LAWYERS UPBEAT ABOUT JUDICIAL REFORMS, AS NEW LEGAL YEAR BEGINS

Former Chairman of the Ikorodu Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, BAYO AKINLADE, has challenged to lawyers who attain the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria to try their best to make the legal profession better. BAYO AKINLADE made the call in a statement to the media on the occasion of the conferment of new Senior Advocates of Nigeria by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice KUDIRAT KEKERE-EKUN AKINLADE observed with sadness that the SAN title seemed to have lost its credibility and impact on Nigeria’s jurisprudence, adding that there were hardly tangible legal arguments in courts to trigger reforms. He noted that although expectations and burdens placed on a Senior Advocate of Nigeria are enormous, and challenged the new SANs to be transformative and reformative. Similarly, another Lagos-based legal practitioner, MALACHY UGWUMMADU, congratulated the new SAN-designates, stressing that the conferment of the title indicates that they had distinguished themselves and can stand their grounds in law practice anywhere in the world. However, MALACHY UGWUMMADU, who was a guest on The Discourse – on The Law FM Morning Show, explained that the conferment of the SAN title may not have anything to do with backlog of cases or judicial administration. On the opening of the new legal year in the Nigerian Judiciary, MALACHY UGWUMMADU said that there were rooms for improvements through reforms, especially in the area of appointment of judicial officers, nepotism and political interference in the administration of justice. The Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice KUDIRAT KEKERE-EKUN, flags off the 2025/2026 legal year with the searing-in of new Senior Advocates of Nigeria at the Supreme Court complex in Abuja. Justice KEKERE-EKUN is also expected to deliver her state of the judiciary address, detailing observations and projection for the next twelve months.