Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has called for a people-centred approach to justice reform in Nigeria, urging stakeholders to redesign the justice system around the needs of citizens.
Osinbajo made the call during a panel session at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The former Vice President, who is a professor of law and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said a justice system focused on citizens would strengthen governance, improve the relevance of the legal profession and offer greater protection to Nigerians.
Represented at the session by former Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Ade Ipaye, Osinbajo said justice reform should be guided by data, clear priorities and local ownership.
He urged stakeholders to collect reliable data on justice needs, case resolution and outcomes, stressing that “what is measured is what gets funded and fixed.”
Osinbajo identified pre-trial detention, small claims, first-response mechanisms and legal assistance as areas where reforms could deliver immediate results.
He said early improvements in these areas could boost public confidence in the justice system and create momentum for more complex reforms.
According to him, justice reform would be more effective when adopted and implemented by state governments and embedded in institutions, rather than treated solely as a government initiative.
He also urged the NBA to take a leading role in policy development, professional training and reforms designed to expand access to justice while maintaining ethical and professional standards.
Osinbajo called for continuous professional development for lawyers in areas including mediation, legal aid, legal technology and community justice.
He further advocated improved data collection on Nigerians’ justice needs and increased funding for the justice sector.
The former Vice President identified pro bono legal services as a key tool for expanding access to justice, particularly for citizens unable to afford legal representation.
He argued that Nigeria’s large legal profession could provide a significant national legal aid mechanism if lawyers took their pro bono responsibilities seriously.
Osinbajo said the key question was no longer whether Nigeria needed justice reform, but whether stakeholders were willing to redesign the system from the perspective of those who needed it most.
“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 said.
He described justice as “a living public good” rather than merely an institutional function.
Recalling the role lawyers played in Nigeria’s independence struggle and the fight against military rule, Osinbajo urged the current generation of lawyers to ensure that the law continued to serve and protect citizens.
“It falls to our generation today to prove that law can give service to the people, all of the people,” he said.
Osinbajo maintained that a people-centred justice system would strengthen government, improve the transparency and relevance of the legal profession, and provide greater protection for citizens.
