Lagos – The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) said on Wednesday that it had begun the verification and review of its biometric database for lawyers in the country.

NBA President Joseph Daudu disclosed this in Lagos when he visited the Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Inumidun Akande.

Daudu said the “Digital Bar Initiative (DBI)’’, which would last one month, would help reduce fake lawyers as all those duly registered would be issued identification cards.

He said: “ The registration is very necessary. One of the features of the database is the enrolment number which will make it possible to identify all our members.

“It is a unique opportunity to make improvements in our record keeping and to also update the records of our members’’.

The NBA president also disclosed that the Legal Practitioners Act, which would stipulate the requirements needed before anybody could practice law in Nigeria, would soon be passed by the National Assembly.

He stressed the need for the independence of the judiciary and commended Akande for achieving financial autonomy for the Lagos State judiciary.

“We have always tried to explain to the state government that the executive, legislature and the judiciary are separate arms of government which must exist in total independence of each other,” Daudu said.

He said the NBA would hold a Criminal Justice Review Conference on July 17 in Abuja, to address the challenges relating to bail application, plea bargaining and prison reforms.

In her response, Akande said the Bar and the Bench were partners in progress and expressed optimism that the verification exercise would strengthen legal practice in the state.

Akande used the opportunity to commiserate with the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, over the death of his wife, Victoria, and prayed for the repose of her soul. (NAN)