Thousands sign petition against decision to suspend aspiring Ghanaian lawyer's call to the Bar

Thousands of Ghanaians have signed an online petition to the General Legal Council (GLC) against its decision to not call Elorm Ababio, widely known as Ama Governor to the Bar on Friday, despite her successful completion of the professional law programme. 

Ama Governor, also a YouTuber received a letter from the Secretary of the GLC about a complaint of 'lack of good character' said to have been submitted by a ‘concerned citizen'.

According to the letter dated November 3, 2022, the complainant alleged Ama Governor "can be seen on widely circulated videos engaging in conduct unbecoming of an applicant to be called to the Bar."

The complainant is said to have also attached a pen drive containing selected video files and hyperlinks on the matter.

The GLC has said it has constituted a three-member committee to investigate the matter and advice same.

"Council, therefore, decided to suspend the decision to call you to the Bar pending the outcome of the investigation," the letter said.

It also said it considered the decision in light of Regulation 21( c) of the Legal Profession (Professional and Post-call Law Course) Regulations 2018 and L.I 2355.

But Ama Governor seemed to have gained wide support from many, especially social media users, who have called the decision of the GLC, the regulatory body for the conduct and administration of legal education and profession in Ghana as unfair.

At the time of filing this report, the petition had reached about 13, 000 signatures.

If Ama governor was fit to be a law student and wasn’t sacked, then she’s fit to be a lawyer. Call her to the bar and leave the assessment of her morals and social values to the law firms and organisations to decide her employability!

— Chris Atadika  (@chrisatadika) November 9, 2022

I just signed this important petition. Please add your voice too, and share it with everyone: https://t.co/nE6loeGw83 via @SumOfUs

— KALYJAY (@gyaigyimii) November 9, 2022

If the GBA was actually representative of lawyers and those aspiring to join the profession, they would have called out the GLC’s injustice in arbitrarily denying a student the right to be called to the bar after she passed all requirements

— shafman (@shafic_osman) November 9, 2022

Meanwhile every citizen has a constitutional right to not be punished unless the act they’re punishing you for was defined on a written law and the penalty for it prescribed at B the time of the commission of the act. Otherwise, it’s unconstitutional. That’s what I learnt in law https://t.co/zGu6wQNUAv

— ???????????????????? (@Ama_governor) November 9, 2022