ONE thousand, four hundred and sixty-eight candidates were yesterday in Abuja admitted by the Body of Benchers as barristers and solicitors.
The lawyers were advised to exhibit the highest level of professional ethics.
Performing the ceremony, Chairman, Body of Benchers and Chief Justice (CJN), Justice Walter Onnoghen, urged the lawyers to be an embodiment of integrity and discipline.
He said: “An area which must be of concern to you as legal practitioners is your integrity and conduct.
“As legal practitioners, you cannot close your eyes to the social, political and economic problems of our time. Therefore, you have a duty to help rescue our society from pervasive lawlessness, corruption and anti-social activities.”
Onnoghen noted that between January 2013 and July 2017, 140 petitions were filed at the registry of Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee of the Body of Benchers.
According to the CJN, 26 lawyers were disbarred, 10 suspended and 40 were discharged. He added that 64 petitions are pending before the committee.
He stated that the committee would discipline erring lawyers, whose conduct negated the sacrosanct standards of the profession or amounted to infamous conduct in a professional respect.
He encouraged the new lawyers to acquire skills under the supervision of a reputable senior lawyers or a competent firm rather than rushing to set up individual firms.
The CJN advised them to exhibit the highest level of professional ethics and decorum and to tenaciously guard the ethical values of the profession.
“In time honoured tradition, I hereby close with the chairman’s charge to the newly called legal practitioners.
“You may now go forth in your new wigs from this day forward to serve Nigeria and serve humanity in justice, without fear or favour, affection or ill will.”
Director-General of the Nigerian Law School Mr. Olarenwaju Onadeko (SAN) said the April 2017 examinations taken by the re-sit students, recorded a 72 per cent success rate.
Onadeko noted that this was as a result of the compulsory intensive revision exercise, which the Council of Legal Education stipulated for all intending re-sit candidates.
“Of note is the impressive performance of some candidates, with one attaining the level just short of the first class grade,” he said.
He added that of 1,468 candidates, 1,390 were successful at the April final examination and 78 were candidates from previous bar final examinations.