Why lawyers should not disrupt court proceedings

R ECENTLY, members of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Osun State chapter, shut all the high court premises across the state in protest against what they termed the arbitrary increase in filing fees.

The move was sequel to a memorandum dated February 24, 2016 in which the Chief Registrar of the state directed that the increase in  fees payable to courts be complied with.

Legal practitioners in the state however alleged that this move was a commercialisation of justice in the state. During the protests, the lawyers disrupted court proceedings.

Mr Murtala Agboola, the NBA chairman in Ile-Ife, was reported to have said that that the boycott of courts by lawyers was to express their displeasure at the development. He said: “We are protesting against the increment in filing fees. For there to be accessibility to justice, it must be affordable to all. If the government does not carry us along, definitely, they don’t want us to be part of the decision, and they can’t just impose a decision on us.”

To say that there are various obstacles to justice delivery in Nigeria may be an understatement. Among many other factors, issues of corruption, unnecessary delay in handling cases of awaiting-trial inmates, strikes by judiciary workers and inability of some inmates to meet bail conditions are core challenges confronting  the administration of justice in the country.

With respect to the Osun matter, it is appreciated that the lawyers were fighting a just cause. If filing fees become unaffordable, so will justice. Every effort has to be made to ensure that justice is never given to the highest bidder.

In this regard, instead of increasing filing fees indiscriminately, it is better to call on the government to properly fund the judiciary.

However, it is expected that members of the legal profession should conduct their protests with civility and decorum. This is the minimum that is required of members of such a distinguished, noble and sacred profession.

The idea of disrupting court proceedings while paradoxically advocating justice is absurd. Can there ever be justice when courts are not allowed to perform their constitutional obligations?

When you disrupt court proceedings, you delay trial and compound the woes of litigants. You also throw counsels and judges off course. That is not proper.

Seun Adegbola

    Osogbo,

    Osun State.