2022 NBA Legal Education Summit

The Nigerian Bar Association (“NBA”) Legal Education Committee is pleased to announce to Members of the NBA and the general public that the NBA under the able leadership of the NBA President, Mr. Olumide Akpata, is organizing a Legal Education Summit in Nigeria. The Summit will be hybrid (virtual and limited in person attendance), and is scheduled to hold on Tuesday, 29^th and Wednesday, 30^th March 2022, at 9am daily (West Africa Time). The Summit will be held at Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti and also stream online via zoom.

The theme of the Summit is “Reimagining Legal Education in Nigeria”, and it promises to be a landmark event. The Summit aims to examine the journey so far in the development of the legal education system in Nigeria, and to chart the course for a desirable future built on pedagogical innovation and transformative development. The Summit will provide an opportunity for stakeholders, especially judges, legal educators, lawyers, non-lawyers in business, economic and financial spheres, as well as government and policy leaders, community leaders, experts, researchers and academics, to discuss, debate, and identify innovative pedagogies for the future.

The Summit will feature four (4) main plenary sessions with over 25 speakers who will lead the conversation on transforming the legal education system in Nigeria. We expect 300 participants to attend in person and over 4,000 participants to attend the Summit virtually from all regions of the world. The Summit will feature expert speakers from Nigeria and abroad, including the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osibanjo, SAN, GCON who is expected to declare the Summit open. Other expected guests and speakers include: the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice of Nigeria, Abubakar Malami, SAN; the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu; the President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Olumide Akpata; the Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, Professor Abubakar Adamu Rasheed; the Chairman of the Council of Legal Education, Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN; The Director General of the Nigerian Law School, Professor Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN; the Founder and Chancellor, Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti Aare Afe Babalola SAN, OFR Vice Chancellors of various universities, Deans of various Faculties of Law, amongst others.

According to the Chairman of the Summit Planning Committee, Professor Damilola S. Olawuyi, SAN, FCIArb “Legal educators worldwide are exploring new and efficient ways to provide legal education that is better aligned with the modern realities of the market place. This landmark Summit, which is coming almost sixty-three years after the revolutionary 1959 Unsworth Committee report, will provide a timely and remarkable opportunity for all stakeholders in the Nigerian legal profession to discuss the kind of legal education that they want for the future, the systematic reforms needed, and the innovative legal technologies that can get us there.”

Registration for the Summit is free, and attendance is open to all members of the Association, academics, law students, as well as the general public. The registration link is https://nbalegaledusummit.com/summit-registration/.

For enquiries or further information about the Summit, please do not hesitate to visit our website or reach us via our email: nbalec@nigerianbar.org.ng