Okutepa Raises Alarm Over Falling Ethical Standards In Nigeria’s Legal Profession
By Sunday Etuka
Senior lawyer, Jibrin Okutepa, has decried what he describes as a steady decline in ethical practice within the Nigerian legal profession, questioning why senior members of the bar appear to be standing by as standards continue to slip.
In a strongly worded reflection posted on his X handle on Sunday, Okutepa lamented that the quality of judgments being delivered across the country now falls short of what Nigerian jurisprudence was once known for, describing the erosion of professional ethics as having reached alarming proportions.
He noted that legal practice has, in many respects, devolved into a self-serving pursuit, with few voices left to hold practitioners accountable to the profession’s traditional values.
Okutepa clarified that his concern is not limited to Senior Advocates of Nigeria alone, but extends to the broader community of jurists and senior lawyers whose integrity once defined the profession.
He recalled a generation of elders who lived by strict ethical codes, unafraid to confront poor practice or call out flawed judgments rather than celebrate them — a spirit he says is increasingly absent today.
According to him, some Senior Advocates are themselves implicated in the decline, with younger lawyers often absorbing poor ethical habits from compromised elders rather than learning from positive examples.
He also pointed to a widening generational gap, observing that many younger practitioners in what he termed the “Gen Z generation” of legal practice are resistant to correction from senior colleagues, making it difficult to instil traditional professional values.
Okutepa further raised concerns about the growing use of fabricated documents and evidence in court proceedings without consequence, contrasting this with other jurisdictions where misleading the court is treated as a serious disciplinary offence.
He argued that Nigerian judgments once carried enough jurisprudential weight to be cited across Commonwealth countries, but that this influence has diminished considerably in recent years.
He called on senior members of the bar to convene and deliberate on the profession’s declining standards, describing the legal profession as the bedrock of the rule of law and warning that its erosion places the broader society at risk.
Okutepa urged the profession’s elders to take action to restore what he called the nobility of legal practice before it is lost entirely.
