By Ndi Aquaisua, Esq.

Stopping lawyers from putting on Wig and Gown for the upcoming New Legal Year Thanksgiving Service in Akwa Ibom State, as seen in the letter of invitation/schedule of activities signed by the Chief Registrar of the Akwa Ibom State Judiciary, is alien and also an embarrassment to the legal profession and should be discouraged instantly.

Immediately I sighted the letter of invitation/schedule of activities for the upcoming New Legal Year Thanksgiving Service, I discovered two abnormalities, which are: planning to hold the 2026 New Legal Year Thanksgiving Service on a Sunday (27th September, 2026), as against Monday, which has always been the day for the ceremony, and also instructing lawyers to put on black suits and ties as against Wig and Gown for the 2026 Thanksgiving Service.

The Legal Year Thanksgiving Service in England and Wales traces its roots back to medieval times, when judges and lawyers gathered at Westminster Abbey in their full ceremonial robes (Wig and Gown) to pray for divine guidance to judge fairly and lawfully, and this tradition has been sustained by other Commonwealth countries, including Nigeria, till date, and the Akwa Ibom State Judiciary cannot afford to depart from it.

The schedule of activities clearly states that lawyers shall put on suits and ties, which will not allow the congregation to differentiate between Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs), law students, church ushers and lawyers inside the church.

Instructing lawyers not to put on Wig and Gown for the opening of the New Legal Year Thanksgiving Service, which is the most important event in the Judiciary and the legal profession, is akin to instructing soldiers not to put on military uniforms during the upcoming Independence Day parade on 1st October.

This is not the kind of change, improvement or renewed hope we want in our legal system, and I will pray for God to touch the heart of the Chief Registrar to rescind her decision.

Happy New Legal Year in advance to all the Judges, Magistrates, District Court Chairmen and legal practitioners in Akwa Ibom State and Nigeria.

Written by Ndi Aquaisua, Esq.

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