NBA Annual General Conference 2025 – Day 4

The ongoing 65th edition of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference, themed “Stand Out, Stand Tall,”has been a hub of impactful sessions for the legal participants. Eminent personalities and legal luminaries have engaged in vital discussions on topics ranging from ‘Setting Forth at Dawn in Advocacy and Legal Practice’ to ‘The Future of Law’, among others.

The Breakfast Dialogue: Setting Forth at Dawn in Advocacy and Legal Practice

This session, moderated by Mr Kanayo O. Kanayo had prominent persons such as Mrs. Mia Essien SAN, ‎Mr. Osita Chidoka, OFR, NPOM, ‎Mr. Abdul Muhammed SAN, Mr. George Okoro exploring the transformative impact of emerging technologies on the legal landscape.

The keynote speech by Mrs Mia Essien, SAN, was a clarion call urging Nigerian legal professionals to embrace technology in their various practices to avoid mediocrity in their deliverables, stressing that success often starts before the world becomes aware of it.

She largely buttressed why legal profession must not be static but move forward without waiting for perfect conditions, taking action early, while the day is fresh and the path is clear.

In the end, she argued that doing this would prepare legal practitioners ahead of a worst-case scenario and forestall future benefits for them.

The second discussant, ‎Abdul Muhammed, SAN, spoke on “How Are We Embracing AI as Legal Practitioners?”.

For him, legal tech solutions are a great resource and the best medium to do more with less. He claimed that embracing AI makes your work easy. While highlighting the fascinating input of AI, he commended LawPavilion for being the pioneer legal tech firm in both Artificial Intelligence and electronic legal research, and for their effort in making user-friendly legal tech solutions for Nigerian lawyers.

However, he expressed concerns over challenges some Nigerian lawyers, especially the elders, have in operating some of these advanced legal research facilities, which might contribute to the slow adoption among People who could not use the computer or digital tools found it difficult to use. He cited several AI tools like Lexis AI, Pro Counsel, etc, claiming they are not too familiar or rooted in our Nigerian legal jurisprudence.

He further pointed out that most AI tools hallucinate and fabricate cases while using existing law report citations. He warned lawyers to double-check before buying AI, whether or not it’s legal-specific and jurisdictionally trained.

On a final note, he advised that lawyers must also learn to work with AI and not use it as a substitute for human intelligence.

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The Future of Law – Mr Ope Olugasa, CEO, LawPavilion Business Solution

Mr Ope Olugasa, CEO, LawPavilion Business Solutions, unveiled the revolutionary new AI platform LawPavilionAI, the all-in-one AI solution for lawyers.

He showcased the multi-faceted capabilities of the latest flagship product, LawPavilionAI, which includes the AI document review that helps lawyers review documents in minutes with structured summaries, covered hidden risks, and intelligent guidance. With the AI legal drafting feature of the solution, lawyers can now create polished, accurate court processes and contracts in a fraction of the time, with remarkable accuracy. And the AI legal research feature provides precise, authoritative answers, backed by the largest collection of Nigerian legal data, ensuring zero hallucinations and contextual accuracy.

‎He highlighted the importance of having capable legal assistants to make the work easier, faster and more comprehensive and encourages lawyers not to get just any AI but an AI that is well-bred: LawPavilionAI.

‎He concluded with a special offer giving the first ten interested participants a 6-month free subscription; meanwhile, the first 1000 interested lawyers have a one-time free trial.

If you are yet to subscribe to LawPavilionAI, you can do so here.

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The Opening Plenary: It’s the Economy, Stupid

The Pleanry was coordinated by Mohammed Adelodun with a panel featuring Mr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Mr. Gabriel Okeowo, George Etomi, and moderated by Seun Okinbaloye.

Dr. Oby Ezekwesili noted that the global economy is undergoing structural shifts, requiring deep understanding and adaptation. She criticized the legal profession for enabling political decay by failing to challenge mismanagement, stressing that the quality of politics directly shapes economic outcomes.

George Etomi emphasized that Nigeria’s failure to build infrastructure and address root causes has deepened economic woes. He raised concerns about inadequate planning for the future, including the fate of thousands of lawyers called to the Bar each year, reiterating that planning is central to nation-building.

Gabriel Okeowo explained that economic hardship is inseparable from politics. He argued that while governments change, the economic realities remain the same, with citizens measuring the economy by their ability to feed and sustain their families.

Mr. Tunji-Ojo highlighted that prioritizing consumption over production was the real problem, not the economy itself. He called for legal reforms in immigration, correctional services, and related sectors, while noting the country’s spending and debt servicing challenges.

On solutions, Ezekwesili stressed that even good policies fail if implemented poorly, citing subsidy removal. She and Okeowo both highlighted accountability gaps, while Etomi warned against the erosion of the rule of law. Ezekwesili concluded by urging lawyers to hold elites accountable and ensure politics serves the people, not personal enrichment.

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BREAK OUT SESSION: Disruptive Artificial Intelligence

In this session, two speakers delivered, who are Mr ‎Curia, and Mr. Ikechukwu Iwana, A.G. Abia State. This Breakout Session introduces AI as a rapidly growing tool becoming the new language of law, reshaping the profession in real time, hinting at how lawyers must adapt to acquiring new skills, rethinking practice methods, and embracing technological competence. With the incursion of generative AI in legal research platforms and word-processing software, legal drafting can be done from a single prompt without sacrificing ethics.

Crucia delivered a speech on how “AI Will Not Replace Lawyers” claiming AI is only here to enhance their work. She maintained that Lawyers need to make use of AI tools but apply it smartly because the modality of work is changing across platforms, from the banking sector to the textile, food to agricultural and legal sectors. So she claimed digitization and automation is the order of the day.

Mr. Ikechukwu Iwana, A.G. Abia State, spoke about the use of AI tools and the need to fine-tune them for legal research within the scope of Nigerian jurisprudence, which is exactly the gap LawPavilionAI has come to fill. He mentioned some AI platforms, specifically LawPavilionAI and encouraged lawyers to go for the most appropriate AI tools not just any random platform.

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