THE LEGAL PRACTITIONER AND PROTECTION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

On the 7th of September 1990, the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders in Havana, Cuba, adopted the Basic Principles on the Role of lawyers. The instrument highlights that the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms requires unhindered access to legal services by independent legal practitioners. This instrument states that the professional association of legal practitioners play three vital roles; namely, to uphold professional ethics and standards; to provide legal services to all irrespective of race, gender, origin, religion or politics; and lastly, to cooperate with governmental and other institutions in furthering the ends of justice and public interest. Despite the above declaration on the role of lawyers and by extension to the professional association, effective access to legal services to all persons in present-day Nigeria has not been optimally achieved. The crucial question remains whether the role of lawyers in line with this instrument has improved human rights protection in Nigeria? This paper concludes that for Nigeria to achieve effective human rights protection, the role of legal practitioners must increase to achieve the justice needed by millions of victims of human rights violations.