Tension Heightens As Lawyers Move To Strip Malami Of SAN Rank

• Lawyers say Malami acts unilaterally in RPC amendment

The cold war between attorney-general of the federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami and Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) appears to have become aggravated.

Some lawyers have initiated a process that will culminate in the eventual stripping of the AGF of his Senior Advocate Nigeria (SAN) rank.

SAN is the highest rank for lawyers in Nigeria.

The petition 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.

In a petition filed by Izu Aniagu on www.change.org, Malami was accused to of taking the decision alone, thereby constituting a threat to the rule of law.

“Since assumption of office, the Attorney General of the Federation has continued to go rogue, from his disobedience to court order, to his lackluster prosecution, to his outright failure to prosecute, to allegations of corruption and bias against his person, to usurpation of office, to shielding of suspects, to his general dereliction of duty,” the petition 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 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 underserving of a lawyer in the rank of a Senio Advocate, let alone a Chief Law Officer of the federation.”

At the time of filing this report, about 500 people had signed the petition.

The NBA had kicked against the amendments, saying Malami did not follow due process.