By Gideon Maxwell
August 25, 2026
Former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, has called for a people centred approach to justice reform in Nigeria, urging stakeholders to redesign the justice system around the needs and experiences of citizens.
Osinbajo made the call on Tuesday during a panel session at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Represented at the session by a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Lagos State, Prof. Ade Ipaye, Osinbajo said justice reform should be driven by reliable data, clear prioritisation and local ownership.
He urged stakeholders to begin by gathering accurate data on Nigerians’ justice needs, case resolution and outcomes, stressing that evidence should guide decisions on where resources and reforms are most urgently required.
“What is measured is what gets funded and fixed,” Osinbajo said.
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The former Vice President identified pre trial detention, small claims, first response mechanisms and legal assistance as areas requiring priority attention because of their potential to produce significant improvements in access to justice.
He said early and measurable successes in these areas could build public confidence and generate support for more complex reforms.
Osinbajo also argued that justice reform would be more sustainable when it was domesticated, adopted by state governments and embedded within institutions, rather than treated solely as a government initiative.
He charged members of the legal profession, particularly the NBA, to take a leading role in shaping justice policy, professional development and reforms aimed at expanding access to justice while maintaining professional and ethical standards.
The law professor urged the NBA to promote continuous professional development in mediation, legal aid, legal technology and community justice.
He also called for improved data collection on the justice needs of Nigerians and greater advocacy for increased funding of the justice sector.
Osinbajo identified pro bono legal services as another important instrument for widening access to justice, particularly for Nigerians who cannot afford legal representation.
He said Nigeria’s large legal profession could provide a significant national legal aid mechanism if lawyers took their pro bono obligations more seriously.
According to him, the central question was no longer whether Nigeria needed justice reform, but whether stakeholders were prepared to redesign the system from the perspective of the people 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.
Osinbajo said justice should be regarded not merely as an institutional function, but as a living public good.
He recalled the role lawyers played in Nigeria’s struggle for independence and the fight against military rule, urging the present 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 relevance and transparency of the legal profession and provide greater protection for citizens.
“That surely is in everyone’s interest,” he added.
