A legal practitioner, Dr. Charles Mekwunye (SAN), has urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to improve disciplinary actions against errant lawyers.

He said the body was lagging in investigating practitioners, who violate rule of practice and ethics of the profession.

Mekwunye made the call yesterday in a chat with reporters in Lagos on the forthcoming public presentation of a book in honour of the retired Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, noting that former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan would chair the occasion.

He said there was a need for the NBA to do more in upholding ethics and sanctioning lawyers, who openly criticise judges and malign them when dissatisfied with judgments.

Mekwunye stressed that lawyers have ethics, stating: “We have rules. When those rules are flagged, it is the role of the NBA to report, investigate and refer cases to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC). That process is not being followed effectively.”

Speaking on the book, “Honourable Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, CJN, GCON, Through the Cases,” which he co-authored with Mr Ayo Olanrewaju, the senior lawyer said the unveiling will be held next week in Abuja.

His words: “The book presents a detailed review of how Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, former Chief Justice of Nigeria and now Chairman of the Body of Benchers, spent 22 years serving in the appellate courts first at the Court of Appeal and later at the Supreme Court.

“Among those expected to attend the book presentation is former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan; the current Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Moronkeji Kekere-Ekun, and the Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), among others.”

Mekwunye noted that while there are ongoing efforts within the association to address indiscipline, stronger leadership and accountability were needed.

He compared the former CJN to legendary jurists such as Lord Denning and Lord Viscount Simmonds.

While not a reformist like Lord Denning, the SAN said Ariwoola was certainly not as ultra-conservative as Lord Viscount Simmonds, concluding that he could be best described as a conservative judge.

Mekwunye said that the book reveals the character and ethos of Justice Ariwoola and would serve as a useful reference for judges and aspiring ones, as it highlights many of the landmark cases the jurist decided.