Malami Inaugurates Council of Legal Education

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN) on Tuesday inaugurated the Council of Legal Education of Nigeria and declared that the achievements recorded in the justice sector were worth relishing and expounded the legal jurisprudence.

Speaking, while inaugurating the Council headed by Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN) on day two of the body of Attorneys General conference held in Abuja, Malami said, the judiciary has recorded modest gains in terms of law reforms through legislations and judicial decisions.

The Minister who praised the AGs from the 36 states of the Federation noted that, “With dedicated public servants and some of the best legal minds present here in this room. I can say with all sense of responsibility, that we have strived within humanly possible limits to discharge meritoriously the onus and duties of the position of leadership which providence bestowed on us as Attorneys-General.

“We have been able to guide our principals and shape public governance towards advancing the course of justice, rule of law and deepening our democratic practices. Over the years”, he said.

The AGF noted that over time, salient issues which include payment of pension for judicial officers, sharing of Stamp Duties collections, Value Added Tax, NFIU guidelines, regulation of the mining and gaming industry and other issues relating to policing and security have been addressed and will continue to get government’s attention.

The Minister, who congratulated Ngige for his re-appointment as the chairman of the Council, said President Muhammadu Buhari approved the second tenure for Ngige because of his immense contribution to the development of legal education in Nigeria.

In his address, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr Yakubu Maikyau (SAN) described the legal body as the bedrock of the nation’s existence, charging stakeholders to continue to extend their dexterity and sagacity for a better judiciary sector.

He said the task before the Council is enormous and urged members to brace up for the challenges of training leaders and repositioning legal education in Nigeria.

In a short acceptance speech, the chairman of the Council, Chief Ngige observed that the future of legal education has become a topical issue, saying all stakeholders including the NBA must come together, raise the standard and salvage the situation.

He praised the Government of Nyesom Wike and the government of Rivers state for building the Nigerian Law School in Port Harcourt and a facility in Yenogoa and called on other state governors to emulate Governor Wike.

He announced that the Nigerian Law School will mark 60 years of its existence latter part of the year.