The governments of the UK and Nigeria have signed a new free trade agreement covering a breadth of sectors including financial and legal services. The Department for Business and Trade said, ‘it will see the UK and Nigeria’s shared aspiration to facilitate each other’s lawyers practising foreign and international law in each other’s jurisdictions.’
However, president of the Nigerian Bar Association described the deal as unacceptable, and Nigerian lawyers have vowed to challenge the deal to the Supreme Court if necessary.
No one seems surprised by the reaction. Founder of specialist consultancy Hook Tangaza stressed that there had been no signs to date that Nigeria was ready to accommodate foreign lawyers having greater rights to practice in Nigeria.
Are they right to be concerned…?
The Law Society within the UK wishes to stress that the new agreement is about creating a mutual sharing of knowledge, and supporting one another on international law practices.
The new agreement seems to be based on ‘close engagement’, rather than increased rights for UK lawyers to practice within Nigeria. However, the friction and mounting dissatisfaction from Nigeria’s legal sector continues.
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If you’d like further information on the Nigerian Trade Deal read this article from africanlawbusiness.com
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