Some lawyers in Lagos Wednesday urged the National Judicial Council (NJC) to ensure total adherence by colleagues to the rules of professional conduct and ethics.

 The lawyers made the call in separate interviews and  also urged the NJC to recommend stiff penalties for offenders.

 The lawyers said that many lawyers were in the habit of breaching the code of conduct for legal practitioners.

 A Lagos based lawyer and analyst, Mr Michael Dugeri, said he was dissatisfied with the level of compliance with legal rules by lawyers.

 ``The level of compliance by lawyers with our rules of professional conduct is appalling.

 ``The rules are being observed more in breach, especially by junior lawyers, largely due to a pursuit of immediate financial gains,” he said.

 According to Dugeri, many junior lawyers are interested in ``ambulance chasing” which is similar to begging for briefs from litigants.

 He condemned the practice and urged the disciplinary arm of the NJC to sanction lawyers who put the image of the profession in disrepute.

 Mr Jude Chiozor, a constitutional lawyer and member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), blamed the situation on the lack of sanctions for offenders.

 Chiozor said that many senior lawyers were guilty of contravening the rules of conduct for the profession.

 ``The rules of professional ethics, to a very large extent, have been flouted by lawyers.

 ``The senior lawyers too have not led by example; this is especially evident in their handling of election petitions as well as corruption cases.

 ``It is also clear how some senior lawyers employ the use of frivolous injunctions to clog the wheels of justice.

 ``This is very unethical by the rules and calls for serious redress,” he said.

 Mr Kingsley Onyemma, a lawyer and social critic, stressed the need for the NBA and NJC to put up a good fight in eradicating all forms of unethical conducts in the law discipline.

 He also condemned the attitude of some lawyers who collected money from clients without representing them in court.

 Onyemma described such acts as ``fraudulent and scandalous’’ to the profession.

 ``The attitude of some lawyers have contributed greatly to the sharp decline in the quality of law practice in Nigeria.

 ``Rules of professional conduct are designed for a purpose and we must adhere strictly to them in our practice of law,” he said.

 According to Onyemma, abiding by ethical rules is what distinguishes a lawyer as a member of a learned and noble profession.