The Council of Legal Education has warned candidates awaiting the Call to the Bar to stop wearing barristers’ regalia and presenting themselves as qualified legal practitioners before they are formally admitted to the Nigerian Bar.
The warning was contained in a notice signed by the Secretary to the Council and Director of Administration, Aderonke Osho, issued by the Nigerian Law School and made available on Tuesday.
The Council said it had observed an “unacceptable trend” of candidates circulating invitations, photographs and videos of themselves dressed in full legal regalia (wig and gown) and portraying themselves as qualified lawyers on social media.
According to the notice, some candidates had also addressed themselves as “Barristers and Solicitors of the Supreme Court” and appended the title “Esquire” to their names before being officially called to the Bar.
The Council said such actions contravene Section 22 of the Legal Practitioners Act, which regulates who may practise as a legal practitioner in Nigeria.
