated that the purpose of the courtesy visit was to provide an avenue to discuss how the existing partnership between the Bar and Bench can be strengthened. He also informed all present, of the new Plateau State High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, which will come into force from 31st day of December 2020.

The NBA President in his remark, thanked the Honourable Chief Judge for His Lordship’s contributions to the success of the NBA Jos Branch Law Week 2020. He also congratulated the Judiciary on the proposed new High Court Complex currently under construction, and emphasized that the new High Court Complex must be seen as a golden opportunity to ensure that technology is properly incorporated into the court’s architecture for better, quicker and easier dispensation of justice. He also assured the Honourable Chief Judge that the NBA will continue to play an active role in advocating for improvements on, and reform of, the justice delivery system by ensuring an enabling working environment for judicial officers.

The Honourable Chief Judge thanked the President for the visit, assured the NBA President that there was already high level of partnership between the Bar and Bench in Plateau State, and pledged to continue to improve on it. His Lordship also urged the NBA President to continue pushing for the independence of the judiciary in order to further develop the Rule of Law in Nigeria.

Dr. Rapulu Nduka
Publicity Secretary,
Nigerian Bar Association