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A 75-year-old man called to the Nigerian Bar on Tuesday in Abuja said justice for his community inspired him to study the law.
Mr Okon Abang from Ibeno Local Government Area (LGA) of Akwa Ibom was among 1,116 successful candidates called to the Nigerian Bar by the Body of Benchers.
Ibeno LGA is one of the communities in Akwa-Ibom embroiled in a long legal tussle with multinational oil company, Exxon Mobil, over oil spills and environmental degradation.
``I am somebody who likes my community and I have acquired degrees in political science and public administration which have afforded me the opportunity to serve as a commissioner.
``But I also want to help my community legally, that is why I decided to study the law.
``My greatest aspiration is to serve people and that is why I have studied the law to serve people. I do not want much money because I have what to eat,’’ he told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Abang, who described his experience at the Nigerian Law school as very rewarding, graduated from the University of Uyo in 2010.
He said after his second degree in 2005 in public administration, his external examiner advised him to enrol for a doctoral degree.
``But I like the courts and I would like to practice, ’’ he said.
The new wig told NAN that outside the legal profession, he was also an ordained pastor of the Brotherhood of the Cross and Star.
Abang is a former commissioner for Lands and Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Akwa Ibom.
Meanwhile, Mr. Friday Amanzi, 23, who was also called to the bar, told NAN that his greatest ambition was to be the Attorney-General of the Federation.
Amanzi graduated from the University of Jos in 2010 and was among the first set of students posted to the Bayelsa campus of the Nigerian Law School
`` I joined the law profession because I always have something to say to the world, I wish everyone was a lawyer, I can assure you we would have a peaceful society,’’ he said.
The young lawyer commended lecturers at the Bayelsa campus of the Nigerian Law School for their diligence and commitment to legal education.
Records from the Body of Benchers, the body that qualifies lawyers in Nigeria, showed that the 253 students from the Bayesla campus recorded 80 per cent success in the May 2012 bar final examinations.
Amanzis said :``They organised extra classes for us, I remember sometimes we even had classes on Sundays to tell you how ready they were to make sure that we gave our best. ’’
