Winning War Against Corruption, Lawyers Must Support the Fight - LASU VC
The Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun, has urged lawyers to support all relevant agencies and stakeholders, especially the court to wage war against corruption.
Fagbohun, a Professor of Law, made this call last Tuesday in a lecture he delivered at the Asiwaju Babatunde Olusola Benson, (SAN) annual public lecture titled, "Combating Corruption in a Recession: The Transformative Role of the Bar and the Bench".
The annual lecture, 11th in the series, was organised as part of the activities marking the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikorodu Law Week.
The Law Week is a week set aside by the branches of the NBA across the country, to celebrate the legal profession.
Fagbohun said to win the war against corruption, every lawyer must support all rules that would make the courts succeed in fighting corruption.
He noted that the crisis of corruption would continue to eat deep into the system, as long as the bench and the bar continue to shy away from their responsibilities to the society.
The erudite Professor enjoined legal practitioners to embrace global best practices to fight the negative impact of corruption in the country, adding that the Judiciary should continue to uphold the tenets of equity and fairness, by dispensing justice without fear or favour.
"If the bench and the bar are indeed responsive, they can effectively serve to keep corrupt activities, particularly as it concerns public officers and public institutions, in check", he stated.
Fagbohun lamented public dissatisfaction with the country's judicial system, unlike the situation in developed jurisdictions where courts are among the trusted government institutions.
According to him, aside from the challenge of delayed justice, the judiciary is enmeshed in controversies of corruption involving both the bar and the bench.
He admonished the bar and the bench to exhibit preference for an efficient judiciary, if the status quo is not to persist.
In her opening remarks, Lagos State Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Olufunmilayo Atilade, urged members of the legal profession to fully support the fight against corruption.
The Chief Judge who was represented by Justice Oke Lawal said, "everybody should play a part in fighting corruption, so that we can make Nigeria a noble country. This way, Nigeria can take her pride of place in the comity of nations".
In his brief intervention, Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo also aligned himself with the Chief Judge by advising lawyers to stop interfering in the work of the bench.
Earlier In his welcome address, the Chairman, NBA Ikorodu, Mr. Levi Adikwaone, in setting the tone for the discourse, lamented that corruption has become endemic in the country and urged lawyers to play their role in stemming the trend.