Gadzama, Osinbajo earn NIALS fellow, hold lecture Dec 1

Leading senior lawyer and arbitrator, Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN) has been conferred with the coveted fellowship of the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies (NIALS).

Gadzama was conferred with the honorary fellowship award alongside Nigeria’s Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN, GCON); Hon. Justice Amina Augie (CON) of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, and former NIALS Director-General, Prof. D. Ameze Guobadia.

Meanwhile, Gadzama will next Thursday, December 1, 2016 host former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as Keynote Speaker at the 2016 J-K Gadzama LLP Annual Lecture.

This year’s lecture which will hold at the law firm’s head office in Abuja has as its theme, “Corruption and the nation’s economy: Lawyers as change agents.”

At the NIALS conferment ceremony which was held at the National Judicial Institute, Abuja to mark the NIALS 2016 Fellows Lecture and Conferment of Honorary Fellowship, the Guest Lecturer, Chief Adegboyega Awomolo (SAN) spoke on the “Imperatives of judicial reforms in ensuring good governance and accountability in Nigeria.”

He highlighted the contributions of the judiciary to Nigeria’s nascent democracy as well as its role as a voice for the voiceless and in ensuring accountability of institutions, political stability, effectiveness of government, enthronement of rule of law, and in combating corruption.

Speaking on behalf of the honorees, Osinbajo said that institutions were handicapped by falling standards, corruption, and abuse of office. He noted that one of the challenges of Nigeria’s legal profession is “our shyness and reluctance to call ourselves to order,” adding that “nobody wants to be held responsible for possibly ending the career of another.

So we watch the decay and gradual collapse of an excellent tradition built on the self-restraint, sacrifices and integrity of many in the past 100 years.”