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Why Many Nigerian Lawyers Cannot Practice In UK – Varsity Don

Published

3 years ago

December 15, 2022

A Professor of Law, Charles Adekoya, has said many Nigerian lawyers cannot practice in the United Kingdom due to their penchant for sharp practices and unethical conduct.

Adekoya said many Nigerian lawyers would have lost their licenses or been fined on the grounds of unprofessional practices.

He said unprofessional conduct is viewed very strictly in the UK, “a Barrister could be sanctioned for unnecessarily appealing against a concluded matter or for bringing an appeal that is baseless, including the award of cost and report to the regulatory body which might lead to the Barrister being debarred.”

The don disclosed that interlocutory applications, which are the stock in trade among Nigerian lawyers, are hardly initiated because of the likely negative consequences on the lawyer.

“Many of our colleagues could not practise in the UK as they would have had costs awarded against them or even lose their licences on grounds of unethical or professional misconduct,” he stated unequivocally.

Adekoya, who is the Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, demanded stiffer penalties, including withdrawal of practice licence, for lawyers found wanting.

Adekoya expressed worry that the public had lost confidence in the nation’s justice system, blaming this on various professional misconducts by lawyers and judicial officials.

Speaking while delivering the 103rd OOU Inaugural Lecture, the Professor said, ”corruption and unethical practices have suffocated the administration of civil justice in Nigeria.”

In the lecture titled, “Betrayal of the Poor in Accessing Justice in Nigeria: The Judas in our Midst,’ the lecturer lamented what he called the humongous challenges facing the poor in accessing justice in Nigeria, warning that lack of access to justice could force the less-privileged members of the society to resort to violent a mass protest, the type similar to the EndSARS protest of 2020.”

At the inaugural lecture chaired by the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Ayodeji Agboola, the Professor of Law regretted that many justice seekers in Nigeria “often quickly abandon their matters due to the harrowing and frustrating way Nigeria’s justice system work.”

In his recommendations, he saw the need for legal education to focus on the development of empathy in Law students for that to appreciate the emotional needs not only of their clients but of parties before them when they become judicial officers, calling for a review of the law curriculum.

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Court Jails Two For Targeting President With Sorcery

Published

14 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

A Zambian court on Monday sentenced two men to two years in prison with hard labour on charges of attempting to use witchcraft to kill the country’s president.

Mozambican national Jasten Mabulesse Candunde and Zambian village chief Leonard Phiri were arrested in December in possession of charms, including a live chameleon.

Police said they planned to use the charms to harm President Hakainde Hichilema, and they were charged with professing knowledge of witchcraft and possession of charms.

“The motive of the crime was to kill the head of state,” magistrate Fine Mayambu ruled in the capital Lusaka on Monday.

“The convicts were not only enemies of the head of state but all Zambians. I therefore sentence them to 24 months imprisonment with hard labour from the date of their arrest,” he said.

The prosecution said the men had been hired by the brother of opposition MP Emmanuel “Jay Jay” Banda, who is facing trial for robbery, attempted murder and escaping custody.

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Two Nigerians Face Jail Terms In Liberia’s Piracy Trial

Published

14 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

Criminal Court ‘D’ in Monrovia is set to deliver judgment this week in Liberia’s first piracy trial, involving two Nigerian nationals accused of hijacking a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to court records, the defendants were arrested earlier this year after a Liberia-flagged ship was seized by armed men while transporting goods through international waters. The crew sent a distress signal, prompting international maritime forces to intervene.

The suspects were subsequently transferred to Liberian authorities under global maritime cooperation protocols.

According to Liberia’s news platform, Front Page Africa, the case has attracted attention because Liberia maintains one of the world’s largest open ship registries, yet prosecutions for piracy within its domestic courts have not previously occurred. Under international law, Liberia holds jurisdiction over crimes involving ships registered under its flag.

On Monday, proceedings took a new turn when defense lawyer, Cllr. Bestman Juah, informed the court that the defendants had admitted responsibility for the hijacking and were requesting a plea-bargain arrangement. State prosecutors did not oppose the request, leaving open the possibility of reduced sentences in exchange for full cooperation.

Resident Judge Mameita Jabateh-Sirleaf, who presides over Criminal Court ‘D’, will rule on whether to accept the plea deal and determine the sentencing framework. The ruling could also address deportation measures following imprisonment.

Criminal Court ‘D’ handles cases involving armed robbery, terrorism, hijacking, and other serious crimes, and the piracy trial represents a growing trend of transnational offenses being prosecuted within Liberia’s judicial system.
As of press time, the court has not announced the date for sentencing.

Headline

Spain Cancels $825m Israel Arms Deal Over Gaza

Published

14 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

The Spanish government has cancelled a contract worth nearly 700 million euros ($825 million) for Israeli-designed rocket launchers.

The move comes after Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced last week that his government would “consolidate in law” a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel over its offensive in Gaza.

The contract, awarded to a consortium of Spanish companies, involved the purchase of 12 SILAM rocket launcher systems derived from the PULS platform made by Israeli firm Elbit Systems, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies’ Military Balance.

First reported by local media and the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, the cancellation was formalised on Spain’s official public contracts platform on September 9.

The following day, Sanchez unveiled measures aimed at stopping what his leftist government called “the genocide in Gaza”.

It includes the approval of a decree imposing a ban on military equipment sales or purchases with Israel due to its military offensive in Gaza, launched after the Hamas attacks in October 2023.

Spain applied the ban as Israel stepped up its military onslaught.

Spain has also formalized the cancellation of another contract for 168 anti-tank missile launchers, which were to be manufactured under license from an Israeli company.

That contract, valued at 287 million euros, had been first reported by the press in June.

According to Spanish daily La Vanguardia, the government is undertaking a broader review to phase out Israeli weapons and technology from its armed forces.

Sanchez has emerged as one of Europe’s most outspoken critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Gaza policy.

Relations between the two countries have been tense for months.

Israel has not had an ambassador in Spain since Madrid recognized the state of Palestine in 2024.

Last week, Spain recalled its ambassador to Israel after heated exchanges over Sánchez’s new measures.

The Barcelona-based Delas Centre, a security research institute, estimated in April that since the start of the Gaza war, Spain had awarded 46 contracts worth $1.044 billion to Israeli companies, based on public tender data.