Wale Jagun & Mariam Akinloye
This year’s Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Law Week commenced with focus on issues affecting the citizenry as part of the association’s commitment to public good and national development.
The annual event which kicked -off last with a press conference, Jumat service and legal aid clinic held at the Ansar -Ud-Deen Mosque at Ikorodu Grammar School, Ikorodu last Friday, will run for seven days and ends with Human Rights, Anti – Human Trafficking Outreach and Awareness Programme and the Closing Party/Variety Night on Thursday, April 23rd.
At the press conference, the NBA Chairman, Ms. Olawunmi Adeola declared the 2026 law week opened.
Other programmes scheduled for the celebration are Inter Branch Football Match, Health Lecture for Men & Relaxation, Legal Aid Clinic, Town Hall Sensitisation and Awareness on Town Planning Regulations & Development Approval Processes In Lagos State, Babatunde Olusola Benson (BOB) Lecture and Night of Heroes/Dinners/Fundraising for Bar Centre Project, Dress Ethics and Courtroom Decorum among others.
The year’s edition is themed, “From Courtroom To Community: The Lawyer’s Role In Nation Building”
Mrs Olawunmi Adeola, Chairman, NBA Ikorodu Branch, unveiling the 2026 Law Week activities at the NBA Secretariat, behind .Blossom School off TOS Benson Avenue, Ikorodu GRA, said that the true measures of a lawyer goes beyond the courtroom.
“Statutes and legal arguments, yet the true impact; yet the true measure of a lawyer’s impact over your litigation. Lawyers are not only advocates in courts, but also architects of justice, defenders of rights and active participants in shaping society. Nation building demands more than legal expertise, it calls for integrity, accountability and a deep commitment to the public good.
“As lawyers, our role extends into our communities, where we must educate citizens on their rights, promote access to justice, equity, stability and progress. From advising small businesses and mentoring young minds to engaging in public interest litigation and community service, lawyers have a critical role to play in bridging the gap between legal systems and everyday life.
“We must therefore embrace a broader vision of our profession; a world where the courtroom is only the beginning and the community is the ultimate destination of our service,” she said.
The NBA Ikorodu Branch Chairman emphasised that this year’s celebration would focus on using law as a tool of national development with programmes which are deliberately designed towards this.
“As we mark this Law Week 2026, we aspire, as a Nigerian Bar Association, Ikorodu branch, to use the law not only as a tool for advocacy, but also as a force for national development and social transformation.
“The Law Week, this year, has laid down areas of programmes to address these issues.”
Speaking on one of the scheduled programme, “Town Hall Sensitisation and Awareness on Town Planning Regulations & Development Approval Process in Lagos State”, the NBA Chairman, stressed they have provided the platform to properly educate members of the public on how to go about the processes.
“On Monday, we are back to society. We are aware that quite a number of people in our communities have one challenge or the other, especially when it comes to obtaining building approvals, permits and the processes they ought to follow, and this has led a lot of people to working with touts without actually knowing where to process these permits or how to go about it.
“Therefore, we as Nigerian Bar Association, Ikorodu Branch, have liaised with necessary agencies, and they will be coming down. And, we also have some members of the community and LCDAs who will also be in attendance, and what we want is for them to be sensitised properly on the need of obtaining building approvals and the need for following regulations so that at the end of the day, they will not fall victims to whatever arises in future,” she said.
She said that distinguished legal personalities are scheduled as speaker and discussants on the theme of the Law Week at the BOB Lecture, which Prof. Yusuf Anisa, will chair and Honourable Justice Dele Peters, the Presiding Justice of the National Industrial Court, Ibadan Division, as a keynote speaker of the day.
“The topic that will be discussed is a very vital one. It is law as a vital tool for social balance, and as we all know this is very important in today’s legal and public community landscape.
“This is because law is very vital for achieving social balance, providing the structure needed for order, stability and peaceful coexistence in society. It regulates relationships, resolves conflicts, and ensures that no individual or group dominates unfairly over others by setting clear standards of conduct, the law creates an environment where rights and responsibilities are properly aligned, and the other part of the topic will now be justice without discrimination,” she emphasised.
The NBA Chairman also said that the “Ðress Ethics and Courtroom Decorum” programme is designed for the members of the association to learn, unlearn and relearn.
“This programme actually speaks directly to members, where we learn, relearn and unlearn. We remind ourselves of the very essence of our professional ethics and the need to continue to uphold these ethics so that we become better people, even as this profession also advances, in order to have a positive public image of the legal profession.
It also emphasises respect from the bar to the bench, and then from the bench to the bar as well,” she added.
Mrs Bemigho Elijah, Chairman, NBA Ikorodu Law Week Committee 2026, also speaking, said that the annual event offers members the opportunity to reflect and examine their roles as lawyers.
“Law week offers us more than an opportunity to gather as colleagues, it provides a valuable moment of reflection, a time to examine the role of the legal profession in shaping society and to renew our commitment to the profession and the principles of justice, fairness and the rule of law that defines our calling.”
The Vice Chairman of the NBA Ikorodu Branch, Mr. Olajide A. Abiodun, in his own focus dwelt on human rights which he said needed serious attention.
He said that the programme on “Anti -Human Trafficking Outreach and Awareness” will address issues concerning confidence in the judiciary system, protection of human rights and rules of law.
He said that major stakeholders like the NURTW and others have been invited to be part of the session.
Mr Abiodun also revealed that the NBA Human Rights Committee that he headed is pursuing some public interest cases.
Also at the press conference were Mr Kazeem A. Adebanjo, Chairman Emeritus, NBA Ikorodu Branch, Mrs. Victoria B. Egunjobi, Welfare Secretary, NBA Ikorodu Branch, Mr. Michael Olamona, Branch Secretary, NBA Ikorodu, Ms. Favour Wih, Secretary, NBA Ikorodu Law Week Committee 2026, Mr. Lukman O. Jayiola, Publicity Secretary, NBA Ikorodu Branch.
