Lawyers without frontiers: Nigeria

From the 1st to the 4th of December, the Law Society hosted the first international legal services trade mission of the Nigerian Bar Association to England and Wales. Twenty-seven lawyers from 18 Nigerian law firms attended the mission in London and Liverpool, and met City lawyers from global practices together with specialist UK firms. The president of the Law Society said in welcoming the mission:

' There is a great deal of commonality of interest in the work that English, Welsh and Nigerian lawyers are conducting on a daily basis and a very strong foundation for building fruitful partnerships. Experience tells us that such partnerships are best created by bringing people together and by fostering understanding and building trust.'

The trade mission had as its objective the appreciation of the vast array of business opportunities and professional collaboration available. In the context of trade and development, the legal profession leads the way in championing the rule of law, access to justice and respect for human rights. Sara Chandler picks up the story for Solicitors Journal from Lagos.

A good distance away from the expressway and about two hours' traffic jam from the centre of Lagos, the Nigerian Law School met recently to review the first year of the new curriculum for the post graduate skills course (equivalent to the LPC and the BVC in a fused course). I was privileged to participate as a facilitator and external consultant. The venue was the Peninsula Resort, a place of gentle breezes which helped to ameliorate the searing temperatures whenever we left the cool of air conditioned buildings. Most of our work took place in the Democracy Hall '“ a suitable venue for the independent legal profession and advocates of the rule of law, access to justice and the protection of human rights.

Persecution under military rule

In the 49 years since independence in 1960, Nigeria has enjoyed only 17 years without military rule. In those years, lawyers were persecuted for their defence of human rights and democracy. Lawyers as a body were not involved in politics until the repeated years of military rule, starting in 1966 and recurring in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. This did, however, play a strong role in the run up to independence. Lawyers were trained in England in English law and retain some traditions from the English Bar to this day. The Nigerian Bar Association was recognised in law in 1933 during colonial rule, and throughout the periods of military rule the NBA criticised the lack of respect for the rule of law and human rights. As a consequence, many lawyers were detained illegally by the military.

A hero of the periods of military rule, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Senior Advocate Nigeria (SAN) (equivalent to QC), died from cancer on 5 September 2009, aged 71, and was mourned by the entire Nigerian Bar and large numbers of the Nigerian people. His outspoken exposure of human rights abuses led to reprisals from the military and his illegal detention. In 1986, Nigeria's leading newspaper editor Dele Giwa was killed by a parcel bomb. Fawehinmi accused General Ibrahim Babangida's military junta of being complicit in the murder, and took the case to Nigeria's Supreme Court. He lost the case, and the regime detained him illegally. Fawehinmi was called to the Bar in 1965, having studied law at Holborn College of the University of London. His steadfast defence of democracy and human rights earned him the title of Senior Advocate of the Masses (SAM). In 1993, he was awarded the Bruno Kreisky Prize for his advancement of human rights causes, and in 1998 the IBA presented him with the Bernard Simmons Award in recognition of his human rights and pro-democracy work. He led the fight against the cancellation of the 1993 election and the detention of the election's victor Chief Moshood Abiola by the regime of General Sanni Abacha. In addition to arrest and detention, his passport was seized on many occasions, his home and chambers were ransacked several times, he was beaten up repeatedly and exiled to remote parts of the country.