One Ummah, One Bar: MULAN FCT Kicks Off Law Week
By Abdullahi Yusuf
The Muslim Lawyers’ Association of Nigeria (MULAN), FCT Branch, has opened its 2025 Law Week with a renewed call for unity, stronger mentorship systems, and a revival of ethical standards within the Nigerian legal profession. The event, held at the NBA House in Abuja under the theme “One Ummah, One Bar,” brought together some of the country’s most respected members of the Bar and Bench.
The programme, which officially commenced with a grand opening ceremony, gathered senior jurists, academics, and young practitioners, all reflecting on the intersection of Islamic values and the responsibilities of modern legal practice.
Peace Magazine learned that this year’s theme was chosen as a deliberate response to rising concerns about professional fragmentation, weakening mentorship structures, and the growing pressures faced by young lawyers in Nigeria.
Delivering his welcome address, Chairman of MULAN FCT, Al-Bashir Lawal Likko, described the Week as a “bridge between generations,” urging Muslim lawyers to reclaim the ethical foundations of the profession.
“We stand at a defining moment,” Likko said. “Our strength must never lie in numbers alone, but in the clarity of our values and the unity of our hearts.”
He lamented the growing disconnect between senior and junior lawyers and called for structured mentorship, stronger welfare support, and deeper participation in national legal discourse.
Delivering his welcome remarks, His Excellency M.A Abubakar SAN, the Chairman of the 2025 Law Week Planning Committee said the theme “One Ummah, One Bar” was chosen as a reminder that the Muslim legal community must model ethical leadership at a time of moral drift and professional pressure.
He warned that unity must be intentional, not rhetorical.
“Unity does not imply uniformity,” he said. “It demands patience, mutual respect and humility to listen. It challenges us to rise above personal interest and institutional divides.”
The Chairman emphasised that excellence in the legal profession requires sincerity, consistency and the willingness to mentor the next generation.
The keynote address, delivered on behalf of Prof. Yusuf Ali SAN by Prof. Mubarak Tijani Adekilekun, explored the deeper theological and ethical meaning of the theme.
“The Ummah is bound by shared values and a shared destiny,” he said, referencing Qur’anic teachings on unity.
He emphasised that for Muslim lawyers, professional excellence must be inseparable from Islamic ethics:
“We must be lawyers who bring light into the courtroom, who serve with conscience, judge with compassion, and lead with humility.” he said.
The first panel session, titled “Passing the Torch: Senior Muslim Lawyers and the Growth of Young Muslim Legal Minds,” provided some of the day’s most candid conversations.
The panel featured: A.B. Mahmoud, SAN, OON, former NBA President (Chairman) Hon. Justice Binta Nyako, Federal High Court, Justice Kadi Ibrahim Barkindo, Najib Waziri, Chairman, YLF Unity Bar, Mrs Fatima Dauda and Sani Sa’ad Bunza, legal practitioner and journalist.
Opening the discussion, Mahmoud SAN invited lawyers to speak on their challenges.
Sani Sa’ad Bunza described “a serious gap in mentorship” compounded by harsh economic conditions:
“Most young lawyers are struggling. Transport, accommodation, even basic welfare, many cannot cope,” he said.
He warned that frustration on both sides, seniors expecting loyalty without support, juniors expecting guidance without sacrifice is widening the divide.
Mahmoud summarised: “Young lawyers desire guidance, but the economics of practice are holding that back.”
Justice Barkindo delivered one of the session’s most detailed critiques of the profession, warning that Nigeria’s legal training system relies too heavily on chance.
He proposed a structured, four-stage apprenticeship model: 1. I do, you watch. 2. I do, you help.3. You do, I help. 4. You do, I watch.
He called for a revival of continuity in legal practice, citing historic Nigerian chambers known for multi-generational legacy.
“We hardly find sustainability today. Integrity and discipline must return,” he said.
Justice Nyako delivered a reminder that professional conduct begins with character. “One Ummah, One Bar means we are a family,” she said. “Respect, punctuality, and discipline are Islamic values.”
She cautioned that a lawyer’s courtroom impression can define their career: “When you are articulate and prepared, we note you. When you fumble, we also note you.”
Najeeb Waziri, spoke on the challenges confronting emerging legal practitioners. He stressed the need for “practical, accessible mentorship that goes beyond ceremonial advice,” noting that many young lawyers lack exposure to core litigation skills, leadership pathways, and real professional guidance.
He urged senior lawyers to “actively open doors, not just inspire from a distance,” highlighting the importance of internships, case exposure, and deliberate inclusion of young practitioners in complex legal work.
Across the session, speakers agreed that Nigeria’s Muslim legal community must model ethical leadership, community service, and structured mentorship rooted in Islamic principles.
The second session shifted to one of Nigeria’s most contentious issues, technology and elections. Delivering the presentation, Hon. Justice Mai Nasara Umar Kogo, Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT), warned that Nigeria’s electoral system is still plagued by inconsistencies and lacks clear judicial validation of electronic processes.
Speaking on the theme “Technology and Elections in Nigeria: Examining the Electoral Act and the Legal Realities of Technology-Driven Elections,” Kogo said that while the Electoral Act introduces innovations such as BVAS and electronic transmission of results, “our adjudicature has not sanctioned the validity of technology-driven processes in concrete terms.”
He added that this legal ambiguity allows loopholes, manipulation, and contradictory rulings.
As MULAN FCT’s 2025 Law Week begins, organisers say the goal is clear: to realign the Muslim legal community with values of integrity, discipline, unity and service.
The Week continues with further sessions on Islamic finance, technology, and the future of legal practice in Nigeria.
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