Lateef Omoyemi Akangbe, SAN, FCIArb(UK), former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Lagos Branch, has extended warm felicitations to the newly admitted lawyers called to the Nigerian Bar. In his goodwill message, Akangbe described the Call to Bar as not only a personal milestone but also the assumption of a sacred trust, urging the new wigs to see themselves as “servants of truth and stewards of equity.”
He emphasized that the honour of joining the legal profession also comes with the burden of responsibility, noting that society now looks to them as defenders of justice and guardians of the rule of law. Akangbe charged the new entrants to the Bar to uphold discipline, courage, and fidelity to truth, while deploying the law as a tool for fairness, equity, and nation-building.
Read full statement below;
I extend my heartfelt congratulations to all the new wigs being called to the Nigerian Bar at this defining juncture in their journey.
This occasion is not merely a personal triumph; it is the assumption of a sacred trust. The law is not a marketplace for cleverness but a temple of justice, and those who are admitted into its sanctuary must see themselves as servants of truth and stewards of equity.
Your call to the Bar confers both honour and burden. Honour, because you have joined a noble profession; burden, because the society now looks to you as defenders of justice and guardians of the rule of law. Wear this new dignity with humility, discipline, and courage. Remember always that the lawyer’s worth is measured not by wealth or applause, but by fidelity to truth and constancy in the pursuit of justice.
The times in which we live demand lawyers who are learned yet principled, bold yet restrained, independent yet responsible. Lawyers who will not bow to expediency but will uphold the Constitution with unwavering resolve. Lawyers who will deploy the law, not as an instrument of oppression, but as a tool for fairness, equity, and nation-building.
I welcome you to the Bar. May your practice be illuminated by wisdom, strengthened by diligence, and ennobled by an unyielding devotion to justice.
Warm Regards,
LATEEF OMOYEMI AKANGBE, SAN, FCIArb(UK)
Former Chairman NBA Lagos Branch
