The rule of law must triumph –Solanke

Eminent lawyer and first female Senior Advocate of Nigeria
(SAN), Chief Folake Solanke yesterday said that the rule of
law must thrive in Nigeria if the country must make progress.
Solanke made the submission in her remarks shortly after
receiving the Life Time Achievement Award at the annual The
Sun Awards.
She said the nation could not afford to hold the judiciary in
contempt, noting that both judges and court judgments must
be respected.
She said that the country must return to the golden age of the
legal profession when the judiciary was well respected and
pleaded with the media to make distinctions when talking
about corruption in the judiciary, as not all judges are corrupt.
Lauding The Sun newspapers, she expressed delight that de­
spite the current national challenges, the company was able
to identify some persons to be honoured and declared, “We all
need The Sun.”
Her words: “Nigeria is at the crossroads, with a lot of
challenges. Even in the midst of the challenges, we are able to
identify some people to be honoured. We must respect the rule
of law. We cannot afford to hold the judiciary in contempt.
Judgments must be respected and judges respected. The legal
profession must be respected. When judges are attacked and
documents destroyed, that is the height of infamy. We have to
go back to the golden age of the legal profession. When I
entered the legal profession, there was no talk of corruption in
the judiciary. But now, everyone is saying it with impunity.
Not all judge