The Chief Justice of Nigeria has said that henceforth, junior counsel appearing with a Lead Counsel in matter at the Supreme Court should be limited to 5 lawyers.
The Circular came on the heels of an embarrassing situation experienced at the Supreme Court where lawyers had to resort to sitting on the bare floor for lack of sitting space.
Justice Rhodes Vivor who also supported this view noted that there is nowhere in the world where situations such as this exist. The Apex Court added that the large number of lawyers appearing in a case defeats the utilitarian value of juniors appearing with a senior in court as many of those lawyers who appear have absolutely nothing to do with proceedings in terms of rendering assistance to the lead counsel in the course of proceedings.
Despite Chief Olanipekun SAN’s plea that the number be expanded, the CJN stated that Circular has already been issued and the NBA notified. He further said the Circular may be varied subsequently but the number has to be maintained for the moment.
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