Every Nigerian lawyer must belong to NBA, Court declares

The judge cited court precedent that he said he was bound to follow to block lawyers’ attempts to defect from the NBA

The Enugu State High Court has declared membership of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) as mandatory for lawyers called to the bar and practicing in Nigeria.

The decision, issued on July 29, was informed by Nigerian lawyers on November 1, about two days after a dissident group of lawyers announced the formation of a body to rival the NBA.

On October 30, there was a report on the formation of the Law Society of Nigeria (LSN) allegedly led by Kunle Ogunba, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

The formation of the rival association seeking to erode the NBA’s decades-long dominance as the only recognized body of Nigerian lawyers is a challenge to the recent ruling handed down by the Enugu State High Court.

The judge, RO Odugu, who delivered the verdict on a lawsuit brought some two years earlier by an aggrieved lawyer, Ben Oloko, held: “It is mandatory for all lawyers called to the Nigerian Bar to become members of the NBA.”

The judge cited court precedent that he said he was bound to follow to block lawyers’ attempts to defect from the NBA, the judge said.

He cited the judgments of the Court of Appeal in other related cases such as Kehinde Vs NBA; Fawehinmi against the NBA; and Chinwo Vs NBA, as precedents, which he defended by saying that “this court is not allowed to swim against the current”.

“The summary of the current position of the law as decided by the higher courts is that membership of the Nigerian Bar Association is automatic upon being called to the Bar Association,” the judge said.

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