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.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) as a body leads on the exposure of human rights abuses and election abuse. The NBA also launches legislation through private members' Bills on social justice issues and has a number which are pending. At present, a Bill to achieve the proper funding of legal aid is before the National Assembly with government support. The NBS is involved in election monitoring and trains lawyers to become election monitors.

Observers criticise the lack of respect for the rule of law by the Nigerian security forces. The death on 30 July of Mohammed Yusuf, leader of the Boko Haram group of dissident Islamists opposed to western education, gave rise to calls for an enquiry into action by the security forces. Over a period of days at the end of July, armed men, said to be from Boko Haram, attacked groups of university and state school students in the name of opposition to western education. Fighting escalated and a police station in Bauchi was attacked on 26 July, followed by attacks on police stations and government buildings in Borno, Yobe, Kano and Katsina states. A police station was set on fire on 27 July in Potsiskum, Yobe State. On 28 July, the police reported they had killed 30 people. Security forces closed Maidaguri, in Borno state, one of the worst affected areas, on 29 July. On the morning of 30 July, it was reported that 200 alleged members of Boko Haram were killed by Nigerian security forces when trying to flee Maidaguri. Yusuf himself had been arrested and then was killed in police custody.

Calls were made for the general of police to state publicly that anyone responsible for illegal killings during the operations in northern Nigeria will be brought to justice. Reports of the killings, and, in particular, the death of Yusuf, have reinforced the reports of extra judicial killings by the Nigerian police. According to Amnesty International, Nigerian security forces have a history of carrying out extra judicial killings, torture and other ill-treatment.

Legal aid and pro bono

The Nigerian Bar Association defends access to justice through lobbying for legal aid and support for pro bono schemes to improve legal assistance for the poor. NBA's defining concept is: to be in the vanguard for the promotion and defence of the rule of law, good governance, social justice and the dignity of all persons. The NBA has 55,000 members and is reputed to be the largest professional organisation in Africa. Every year, 1,000 newly qualified lawyers join the NBA. Increasingly, law students are able to gain their practical experience through pro bono schemes as well work experience in the courts and with private practice firms and companies' in-house legal teams. There is no apprenticeship such as a pupillage or training contract. The universities' law faculties are pioneering pro bono work by students in several different ways, including in prisons providing legal assistance to remand prisoners. NULAI (Network of University Legal Aid Institutions) Nigeria, takes a leading role in developing student pro bono. NULAI aims to develop clinical legal education in Nigeria through a network of legal aid clinics

Students from the Nigeria Law School from Enugu campus volunteer in a prison advice programme called PRAWA, providing information for the Chief Judge whose role it is to grant bail to prisoners awaiting trial. The students interview prisoners with a set of standard questions, thus speeding up their cases. Their pro bono work counts towards their course, and the Nigeria Law School (NLS) is introducing various pro bono programmes as part of the practical training law students receive. The programme was introduced by Ernest Ojukwu, deputy director of the Nigeria Law school, head of the Enugu campus, and also president of NULAI Nigeria. He coordinated the recent NLS Academic Retreat to which I was invited as a facilitator.

The frailty of civil society in the face of decades of military rule is a challenge for all those advocates of the rule of law, the independence of the legal profession, access to justice and the protection of human rights. The Nigeria Law School and the Nigerian Bar Association are keeping alive commitment and dedication which is being handed on to aspiring young lawyers in training and at the start of their legal careers. The welcome given by the Law Society in Chancery Lane this week extends the support of UK lawyers to our Nigerian colleagues and will establish relationships between like-minded lawyers from the UK and Nigeria, which we anticipate will last for years to come.