The use of wigs and gowns has its roots in the British legal system and was adopted by the Nigeria legal system, due to the country’s colonial history. The tradition dates back centuries and was originally intended to create a sense of formality, professionalism, and impartiality in court proceedings.
In recent years, there have been discussions and debates within the legal community in Nigeria about whether to retain or abandon the use of wigs and gowns. Some have suggested alternative forms of professional attire that incorporate cultural elements while still maintaining a sense of formality and professionalism.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ethics and Disciplinary Committee recently conducted a survey in nine branches of NBA on this topical subject.
Below is the report of the Survey, prepared by Prof Ernest Ojukwu, SAN (Chairman NBA Ethics and Disciplinary Committee)
REPORT OF SAMPLE SURVEY OF NIGERIAN LAWYERS ON THE USE OF LAWYER`S WIG AND GOWN
Between the months of April and June 2023, sample survey of lawyers was carried out in 9 branches of the Nigerian Bar Association on whether to keep or discard the use of the Wig and Gown as part of the court attire.
The surveys took place at the branch meetings of the following branches: Abuja, Bwari, Lagos, Ikeja, Ibadan, Kaduna, Banawa, Owerri and Port Harcourt. The responders were required to thick either YES to discard the use of wig and gown or NO to keep using the wig and gown in our courts. The survey was conducted face-to-face using hard copy forms.
The weakness of the survey was that only 1419 of lawyers in only 9 branches were polled. Another weakness of the survey was that an alternative dressing was proposed as part of the decision to vote YES to discard the use of wig and gown as a court dress. The proposed alternative dressing was stated as follows:
“ASSUMING that we recommend No wig, No Gown and no wing collars and bands but only dark
business suits and ties for men and dark suits or blazer and knee-length(minimum) skirts for women for all court appearances but only retain the wig/gown/bands for ceremonial occasions such as call-to-bar, Special Court sessions like new legal year, judges retirements, judges and lawyers passing, Will You VOTE YES or NO TO SUCH A PROPOSAL?”
The survey also provided some information about what the practice is in some English Courts now. The information was stated as follows:
“KNOW that-
The wig and Gown are not used by Judges and Lawyers in many English (Wales) Courts such as:
The Supreme Court – No wig and gown, no wing collars, and bands
Court of Appeal (Civil) – No wig and Gown, no wing collars, and bands
High Court (Commercial Div)- No wig and gown, no wing collars, and bands High Court Family Div- No wigs on Judges (and wigs not required of lawyers) High Court Criminal Division – Wigs and Gowns still won.”
The result of the survey is shown on the table below:
| S/N | VOTES | YES
Discard |
NO Do not
Discard |
% YES | %NO |
| 1 | ABUJA BRANCH NBA | 137 | 142 | 49.1% | 50.9% |
| 2 | BWARI BRANCH NBA | 37 | 72 | 33.94% | 66.06% |
| 3 | LAGOS BRANCH NBA | 89 | 59 | 60% | 40% |
| 4 | IKEJA BRANCH NBA | 59 | 51 | 53.63% | 46.37% |
| 5 | IBADAN BRANCH NBA | 41 | 35 | 53.94% | 46.06% |
| 6 | KADUNA BRANCH NBA | 115 | 81 | 58.67% | 41.33% |
| 7 | BANAWA BRANCH NBA | 46 | 66 | 41.08% | 58.92% |
| 8 | OWERRI BRANCH NBA | 40 | 50 | 44.44% | 55.56% |
| 9 | PORT HARCOURT BRANCH NBA | 96 | 203 | 32.1% | 67.9% |
|
10 |
TOTAL VOTES = 1419 |
660 |
759 |
46.52 |
53.48 |
Prepared by Prof Ernest Ojukwu, SAN (Chairman NBA Ethics and Disciplinary Committee)
17th Day of July 2023