– Jurists Urge Lawyers as Anaocha NBA Holds 6th Biennial Law Week
By Micheal Nnebife
It was a moment of robust intellectual discourse for practical solutions and renewed commitment to strengthening the administration of justice system in Nigeria, as the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Anaocha Branch, marked its 6th Biennial Law Week, at Obeledu in Anaocha Local Government Area, Anambra State.
The event, themed, ”Justice Delivery and Prevailing Conflicting Judgements: An Imperative for Urgent Judicial Reform”, began with the commissioning of a hall, as well as offices, at Chief Charles E. N. Obegolu Bar Centre, Obeledu, and the launch of the 2nd Edition of Anaocha Bar Journal, on Friday May 8, 2026.
On Saturday May 9, the event continued with a beehive of activities, which included a medical outreach at Obeledu, a visit to Correctional Centre, Awka, fitness walk, dinner and award night, at White Castle Hotels, Neni, by the Anaocha members of the Bar.
The legal luminaries alongside their friends and well-wishers, on Sunday May 10, trooped to St John’s Catholic Church, Neni, for a special Thanksgiving Mass to conclude the biennial event.
The three-day event, on its first day, brought together prominent jurists, who included the Chief Judge of Anambra State, Hon Justice Onochie Anyachebelu, represented by the Anaocha Admin Judge, Hon Justice Gloria Anulude; the state’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Hon Tobechukwu Nweke, represented by Mrs Chinwe Okonkwo-Okom; the President of the NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe; the Principal, Doyin Awoyale, SAN & Co; and Publisher, Modern Weekly Law Reports, Lagos, Prof Doyin Awoyale, among others, to rob minds towards finding a solution to conflicting judgements in the judicial system in Nigeria.
Presenting a keynote speech during the event, Prof Awoyale noted that conflict of judgements remained a deadly virus that Nigeria’s legal system actively sought to eradicate through strict adherence to rigid rules governing the hierarchy of courts in the country.
The keynote speaker urged the members of the bar and the bench to shun ex-parte orders and forum shopping for the survival of the judicial integrity in Nigeria.
He argued that the survival and preservation of judicial integrity in Nigeria depended on absolute refusal of courts to entertain matters already decided, and strict ethical commitment of litigants, including their counsels, to follow an established lawful appellate process rather than engaging in abusive forum shopping.
In her remarks, a lead discussant, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN, said, conflicting judgements had evolved from an occasional judicial anomaly into one of the serious institutional concerns confronting the issue of administration of justice in Nigeria.
She blamed the situation on expansion of political litigations following the return of democracy in 1999, jurisprudential uncertainty, among others.
The Senior Advocate of Nigeria who said the situation had led to aggressive forum shopping, multiplicity of actions and strategic use of interlocutory application mainly for election-related disputes, resulting in erosion of the public confidence in judicial system, suggested setting up a national integrated judicial case management system, stricter regulation of ex-parte order, stronger judicial accountability, among others, to save the integrity of the judicial system.
Mrs Badejo-Okusanya and the discussants, who included Hon Justice Tagbo Anieto; Onyekachi Ubani, SAN; Prof M. N. Umenweke, among others, in their separate speeches, noted that lawyers were the brains behind the conflicting judgements.
They advised the lawyers as the bar that enabled such a situation, to urgently subscribe to the Anaocha Bar’s call for a judicial reform by looking inward into themselves with a view to protecting the legal profession to promote the rule of law.
In his remarks, the NBA President, Mazi Osigwe, SAN, praised the Anaocha Bar for the growth of the Association in the area, and for coming up with the theme of the event, noting that there was an urgent need for a judicial reform in Nigeria.
Expressing worry that conflicting judgements were usually rendered by courts of the same jurisdiction, the NBA President urged lawyers to advise their clients right with certainty, as regards the position of the law, especially, on issues concerning electoral cases.
In an address of welcome, the NBA Chairman, Anaocha Branch, Barr John Oraekeh, noted that it was quiet concerning to see the adverse ratings and negative perception indexes of Nigeria’s Judiciary.
The Chairman said public confidence in the judiciary had been shaken by perceptions of undue influence, inconsistent rulings and delay that frustrated justice.
’It is in the light of the foregoing that we have assembled some of the best brains in the country with the experience and intellect to interrogate these challenges and proffer achievable solutions,’ Barr Oraekeh said.
In a vote of thanks, the Chairman of the Planning Committee, Sir Basil Aguigwo, appreciated the guests for finding out time to come and rejoice with the Anaocha legal practitioners.