Dr. Clinton Tonye Jaja, legislative drafting expert and Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Law Society (NLS), has proposed that lawyers who engage in unprofessional conduct in court should be required to undergo anger management therapy.
Jaja made the proposal in response to what he described as a rising level of unethical behavior among Nigerian lawyers, criticizing the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) for issuing statements reprimanding judges who took disciplinary actions against erring lawyers.
He referred to several recent incidents, including Justice Mohammed Umar ordering Marshall Abubakar, lead counsel to politician and publisher Omoyele Sowore, to kneel in court for raising his voice, as well as Justice Chinwendu Nwogu detaining lawyer Lovinah Ugbana Benjamin, counsel to the Nigerian Navy, for allegedly making false statements. Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia similarly ordered the detention of lawyer Martin Anyanwu.
While the NBA condemned these actions as demeaning to lawyers and undermining the profession’s dignity, Jaja defended the judges, arguing that their measures are essential to safeguarding the integrity of the legal profession.
Speaking on behalf of non-litigation lawyers under the NLS, he praised judges for addressing the growing instances of unprofessional conduct, citing records from the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) indicating rising breaches of professional ethics.
“To address this problem, Nigerian judges should consider their courtrooms as ‘finishing schools’ to correct misconduct,” Jaja stated. He proposed establishing anger management and therapy centers within courts, where erring lawyers would be required to undergo therapy at their own expense.
Jaja added that a three-month pilot of the proposal could significantly reduce unprofessional conduct in the legal profession, emphasizing that the initiative would reinforce judicial authority and uphold the dignity of Nigerian courts.
