AGF, Abubakar Malami and members of the committee
The Federal Government has inaugurated the Legal Practitioner’s Remuneration Committee to look into the remuneration of lawyers in the country.
While inaugurating the committee in Abuja, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami said finding a reasonable remuneration for legal services in Nigeria has been an issue of great controversy for legal practitioners and has also elicited heated debates among various countervailing interests.
The AGF insisted that steps for the remuneration were necessary to safeguard the livelihood of lawyers and to ensure that legal practitioners were treated with dignity and prestige.
Mr Malami admonished the Committee to be fair and to discharge its statutory responsibilities without fear or favour, adding that particular consideration should be given to new wigs as a way to encourage their dedication and commitment to the delivery of justice.
He said his ministry was poised to continue to fulfill its mandate of improving the administration of justice in Nigeria by providing necessary support to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and ensuring that the association is well positioned to address the needs of legal practitioners.
The President of the NBA, Yakubu Maikyau said the last review of lawyers’ remuneration was in 1991, and commended the AGF for his collaboration with the NBA in ensuring efficient administration of justice in the country.
The Chairman of the Committee and Attorney-General of Lagos state, Moyosore Onigbanjo said the scale of charges would speedily assist clients who needed the service of lawyers.
Reporting by Ifeoma Nwovu; Editing by Daniel Adejo and Tony Okerafor