I have perused the Rules of Professional Conduct. I have asked lawyers for any known law that stipulates that a Judge has the power to force a lawyer to kneel in court. And guess what? It does not exist. It has never existed. It will never exist.
But one Justice Mohammed Umar, on Monday, invented his own law. On Monday, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, he brought opprobrium upon the legal profession. He ordered that any lawyer who raises his voice while arguing about a hearing date must immediately step out of the Bar and kneel. In a courtroom. In front of colleagues. In the year 2026.
Yes, kneel. Like a child punished for not doing homework. Like a village boy caught stealing a neighbour’s plantain. I am not making this up.
The lawyer, Mr. Marshal Abubakar, was doing his job. He was advocating for his client, Mr. Omoyele Sowore. He was discussing the suitability of a date. Perhaps he spoke loudly. Perhaps he was passionate. These are things lawyers do. They are not monks. They are not altar boys. They are advocates. They are trained to speak. And for this, a Judge looked at him and said: “Step out and kneel.”
Let me ask you something. If a Judge can order a lawyer to kneel for raising his voice, won’t he flog a litigant who dares to sneeze? What will he order for a witness who coughs? Arrest?
This is the behaviour of someone who believes that the black gown transforms him into a deity before whom all must bow—literally. Some magistrates, judges, and justices sit up there to dish out insults, crude orders, taunts, and even threats.
I’m glad I walked out of a courtroom some years back when I could no longer stomach insults from an uncoordinated magistrate. He was so irritating and disrespectful.
And here is the tragedy. The courtroom is supposed to be where dignity matters. It is supposed to be where the powerless can face the powerful and be heard. It is supposed to be where arguments are won with law, not with force. But when a Judge reduces a legal practitioner to his knees, he does not just humiliate that one lawyer. He sends a message to every Nigerian who will ever enter that court: You are not safe here. Your dignity is not protected here. The law will not save you here.
The Nigerian Bar Association has spoken. Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, has issued a statement calling him out. But let us be honest. A statement is paper. A statement is words. What happens next? Does Justice Umar face any consequences? Does he apologise? Does he even understand why what he did was wrong? Or will he simply move on to the next case?
I am tired. I am tired of explaining to people that judges are not God. I am tired of watching men and women in black gowns behave as though they are above the very law they swore to uphold.
If Justice Umar wants someone to kneel before him, let him go to his village and become a king.
