Foremost Lawyer Folake Solanke Lauds Notaries Society, Urges Discipline

Chief Mrs. Folake Solake (SAN) (CON), the first female lawyer in Nigeria, has lauded the establishment of the Society for Notaries Public (SNP).

The society was launched, and held its inaugural induction of new members, last week, in Lagos.

The 92-year-old Solanke, reputed as the matriarch of the Nigerian Bar, commended the Society.

She urged the SNP not to indulge notaries public found to commit “acts of misconduct.”
“Those who commit breaches in their notarial practice must be reported to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee for action.

Consequences must follow infractions so that our dear country and institutions can prosper,” she said.
In her remarks, president and master-in-council of the SNP, Mrs. Marlies Allan, said that the need to protect the “integrity and credibility of notarial services” led to the formation of the Society.

Former chief judge of Lagos state, Justice Ayotunde Phillips (retd.), believed the event was “a new chapter” in unifying and giving notaries public in the country a common voice. Phillips, who is life patron of the NPS, lauded the initiative to revolutionise the practice using technology.

Other dignitaries at the event include representative of the
Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration, Kemi Nandap; Mr. Abdulla AlQahtani, head, visa center of the United Arabs Emirates, who equally represented the Arab country’s Consular-General in Nigeria, His Excellency Dr. Abdulla Almandoos.

Also, in attendance are Mrs. Sebo Lenyai, deputy consul-general, South African High Commission in Nigeria; Joyce Alex Tanko, director of legal, the National Agency for Foods, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), among others.