Dogara wants lawyers in legislature for SAN title

SPEAKER of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, yesterday suggested that lawyers, who distinguish themselves in the art of lawmaking, deserve to be rewarded with the prestigious title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

Speaking when he received the dean and members of the Legislative Lawyers Association of Nigeria in his office, he argued that it would not be out of place if lawmakers, are rated on the same pedestal as practicing lawyers and those in the academia.

He charged legislative lawyers to be effective in their duties, noting that his call should not be misinterpreted to mean that all legislative lawyers should be considered for the SAN title, but only those who have clearly distinguished themselves.

He stressed that though the suggestion may be laughable to some people, but the reality, to which he fully concurred is that, just as academicians who distinguished themselves could be so honoured, it is not out of place to extend same treatment to distinguished lawmakers.

The speaker charged the group to ‎deepen their knowledge and practice of the profession through training and events. According to him, “There are rooms for development of law, not just laws that are contained in the statute books, but in our jurisprudence,” which he described as ‎judicial precedence or judgment law.

He explained that judgment law “is the law judges make in the process of interpreting the law and then resolve, to allow the law to be as dynamic as the society, so that the law can catch up with the evolving social issues in the society.”

Dogara expressed concern at the “crop of lawyers who may take interest‎ in the arena of legislative law, and that obviously includes those who are advocating on the floor of parliament, those who are helping to craft the bill, the drafters of bills and then those that work as support lawyers, in trying to complement these services,” he said.

While calling for commitment on their part, he expressed worry that unless this aspect of the law is developed, there would certainly be gaps, which will compel the nation to continually run abroad when it comes to training people locally on legislative matters.