CONUNDRUMS REGARDING LEGAL PROFESSION REGULATION IN NIGERIA (PART 2)

Abstract

This author believes that legal profession regulation in Nigeria is multi-faceted, multi-dimensional, and that the subject has hardly ever been given such a research or discussion-attention as would be considered to be thorough or in-depth enough to help to avert or resolve massive controversies and uncertainties which have until now persisted on the subject. Hence, with the aim of providing a detailed and all-encompassing research material towards resolving apparently intractable conundrums surrounding exact horizons and appropriate dimensions of regulation of legal profession in Nigeria, or, at least, of provoking serious discussions in the wider public space towards this end, this author had set out on a three-part discourse, the first part of which comprehensively examined nature of regulation and some existing legal and institutional framework for regulation of the Nigerian Bar, while delineating exact regulative boundaries and analysing the interplay of powers among such regulators. The present paper is the second part, focusing on a dimension that has hardly ever been expansively and comprehensively discussed, namely: whether, and to what extent each of such institutions as the office of the Chief Justice of Nigeria, the Nigerian Supreme Court, the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, courts of law, public opinion, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the National Identity Management Commission, the Corporate Affairs Commission, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, could be said to be involved in regulating the Nigerian Bar. Part 3 (comprised in a separate paper) undertakes an in-depth assessment of institutional framework for regulating the Nigerian Bench/judiciary. It is the author’s expectation that such broad discussions on resolving these conundrums are necessary towards repositioning stakeholders to be better assessors of extent of effectiveness of existing regulatory structures and institutions, which knowledge could help to move the profession forward. Research emphasis in the entire work, is not on mere legal doctrines or concepts but on people and institutions regulated by law as well as on the law and regulative experience of these institutions. The approach is both descriptive and expository, adopting the doctrinal method in a largely socio-legal style.