By Sylvester Udemezue
1. In a significant shift from the traditional role of issuing reactive statements in the face of national crises, the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has once again demonstrated that it is capable of rising to the occasion in moments of national emergency. According to a report on the official NBA blog, the Association is organizing a Landmark Security Summit in Makurdi, Benue State, on 27-30 July 2025, to address the worsening state of insecurity in Nigeria’s North Central region. This bold step is not only laudable but also comes as a much-needed reminder that lawyers and the legal profession can, and must, play a leading role in the national search for peace, justice, and security.
2. A COMMENDABLE DEPARTURE FROM RHETORICS: NBA deserves unreserved commendation for this initiative. Far too often, NBA as a professional association has limited its engagement with public crises to rhetorical posturing, issuing press statements, condemning violence, and expressing “grave concern.” While such reactions may sometimes serve symbolic purposes, they rarely translate into tangible change or policy reform. The proposed security summit in Makurdi, however, represents something more meaningful. It is an affirmative step: a shift from lamentation to action, from commentary to contribution. By convening this dialogue, the NBA is moving from the courtroom to the conference room, from the bench to the battlefield of ideas, and from passivity to proactive leadership in addressing one of Nigeria’s most existential threats.
3. WHY SUCH SECURITY SUMMITS ARE CRUCIAL: Security summits of this nature serve multiple vital purposes, especially within a fragile and complex socio-political context like Nigeria’s. (a). First, they provide a platform for multi-stakeholder engagement, where law enforcement agencies, victims of insecurity, government representatives, civil society organizations, and legal professionals can converge to exchange perspectives and craft collaborative solutions. The very act of dialogue, in such a polarized environment, can begin to repair trust and restore hope; (b). Second, these summits offer an opportunity for structured diagnosis of the root causes of insecurity. Unlike ad hoc government interventions or politicized knee-jerk reactions, summits facilitate a more deliberate and data-driven understanding of the crisis: taking into account historical injustices, legal loopholes, weak institutions, poverty, and corruption; (c). Third, actionable policy recommendations that emerge from such summits often carry more credibility and legitimacy, especially when convened by a professional body like the NBA. These recommendations can serve as a foundation for legislative reform, judicial activism, administrative overhaul, and even international cooperation; (d). Fourth, security summits help to institutionalise memory. The proceedings and communiqués become part of a growing archive of public thought and problem-solving initiatives: tools for scholars, policymakers, and activists alike; (e). Finally, they provide a platform to empower citizens and victims of insecurity, giving voice to the voiceless, and holding the state and non-state actors accountable for their actions and inactions.
3. WHY LAWYERS MUST LEAD: The idea that insecurity is a matter for only the leaders in government, the military, the police and other security agencies, is not just outdated; it is dangerously simplistic. In truth, Nigeria’s insecurity crisis is deeply rooted in issues of law, justice, governance, and systemic failure. Lawyers, as custodians of the rule of law and advocates of justice, have both a professional obligation and a moral responsibility to lead efforts to address these challenges. Lawyers understand the legal architecture that governs internal security, fundamental rights, emergency powers, and the operations of the criminal justice system. They are uniquely equipped to identify and propose reforms to statutes, regulations, and institutional processes that currently impede effective security responses. Moreover, lawyers are public intellectuals and civic actors whose voices can shape public opinion and guide national discourse. Through litigation, advocacy, civic education, and legislative drafting, lawyers can directly influence how Nigeria confronts insecurity. Importantly, lawyers serve in all arms of government (executive, legislative, and judicial) and thus can act as connectors between disparate parts of the system. This makes them strategic actors in building synergy across sectors and ensuring that security strategies are lawful, rights-respecting, and sustainable.
4. A RESPONSE TO EARLIER CALLS: NBA’s forthcoming summit aligns significantly with the ideas and recommendations I have previously and severally advanced, in a series of public commentaries and scholarly interventions. In my article titled “60 Discussion Subjects NBA Conferences, Workshops & Seminars Could Focus On, In The Best Interest Of Nigeria, The Legal Profession & Lawyers”, published on 12 September 2021, I had emphasized the urgent need for the NBA to go beyond issuing public statements to engage with substantive professional and national issues, including insecurity, governance breakdown, and institutional reform. The planned Makurdi summit is a fulfillment of that call. Similarly, in “Are Discussions on Security & Insecurity Outside Law/Legal Discourse?”, published on 15 May 2022, I argued that conversations around national security fall squarely within the ambit of law and legal discourse. NBA, as a leading professional association, must not see insecurity as “someone else’s business,” but as a legal, constitutional, political, and human rights crisis that demands legal intervention. Finally, in “Lawyers’ Place in Discussions about Solutions to Worsening Insecurity in Nigeria,” published on 21 May 2022, I underscored the central role lawyers must play in nation-building and crisis resolution. I advocated a model of legal activism that is not limited to courtrooms but extends to public forums, security dialogues, and policymaking tables. The Makurdi summit is a step in the exact direction I have long envisioned.
5. CONCLUSION: TOWARDS A MORE PROACTIVE BAR: With insecurity ravaging many parts of Nigeria, from the North Central to the North East, from the South East, South South, to the South West and North West, this summit is both timely and necessary. But it must not be a one-off event. Rather, it should mark the beginning of a sustained process of legal intervention in public security affairs. The NBA must institutionalise this summit as an annual or biannual event and replicate it in other geo-political zones. More importantly, follow-up mechanisms must be built into the process, ensuring that the summit’s outcomes are tracked, recommendations are implemented, and participants remain engaged beyond the event itself. Insecurity is not just a threat to life and property; it is a threat to democracy, justice, and the rule of law. It is, therefore, only fitting that lawyers (who are the sentinels of justice) should stand at the frontline of efforts to secure our nation. The NBA has taken a commendable first step. Let this be the dawn of a more responsive, relevant, and responsible Bar.
Respectfully,
Sylvester Udemezue (udems)
Proctor, The Realisty Ministry of Truth, Law and Justice (TRM).
08021365545. mails@therealityministry.ngo, udems@therealityministry.ngo. www.therealityministry.ngo.
(10 July 2025).
