A document circulating states that the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, has amended the provisions of the Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) and deleted provisions relating to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Stamp and Seal.
The new rules provides that “the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2007 is amended by deleting the following rules, namely: 9(2), 10, 11, 12 and 13”.
Rule 9(2) prohibits legal practitioners from claiming that he has paid his Bar Practicing Fees (BPF) when he is actually in default. Rule 10 deals with stamp and Seal. Rule 11 provides for Mandatory Continuing Legal Education, Rule 12 provides for Annual Practicing Certificate and Rule 13 provides for Notice of Legal Practice upon setting up a private legal practice.
This development has met with different reactions and many have argued that the AGF does not have power to unilaterally amend the RPC. Efforts to further confirm the amendment or otherwise are still underway.
