Leesi Ebenezer Mitee Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria
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The Urgent Need For Online Payment Of Nigerian Lawyers’ Annual Practising Fees And Dues

Copyright © 7 December 2018 By Dr. Leesi Ebenezer Mitee
(Revised 29 December 2018)

One area that needs the urgent attention of the current Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) National Executive Committee (NEC), led by Paul Usoro SAN, is online payment of all annual practising fees and Branch dues by all Nigerian legal practitioners.

Rule 9 of the Nigerian Bar Association’s Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners makes provision for the mandatory payment of annual practising fees by all Nigerian legal practitioners. The said Rule states:

“Practicing Fees.

9. (1) A lawyer shall pay his Annual Practicing Fees not later than 31st March in every year. In the case of lawyers who are enrolled during the year, the fees shall be paid within one month of the enrolment.

 (2) A lawyer shall not claim in any court or before a judicial tribunal that he has paid his Annual Practicing Fee when he is, in fact, in default.

(3) A lawyer shall not sign documents, pleadings, affidavits, depositions, applications, instruments, agreements, letters, deeds, letters, memorandum, reports, legal opinions or similar documents or process or file such documents as a legal practitioner, legal officer or adviser of any Governmental department or Ministry or any corporation when he is in default of payment of his Annual Practicing Fees.”

The existing method of paying the mandatory NBA annual practising fees and dues is, and has always been, physically going to banks to make such payments. Such a method of payment is, to say the least, strange and retrogressive in today’s world of online payment system that has been made possible by 21st Century information and communications technology (ICT).

There are several problems with the said existing payment method, which include the following:

  1. Wasted man-hours because of the nature of the process of making the unnecessary journeys to banks by an estimated group of 200,000 lawyers, with the possibility of delays from queues in the banks and traffic holdups, especially in the Nigerian situation.
  2. The risks inherent in physical journeys, e.g. the possibility of accidents, molestation by roadside thugs and overzealous law enforcement agents that are now common in Nigeria, and the breakdown of one’s car.
  3. The difficulty of making payments by Nigerian lawyers who are outside Nigeria between 1 January – 31 March, which is the statutory window for the annual payment ritual.
  4. Loss of revenue to the NBA from those who may not be able to make such payments due to the difficulties with the existing system, including those who may be outside Nigeria during the said payment window.
  5. Loss of reputation of the NBA in the eyes of the modern Bar Associations of other countries, other professional bodies, and the public who expect a modern Nigerian Bar.

An online payment system completely eliminates all the aforementioned problems associated with the physical payment method. It will guarantee that every member of the NBA can pay the required fees and dues in the comfort of his/her home, anytime, and anywhere in the world. The resultant ease of payment will enhance the revenue of the NBA and its Branches nationwide.

It is hereby suggested, and strongly too, that the anticipated NBA national payment gateway for annual practising fees should also accommodate the payment of dues by all Branches of the Association. The reason is that many Branches may not be able to afford their individual online payment systems. A dual payment system whereby annual practising fees are paid online while Branch dues are paid physically in the banks would undermine the benefits of the national payment system.

Changing the antiquated payment method to a modern online payment system should therefore be a high priority of the Paul Usoro-led administration. If the administration is unable to achieve this, it may haunt this current NBA National Executive, as the issue of online payment featured during the elections that brought them into office and has been canvassed by NBA members, including the author of this piece.

Long live the Nigerian Bar Association!

Copyright © 7 December 2018 By Dr. Leesi Ebenezer Mitee
Legal Informaticist & Director of the Nigerian Legal Research and Legal Education Support Initiative

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Dr. Leesi Ebenezer Mitee
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