Former Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has challenged Nigerian lawyers to embrace continuous learning and acquire new skills to remain relevant in an increasingly technology-driven legal profession.
Osinbajo urged legal practitioners to strengthen their competencies in technology, negotiation, conflict resolution, institutional management and critical judgment, stressing the importance of verifying information generated by artificial intelligence (AI).
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) made the call while delivering a keynote address at the 2026 Annual Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) in Umuahia, Abia State.
He urged lawyers to move beyond the traditional interpretation and application of the law and recognise their responsibilities as social engineers and agents of positive change.
According to him, the legal profession must contribute meaningfully to advancing justice, strengthening democracy and improving the welfare of citizens.
Osinbajo also advocated people-centred public interest legal practice, emphasising the need to prioritise access to justice, job creation, healthcare, education and the protection of vulnerable groups.
Otti Urges Lawyers to Support Vulnerable Nigerians
Declaring the conference open, Abia State Governor Alex Otti urged lawyers to embrace modern technology and continuously update their knowledge to remain relevant in their profession.
He also challenged legal practitioners to look beyond financial gains by providing legal assistance to indigent citizens, vulnerable persons and others who cannot afford professional legal services.
Otti said the success of the NBA-SPIDEL conference should ultimately be measured by how its deliberations translate into improved access to justice and stronger protection of citizens’ rights.
Addressing the approximately 2,000 delegates, the governor asked:
“Because you are lawyers, we need to go the extra mile of asking ourselves, beyond all the things that have been said, how can we be of service to people who cannot pay?”
He added: “How can we be of service to the vulnerable? How can we help people who, on their own, cannot afford to help themselves?”
The governor commended the conference organisers for choosing Abia State as the host venue and welcomed the participating delegates and other stakeholders.
NBA President Highlights Public Interest and Justice
In her opening address, the President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, urged legal practitioners to uphold justice, accountability and public interest in the discharge of their professional responsibilities.
She said the conference theme, “In Public Interest: Advancing Justice, Democracy, and Development,” highlighted the importance of assessing public interest through the impact of decisions on ordinary citizens, particularly vulnerable people with limited access to justice.
Badejo-Okusanya identified people held in detention without legal representation, traders unable to afford litigation and children treated as adults in detention facilities as examples of vulnerable groups whose circumstances should inform discussions about justice and national development.
The conference brought together legal practitioners and other stakeholders to examine the role of the legal profession in promoting justice, democracy and development in Nigeria.
Chronicle NG reports that Osinbajo’s call comes amid growing technological changes that are reshaping professional practice and increasing the importance of continuous learning and responsible use of artificial intelligence.
