From Godwin Tsa, Abuja
Efforts to reposition the legal profession kick-started, yesterday, with the inauguration of the General Council of the Bar (GCB) by the Attorney General of the Federal (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubarkar Malami.
The council is charged with the task of rejigging the legal profession in order to change the current negative perception of the profession.
Performing the ceremony in Abuja, Malami tasked the council to strive to overcome its inherent limitation to reinvent and reassert itself in the legal architecture of the country.
The AGF explained that the inauguration presents an opportunity for constitutional heads of the legal profession and members of the Bar to meet and deliberate on pertinent issues affecting the legal profession, especially in view of current challenges and public perception of the profession.
Besides, he noted that the GCB was established by the Legal Practitioners Act (LPA) and saddled with functions as may be prescribed by the Act and Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) constitution.
The AGF admonished those inaugurated to show commitment and dedication to the statutory duties of the council, especially with regards to making and reviewing rules of professional conduct under Section 12(4) of the LPA as well as the rules of account to be kept by legal practitioners under Section 20(1)(a) to (e) of the LPA.
Meanwhile, NBA President, Yakubu Maikyau, said there was the absolute need to provide regulations that will guide the conduct of legal practitioners towards the fight against corruption, money laundering, terrorism, economic crimes, and other criminal activities.
He said the legal profession while maintaining the privileges conferred on it by the statutes, self-regulate its conduct as to make it accountable in the fight against the menaces that have bedevilled the nation.