By Peter Onyekachukwu 
By Peter Onyekachukwu
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Kunle Edun, has faulted the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, over his reported verbal attack on a naval officer, Lt. A.M. Yerima, describing it as an assault on the dignity of the legal profession.
Edun, in a statement sent to Prime Gossip on Wednesday, said Wike’s outburst against a uniformed officer of the Nigerian Navy was not only disrespectful but also unbecoming of a legal practitioner and Life Bencher.
He said, “A Life Bencher, a lawyer calling a military officer dressed in the Nigerian Navy uniform a fool — I cannot believe it. Not even a little respect for the uniform.”
According to the senior advocate, Wike’s conduct undermines the nobility and ethical standards expected of members of the legal profession. He stressed that lawyers are bound by rules that demand decorum both in and outside the courtroom.
“Wike’s conduct was an assault on the dignity and nobility of the legal profession,” Edun said, adding that public figures who are lawyers must demonstrate restraint in their dealings with others.
He cited the recent direction of the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) in the case of John Aikpokpo-Martins v. Danladi Umar, where it was held that the committee has jurisdiction to try lawyers who behave in a manner unbecoming of their calling, even outside strictly professional matters.
“Publicly calling a military man a fool is conduct unbecoming of a legal practitioner,” he said. “The LPDC has made it clear that such behaviour can attract disciplinary sanctions.”
Edun further stated that the young naval officer, Lt. Yerima, has the right to initiate civil action against the minister for defamation and public insult, describing Wike’s words as an affront to a national symbol — the military uniform.
“The young officer has a right to initiate civil action against Wike for defamation and the unjustified public insult. Wike insulted a national symbol, the military uniform,” he said.
The SAN also urged the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) to establish the office of a Prosecutor-General whose duty would be to investigate and prosecute lawyers who violate professional ethics, without necessarily waiting for petitions.
“I have advocated and advised each NBA administration to consider setting up the office of a Prosecutor-General whose main duty would be to investigate and prosecute lawyers who violate our ethical rules,” Edun added.