In a high-impact breakout at the Nigerian Bar Association’s (NBA) 65th Annual General Conference in Enugu, legal practitioners, disability and human-rights advocates, and senior jurists convened under the session title “Breaking the Chains of Exclusion” to map a practical, rights-based blueprint for inclusion across Nigeria’s political, social and economic life. The panel held at the ICC Multipurpose Hall pressed the NBA to lead sustained legislative lobbying, focused mentorship through CLE, expanded pro bono representation and law-reform partnerships with statutory agencies.
The session, supported by the NBA Lawyers with Disabilities Forum, brought together an interdisciplinary roster of speakers: Amb. Dr. Jake Epelle, a long-standing disability and inclusion advocate; Ikem Uchegbulam, Esq., a lawyer and justice-reform campaigner; Hon. Ayuba Burki Gufwan, Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD); and Mrs. Nella Andem-Ewa, SAN, a leading human-rights and access-to-justice figure. The panel was moderated by Hon. Justice Simon W. Amaduobogha.
Speakers painted exclusion as a multilayered, often invisible problem that is reproduced by law, policy and entrenched social practices and argued that legal actors are uniquely placed to dismantle those barriers. The session emphasised that exclusion is not only a moral failure but an avoidable governance deficit that undermines national progress and talent mobilisation.
Key recommendations emerging from the session included:
- Legislative lobbying for an Inclusion and Social Integration Commission — an independent statutory body proposed to monitor, track and enforce compliance with laws and policies that entrench inclusivity across governance, political representation, and public services.
- Mentorship and curriculum-driven training via NBA-ICLE — using the Institute of Continuing Legal Education to mainstream gender-responsive justice training and produce practical protocols for inclusive legal practice.
- Expanded pro bono representation — a targeted pro bono push to assist women, persons with disabilities and other marginalised groups facing discrimination in politics, the workplace, or corporate governance.
- Transforming the law through inter-agency collaboration — moving beyond critique to concrete law reforms by partnering with bodies such as the National Human Rights Commission and the NCPWD to ensure implementation of existing statutes like the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018.
Hon. Ayuba Burki Gufwan used the platform to underscore the scale of the challenge for persons with disabilities, reiterating the need to implement the 2018 disabilities law and to improve access across education, employment and public facilities. He reminded delegates that more than 35 million Nigerians live with disabilities, stressing the urgency of inclusive planning and enforcement.
Mrs. Nella Andem-Ewa, SAN, framed inclusion as both a legal obligation and a professional duty, urging colleagues to use strategic litigation, policy drafting and institutional reforms to normalise equitable access. Amb. Dr. Jake Epelle and Ikem Uchegbulam amplified lived-experience testimony, calling for the Bar to mainstream disability perspectives in CLE content, courtroom practice and branch activities.
The session dovetailed with wider NBA programming across the AGC, which ran in Enugu from 22–28 August 2025 and featured thematic plenaries and multiple breakout sessions on child protection, data privacy, artificial intelligence and prosecutorial accountability. Delegates described “Breaking the Chains of Exclusion” as among the conference’s most action-oriented discussions because of its policyable recommendations and clear implementation pathways.
The Way Forward
Panellists and delegates resolved on an operational roadmap:
- The NBA should adopt the Inclusion Commission proposal as a priority advocacy item in its post-AGC policy agenda.
- NBA-ICLE should fast-track module development on gender-responsive advocacy and disability-inclusive practice.
- NBA branches should institutionalise targeted pro bono clinics and data collection on exclusion.
- The Bar should open formal collaboration channels with the NCPWD and the National Human Rights Commission to prepare joint implementation plans and legal reform proposals.
The Lawyers with Disabilities Forum was singled out as a crucial partner for sustaining momentum, given its recent zonal summits and advocacy work on the Disabilities Act across Nigeria. Panel coordinators said follow-up workshops and curated CLE offerings would be announced through branch channels and the NBA’s ICLE portal.
As the NBA’s conference theme urged lawyers to “Stand Out, Stand Tall,” the Breaking the Chains of Exclusion session shifted the conversation from rhetoric to a concrete agenda: legislate for inclusion, train a rights-aware Bar, expand pro bono access and convert legal expertise into structural reform. Delegates left the hall with a clear charge — to make inclusion measurable, enforceable and central to the profession’s public mission.
Kindly find attached:
EXCERPTS FROM BREAKING THE CHAINS OF EXCLUSION – PRESENTATION (1)
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