Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, President, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has advise Legal practitioners to specialize in their areas of competence and utilize their skill and knowledge in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) to advance the future of legal system in the country.
He gave the charge in his keynote delivered at the 2016 Annual Law Week organized by the Ibadan Branch of the association held at the Aare Afe Babalola Bar Centre, Ibadan tagged “Emerging Sectors: Law Today and Tomorrow.
Abubakar Mahmoud, who was represented by the Secretary, Mr. Isiaka Abiola Olagunju, expressed that society needed efforts of legal practitioners in putting to the barest minimum if not to an end, challenges currently facing the country through legal services and activism.
He noted that since society has become more diverse and that people needed to be satisfied by their lawyers who have decided to represent, defend and protect them legally, legal practitioners needed to upgrade their legal practice.
Abubakar noted further that for them to be able to do this, they must guide themselves appropriately to become specialists on specific areas as threshold of competence has increased in many field. He added that legal practitioners must take advantage of technological inventions to intensify their research efforts across the globe to advance law career.
The NBA President urged legal practitioners to brace up for the future in order to explore and make contributions towards improving and regulating commercial transactions, multi-jurisdictional/cross border transactions, policies and international relations, entertainment, sports, debt recovery and financial crime and internet and defamation on social media and many other areas of disturbance in the society which law has not covered through computer and use of internet.
In his welcome address, Chairman of the occasion and Acting Chief Judge of Nigeria, Hon. Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, who was represented by Hon. Justice Monica Dongban Mensah identified criminal administration and telecommunication sectors as two vital areas in the life of the nation particularly today, and especially how they affect legal profession.
He charged lawyers to always ensure that administration of justice is used to develop the country legal system, and also ensure that interest of accused person, victim as well as society is well taking care of.
Justice Walter Samuel charged legal practitioners and the populace in general to be mindful that safety of our society is a responsibility of everyone.
While presenting his welcome address, Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Ibadan Branch, Akeem Agbaje expressed that the 2016 Annual Law Week is to enlighten members of the bar as well as general public about the emerging areas of practice of law, adding that Administration of Criminal Justice Law is to aid and take care of criminal matters in the state.
Barrister Agbaje also stated that the idea of topic of “Building Confidence in the Nigerians Telecommunication Sector” is to ensure that Nigerian are more aware of what operate in the space so that Nigerians will not be at the mercy of telecommunication operators and their arbitrary actions.
He added that the association focus all these emerging sectors particularly gaming industry was due to series of lottery promotions going on in the country called for the protection of members of the public interest so that at the end of the day they will not be cheated by the operators.
