A federal high court in Abuja has ruled that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) cannot impose extra-statutory conditions on lawyers’ right to file processes in court.
In a judgment delivered in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/1238/2025,
Mohammed Umar, judge of the federal high court, nullified provisions of the
Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) 2023 and the Mandatory Continuing
Professional Development (MCPD) Rules 2025 linking Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) compliance to legal practice.
The suit was filed by Victor Nwadike against the NBA, the
General Council of the Bar and the attorney-general of the federation.
The court held that the Legal Practitioners Act remains the
principal law regulating legal practice and lawyers’ right of audience in
Nigeria.
Umar ruled that neither the NBA nor the General Council of
the Bar had the power to impose conditions outside the provisions of the Legal
Practitioners Act.
The judge consequently voided aspects of the RPC 2023 and
the MCPD Rules 2025 tying CPD compliance to the renewal of practising licences,
issuance of NBA stamps and seals, and lawyers’ right to appear in court.
The court also restrained the NBA and other defendants from
enforcing policies requiring CPD compliance as a condition for legal
practitioners to practise law or appear before courts.
Umar held that professional regulations and administrative
policies must remain subordinate to statutory provisions governing legal
practice in the country.
The judgment followed controversy within the legal
profession over the NBA’s enforcement of Rules 11 and 12 of the RPC and the
Mandatory CPD framework introduced in 2025.
The NBA had maintained that lawyers who failed to comply
with CPD requirements risked losing access to practising licences and NBA
stamps and seals.
The association had also argued that Rules 11 and 12
empowered it to publish annual practising lists and issue practising
certificates only to lawyers who complied with CPD obligations and payment of
practising fees.
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