The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, today addressed a gathering of legal practitioners and stakeholders at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Annual Conference of the NBA Section on Legal Practice (NBA-SLP), held in Jos, Plateau State. Themed “Uncommon Challenges in a Rapidly Changing Legal Environment,” the conference aims to interrogate the evolving dynamics shaping legal practice and justice delivery in Nigeria.
In his welcome address, Mazi Osigwe underscored the urgent need to reform aspects of the country’s justice system, particularly the structure of appellate review. He called for a streamlined process at the Supreme Court level, where attention is focused primarily on constitutional issues and landmark legal precedents. The NBA President also advocated for the modernization of judicial infrastructure through enhanced e-filing systems, real-time access to court judgments, and the widespread adoption of virtual hearings—tools he described as essential, not optional, in the quest for timely and effective justice delivery.
Read his full statement below;
Today in Jos, I joined our colleagues at the opening ceremony of the 2025 Annual Conference of the NBA Section on Legal Practice (NBA-SLP), themed “Uncommon Challenges in a Rapidly Changing Legal Environment.”
In my welcome address, I spoke on the urgent need to recalibrate aspects of our justice system to better reflect the realities of our time. The ever-increasing caseload at the Supreme Court has made it imperative to revisit our appellate framework. We must begin to streamline the types of cases that make it to the apex court, so it can focus on constitutional questions and critical legal precedents.
I also emphasized the need to upgrade our judicial infrastructure, from introducing more efficient e-filing systems and real-time access to court judgments, to embracing virtual hearings across all courts. These are not luxuries; they are necessities in the modern legal world.
We cannot preach justice while operating systems that delay it. This conference offers us a unique opportunity to reflect, innovate, and recommit to a legal profession that truly delivers justice.
I thank the leadership of the NBA-SLP for putting together such a thoughtful and timely conference.
Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN President, Nigerian Bar Association
