Ace Solicitors, a medium-sized law firm with offices in Abuja and Lagos was recently was on Wednesday, given an approval by Standards Organisation of Nigeria (GON), to commence part of its law practice in Pidgin English.

Ace Solicitors, was certified as NIS ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System (QMS) standard compliant by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (GON)and the certificate presentation ceremony was held at BON Hotel, Maitama District, Abuja.

The programme was launched by SON in collaboration with the Nigerian Broadcasting Commission (NBC) tagged “Law in Pidgin English Radio.”

Speaking at the event, the Director-General of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Mr. Osita Aboloma, who was represented by Mr. Olumide Alade, said the presentation of the law broadcast in Pidgin English on radio would go a long way in educating Nigerians on their rights and privileges and also help them in understanding the laws of the federation better.

He said: “This is towards customer satisfaction. It is a drive towards customer focus and they are trying to make sure that they render services to the grassroots in a manner that no one has done before.

“When this has been broken down, all the parties involved in any legal issue will have a better understanding of what are their rights and privileges. This is the understanding that we didn’t have before. But now, with this Pidgin English language radio it has really become something that an average Nigerian can understand better.”

Also speaking, chairman of the occasion, Mr. Mark Emakpre, reiterated that the Law in Pidgin Radio would help the ordinary man on the street to understand the law and know what to do when confronted with issues bordering on law.

“It helps the ordinary man on the street because pidgin English is pervasive in the society. It is more understood by more people than any other language. So, it will help people more to understand their predicaments if they face the law or their rights. It will help people to understand the circumstances of their situations when they come face to face with the law,” Emakpre said.

In the same vein, Ambassador Brownson Dede was full of praise for the Chairman of Ace Solicitors, Igbako, acknowledging him as a man of high quality. Dede said law would be brought to the understanding of the ordinary man with the launch of “Law in Pidgin” on the radio.

Similarly, the Managing Director of Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank, Obaleye Olabanjo, also commended Ace Solicitors and urged it not to relent in its sense of innovation.

Chairman of Ace Solicitors, Mr. Bright Igbako, in his submission, said the broadcast of law in Pidgin language would help in decongesting the courts of many cases. It would take law to the door steps of ordinary citizens because the programme would interpret law in the language they could understand.

“We believe that to be able to make law relevance and to enable a cross section of Nigerians to understand the environment in which they work the legal system that governs the work and their lives must be interpreted to them in a language they understand,” Igbako said.

According to the statement by the Chairman, Board of Partners, Chief Bright E.Igbako made available to TheNigerialawyer The firm opened her doors for business in the year 1994 in Lagos as Ese Igbako & Co., and rebranded as Ace Solicitors in May 2006. The firm serves various clients ranging from individuals and families; start-ups and medium-sized private companies; of multinationals, government agencies, non-governmental and religious organisations.

“The ISO 9001:2015 QMS certification process started with the quest of Mrs. Ese Igbako, Managing Partner of Ace Solicitors to get the firm to attain internationally recognised standard of service delivery.

“With approval of the Board of Partners, she approached Mrs. Mfon Bankong the MD of Osborne Global Consulting for help in that regard. Bringing in the consultant turned out to be one of the best management decisions taken by the firm in recent times.

“The consultant took Ace Solicitors management and staff through many sessions of introduction and reorientation into the world of Quality Management Systems. After receiving rigorous training and complying with all the requirements of the standard, the firm was audited by officials of SON and certified in July 2019; making Ace Solicitors the first law firm in Nigeria to be certified as ISO 9001:2015 QMS standard compliant.

“The improvement in the quality of legal services rendered by the firm is evident by the feedback from existing clients and increase in the number of prospective ones. The other very major event which took place at the occasion was the launch of the firm’s radio programme on the law in pidgin English designed for the benefit of
Nigeria’s very large population of pidgin English speakers as part of the firm’s Corporate social responsibility.

“The objective of the programme is to communicate the basic components of the Nigerian law and help the common man have the basic appreciation of the legal environment in which he lives and works as a citizen and residentsof the country. The programme christened law in Pidgin English seeks to bring the broad outlines of the Nigerian law to the common man’s level of understanding.

“The Management and the staff of the firm are very excited about this milestones and looking forward to achieving greater height as an organization in the delivery of quality legal services National and globally.”The law in Pidgin English” will be aired on various radio stations and social media platforms,” igbako said.