A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mia Essien, on Tuesday decried
sexual harassment of female lawyers by their senior colleagues,
urging that lawyers’ Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC) should
condemn sexual assault and bullying.
Mrs Essien, the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association Section
on Legal Practice (NBA-LP), made the call at the Showcase Session
of the 59th NBA Annual General Conference (AGC) at the Eko Hotel
and Suites in Lagos.
The session had the topic: “Bullying and Sexual Harassment in
the Legal Community”.
“There are situations where senior lawyers travel with junior
female colleagues and make no hotel reservations for such females,”
she said.
She said that such females ended up in the rooms of their
principals, who deliberately did so to sexually exploit them.
According to Mrs Essien, while the RPC talks about ethical
conduct for legal practitioners, it says nothing about sexual
harassment or bullying of lawyers.
“I urge the NBA to ensure an amendment of the RPC to reflect
these issues,” she said.
Mrs Essien said that lawyers were expected to know that sexual
harassment and bullying were condemnable and thus, should conduct
themselves in the most ethical manner.
The senior advocate said that there was a difference between
bullying and correction of a junior colleague, which she described
as a key element of legal practice.
“It is important to be courteous as a lawyer; courtesy demands
that you offer your seat to a senior colleague who is standing up
in court, and also to speak with respect to seniors.
Another panelist in the session, Ogaga Emoghwaren, described
sexual harassment as an unsolicited, unwelcomed, and unexpected
sexual advance to elicit unwanted sexual relationship.
He described bullying as the act of intimidating a weaker person
to make him to do something against his will.
Mr Ogaga said that although sexual harassment of lawyers by
their seniors in courtrooms was not common, there existed sexual
harassment in law firms.
“I encountered a situation where a young female lawyer ran out
of her principal’s office crying; when I interrogated her, she
described her principal as a beast who just raped her,” he
said.
According to Mr Ogaga, the unwillingness of victims to open up,
made sexual harassment and abuse to be increasing.
He noted the young female lawyer who was allegedly raped,
refused to formally complain for fear of sack.
Mr Ogaga also blamed the situation on poor enforcement of laws
against sexual abuse.
“Although there is a law criminalising the offence of rape; more
proactive measures must be put in place to tackle the menace,” he
said.
Another panelist in the session, Awulika Osuigwe, said that
sexual molestation in workplaces had been going on unnoticed due to
poor reportage.
She advised that females should report acts such as slapping of
their buttocks by men.
On bullying at the workplace, she claimed that it was mostly
done against females, most of whom were not afforded opportunities
like their male counterparts.
She described it as gender discrimination.
“Sometimes, a principal will prefer to take a trip with a male
colleague, and the excuse is that the female may not be
intellectually capable.
“In some places, married women are given specific periods for
pregnancy, if they must keep their jobs,” she said.
Mrs Osuigwe described the acts as gender bias, calling for a
change of attitude by employees and superiors.
Assam Assam, also a panelist in the session, said that bullying
also thrived in courtrooms and among judges.
“I encountered a scenario where two members of the bench sitting
on appeal, engaged in a face-off and rained abuses on each other
before a full courtroom,” he said.
According to him, some judges bully lawyers appearing before
them.
“For a person to be appointed a judge, he must be
psychologically checked,” he said.
In his remarks, the NBA President, Paul Usoro, gave the
assurance that in the next year, his administration would take
steps to adequately address the issues.
He advised lawyers to make complaints about sexual harassment
for measures to be taken.
NAN reports that the International Bar Association Report was
launched during the session by its President, Mr Horatio Neto of
Brazil.
The 59th NBA-AGC had the theme: “Facing the Future”.
About 10,000 people are participating at the six-day conference
to end on Thursday. (NAN)
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NIPR
Lagos PR Stakeholders’ Confab to Address Environmental
Sustainability
The Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public
Relations, in collaboration with the Addefort Limited, today
announced that the Sixth Lagos Public Relations Stakeholders’
Conference will hold at the Agip Recital Hall, Muson Centre, Lagos
on Thursday, August 29, 2019.
The Conference, themed: Conversations to Promote Environmental
Sustainability in Nigeria, is set to draw the attention of
government, individuals and corporate organizations to looking at
better ways to engage and communicate with the citizens on
environmental sustainability, which is a special focus in the
United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Envision2030
due to its strategic importance to human sustainability.
Speaking on the conference, the Chairman of the Lagos NIPR, Mr.
Olusegun McMedal, said that, “Sustainability communications and
environmental awareness should be a priority for businesses,
government and citizens in protecting our natural environment,
human and ecological health, while driving innovation. That is why
the Institute and Addefort are setting the agenda in that
regard”.
The Coordinator of the Conference, Olabamiji Adeleye, said that,
“The understanding is that proactive and strategic communication is
indispensable, and this has necessitated the need for conversations
on how to further promote Environmental Sustainability in
Nigeria”.
He said that the Conference is expected to host the Governor of
Lagos State, His Excellency Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Director
General/CEO, National Identity Management Commission, Engr. Aliyu
Aziz, Chairman, National Executive Council, Nigerian Conservation
Foundation, Chief Ede Dafinone and Managing Director, Ecobank
Nigeria, Mr. Patrick Akinwuntan, Executive Vice Chairman and Chief
Executive Officer, Nigerian Communications Commission, Prof. Umar
Garba Danbatta, Chief Executive, CSR-In-Action, Mrs. Bekeme
Masade-Olowola, and Chief Executive Officer, Naturescape
Consulting, Dr. Jumoke Kassim. Others confirmed speakers include
the former Commissioner for Information, Rivers State, Dr. Austin
Tam_George, and Director, Western Operations, Lagos State Waste
Management Authority, Dr. Ubon Essien Nsuabia.
The annual Lagos PR Stakeholders’ Conference; the brainchild of
Addefort Limited; a public relations and concept development firm,
has evolved over the years to become a bridge-building talk-shop
for stakeholders to interact, discuss and proffer solutions to the
social, political and economic challenges plaguing our nation.
Olabamiji Adeleye
Media Contacts:
Coordinator – – 08061175653
addefort@gmail.com