NBA Conference: Osinbajo canvasses people-centred justice

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Former Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), has called for reforms and policies that would place citizens at the centre of governance.

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The former Vice President spoke during a panel session at the ongoing 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

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Osinbajo advocated a people-centred approach to justice reform, urging stakeholders in Nigeria’s judiciary to reposition the justice system around the needs and experiences of citizens.

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Osinbajo, who was represented by a former Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice in Lagos State, Ade Ipaye, said a people-centred justice system would strengthen government, enable the legal profession to provide better protection for citizens and make the justice system more responsive.

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While emphasising that justice reform must be driven by data, prioritisation and local ownership, the law professor urged stakeholders to begin by gathering data on justice needs, case resolution and outcomes.

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“What is measured is what gets funded and fixed,” Osinbajo stated, stressing the need to prioritise areas where reforms could have the greatest impact, including pre-trial detention, small claims, first-response mechanisms and legal assistance.

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He further said early successes in the aforementioned areas could help build support for more difficult reforms, adding that justice reform would be more effective when domesticated and adopted by state governments and embedded in institutions, rather than treated as a government-only initiative.

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He charged members of the legal profession, particularly the NBA, to play a leading role in driving policy, professional development and reforms that would expand access to justice while maintaining quality and ethical standards.

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Osinbajo also called on the NBA to champion continuous professional development in mediation, legal aid, legal technology and community justice, while helping to gather data on Nigerians’ justice needs and advocating improved funding for the broader justice sector.

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He highlighted pro bono services as one of the most important instruments for widening access to justice, saying a legal profession of Nigeria’s size, if it took its pro bono obligations seriously, could provide a significant national legal aid mechanism for citizens who could not afford legal representation.

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The former Vice President said the central issue was no longer whether Nigeria needed justice reform, but whether stakeholders were prepared to redesign the system from the standpoint of those who needed it most.

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According to him, “The people-centred approach asks us to move from abstraction to reality, from system convenience to citizen need, from exclusive pathways to inclusive ones.”

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He further said justice should be viewed not merely as an institutional function, but as “a living public good.”

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Osinbajo recalled the role lawyers played in Nigeria’s struggle for independence and the fight against military rule, pointing out that the present generation of lawyers must ensure that the law continues to serve and protect citizens.

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He said, “It falls to our generation today to prove that law can give service to the people, all of the people.”

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Osinbajo maintained that a people-centred justice system would strengthen government, make the legal profession more transparent and protect citizens, saying, “That surely is in everyone’s interest.”

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Also speaking at the conference during a session on resource control, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, called for increased investment in agriculture and other sustainable sectors to secure the future of the Niger Delta region.

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The NDDC boss stated that while oil had been a blessing to the nation and contributed significantly to development, the region could not afford to remain dependent on it indefinitely.

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Ogbuku stressed the need for stakeholders to ask fundamental questions about the region’s future beyond oil, particularly by identifying areas where Niger Deltans could exercise greater control.

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He noted, “Data remains a critical component of resource control. Without accurate information on what the Niger Delta produces, it would be difficult to determine what it is entitled to receive.

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“If we do not control the data, we do not know what we produce; we do not know what is to come to us. We need to put the future into our own hands.”

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Ogbuku identified agriculture as one area within the region’s control, stressing that increased investment in the sector would strengthen food security, create employment and provide sustainable livelihoods for women and youths.

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On environmental remediation, panellists raised questions about the processes for determining what and who gets remediated, as well as the mechanisms for verifying the effectiveness of remediation efforts.

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Speaking during the session, a representative of the NDDC legal team, Paul Emerhana, said the commission had commenced a deliberate transition from “transaction to transformation,” driven by institutional reforms, digitalisation and sustainable development.

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Emerhana cited the commission’s solar street-lighting projects as an example of interventions with environmental, social and developmental benefits, noting that the projects had reduced dependence on conventional energy sources while improving security.

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He further highlighted the commission’s digital transformation, particularly the automation of its contract management processes, describing NDDC as the first agency to fully automate its contract processes.

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He noted, “The digital transformation agenda of the commission is consistent with the policy direction of the present administration and has extended to youth development, with the commission providing training in Artificial Intelligence and other digital skills to young people across the Niger Delta.

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“The commission is investing in youths because they represent the region’s future; equipping them with relevant digital skills would improve their ability to participate in the emerging digital economy.”

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The NDDC representative also highlighted the establishment of the Corporate Governance Department as part of the commission’s institutional reforms, explaining that the department was created to strengthen governance, accountability and the sustainability of its processes.

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He added that the adoption of Environmental, Social and Governance principles was important in ensuring that NDDC projects delivered sustainable value to communities and remained beneficial long after completion.

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At the conference, awards were presented to the NDDC Board Chairman, Mr Chiedu Ebie, and the Managing Director in recognition of the commission’s contributions to the development of the Niger Delta region.

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