Former Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), has urged stakeholders in Nigeria’s justice sector to implement reforms that place citizens and their experiences at the heart of the justice system.
According to The Punch, Osinbajo made the call during a panel session at the ongoing 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Represented by a former Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye, the former Vice President said a people-centred justice system would improve government effectiveness, strengthen citizens’ protection and make the legal system more responsive to their needs.
He stressed that justice reform should be guided by data, clear priorities and local ownership.
According to him, stakeholders should first collect reliable information on justice needs, case resolution and outcomes.
“What is measured is what gets funded and fixed,” Osinbajo stated.
He identified pre-trial detention, small claims, first-response mechanisms and legal assistance as areas requiring urgent attention, arguing that early improvements in these areas could generate wider support for more complex reforms.
Osinbajo also said justice reforms would be more sustainable when adopted by state governments and embedded in institutions rather than treated solely as government programmes.
He urged the legal profession, particularly the NBA, to take the lead in policy development, professional training and reforms aimed at expanding access to justice while upholding ethical and professional standards.
He further called for continuous professional development in mediation, legal aid, legal technology and community justice.
He also encouraged the NBA to help collect data on Nigerians’ justice needs and advocate increased funding for the sector.
The former Vice President described pro bono legal services as a major tool for improving access to justice, noting that Nigeria’s large legal profession could provide substantial legal aid to citizens unable to afford representation if lawyers took their pro bono responsibilities more seriously.
Osinbajo said the debate should no longer centre on whether Nigeria needs justice reform, but on whether stakeholders were willing to redesign the system around the people who depend on it.
He said, “The people-centred approach asks us to move from abstraction to reality, from system convenience to citizen need, from exclusive pathways to inclusive ones.”
He added that justice should not be regarded simply as an institutional responsibility but as “a living public good.”
Recalling the contribution of lawyers to Nigeria’s independence struggle and the resistance to military rule, Osinbajo said the present generation of legal practitioners must ensure that the law continues to serve and protect citizens.
He said, “It falls to our generation today to prove that law can give service to the people, all of the people.”
Osinbajo maintained that putting citizens at the centre of justice would strengthen government, improve transparency within the legal profession and enhance protection for the public.
“That surely is in everyone’s interest.”
NDDC seeks post-oil economic diversification.”
Also at the conference, the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, called for greater investment in agriculture and other sustainable sectors to reduce the region’s dependence on oil.
Speaking during a session on resource control, Ogbuku acknowledged the significant contribution of oil to national development but said the Niger Delta could not rely on the resource indefinitely.
He urged stakeholders to consider the region’s future beyond oil and identify areas where Niger Deltans could exercise greater control over their resources.
“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.
“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.”
Ogbuku identified agriculture as a sector with significant potential, saying increased investment would improve food security, create jobs and provide sustainable livelihoods for women and young people.
On environmental remediation, panellists questioned how projects requiring remediation were identified, who determined beneficiaries and how the effectiveness of remediation efforts was verified.
A member of the NDDC legal team, Paul Emerhana, said the commission had begun moving from “transaction to transformation” through institutional reforms, digitalisation and sustainable development initiatives.
Emerhana cited the commission’s solar street-lighting projects as interventions with environmental, social and developmental benefits, saying they had reduced reliance on conventional energy sources while improving security.
He also highlighted NDDC’s digital transformation, particularly the automation of its contract management processes, describing the commission as the first agency to fully automate its contract processes.
“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.
“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.”
Emerhana also pointed to the creation of the Corporate Governance Department as part of the commission’s reforms, saying it was established to strengthen accountability, governance and the sustainability of NDDC processes.
He added that adopting Environmental, Social and Governance principles would help ensure that NDDC projects delivered lasting value to communities.
The conference also recognised NDDC Board Chairman, Chiedu Ebie, and Ogbuku with awards for their contributions to the development of the Niger Delta region.
