Osinbanjo laments dearth of advocacy lawyers in Nigeria

By Chioma Ugboma

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Saturday said that the Nigeria legal profession was falling behind on advocacy.

Osinbanjo made the remark in Lagos at the SimonsCooper Advocacy Development (SCAD) Competition in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the award, which is a biennial event, is sponsored by the SimmonsCoopers Partners, a law firm founded in 2006 by the VP, Babatunde Irukera, the current Director-General of the Consumer Protection Council and Mr Dapo Akinosun.

The vice president said that for the Law profession in Nigeria to do better, there was need for seeing advocacy Lawyers.

“Law and advocacy is the very firmament of democracy. We are falling far behind in advocacy. Out of every 10 Lawyers we have in Nigeria, We can only get two that are very good in advocacy.

“In the past, most lawyers had a passion for advocacy. Although the legal profession has greatly improved in its overall quality, there is still need to encourage more Lawyers to take up advocacy,” Osinbajo said.

He said that if the nation’s legal profession failed to do better, it would spell doom for the justice system and governance.

He said that SCAD, through the advocacy awards, not only want to give out to society but also want to encourage upcoming lawyers in advocacy.

“Law firms should not be all about profit. We must find ways of giving back to the profession and mentoring the young and upcoming ones,” he said. (NAN)