Over 380 lawyers have signed a petition to strip the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, of the title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria.
SAN is the highest rank for lawyers in Nigeria.
The petition, started on Change.org by Izu Aniagu and titled, “Sign to strip Nigeria’s AGF, Abubakar Malami the title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria,” follows the amendments the AGF made to the rules of professional conduct for legal practitioners (RPC), 2007.
The requirement for the NBA stamp and seal on court processes was removed in the amendment, creating room for non-lawyers to submit court processes.
But Aniagu predicated his petition on the recent unilateral amendments to the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners 2007 by Malami.
He said the unilateral amendment was a threat to the rule of law, coupled with Malami’s other alleged wrongdoings, such as “disobedience to court orders, to his lacklustre prosecution, to his outright failure to prosecute, to allegations of corruption and bias against his person, to the usurpation of office, to shielding of suspects, to his general dereliction of duty.”
The petition further read, “This time, the AGF has decided to take his imprudence to top-notch by unilaterally deleting the provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct which provide for stamp and seal as well as bar practicing fee for government lawyers.
“The AGF does not have such power. Section 12 (4) of the LPA gives the General Council of the Bar power to make any such amendment and make other decisions concerning the NBA.
“There is no record of any meeting convened by the Attorney General of the Federation, who is the President of the Bar Council. The AGF took the decision alone and his actions constitute a threat to the rule of law. His action is totally shameful and is undeserving of a lawyer in the rank of a Senior Advocate, let alone a Chief Law Officer of the federation.”
As of 7.57 pm on Sunday, 383 lawyers had signed the petition.