- Section sets stage for flagship annual conference as prominent lawyers, public policy experts and civic leaders join planning team
The Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) has assembled one of its most influential conference planning teams in recent years, drawing together an expansive mix of Senior Advocates of Nigeria, former ministers, lawmakers, academics, seasoned litigators and public interest advocates as preparations gather pace for its 2026 Annual Conference.
The 51-member Conference Planning Committee, chaired by Ejike Ezenwa, SAN, with E.T.O. Ogunjide serving as Alternate Chairman, will be formally inaugurated on Thursday, July 16, during a virtual ceremony scheduled to hold between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
More than a routine committee inauguration, the composition of the team reflects SPIDEL’s determination to deliver a conference that brings together legal scholarship, public policy and governance at a time when Nigeria continues to grapple with constitutional questions, human rights concerns, electoral reforms, security challenges and the administration of justice.
Among those appointed are prominent legal practitioners, former Minister of Aviation Osita Chidoka, former Kogi West Senator Dino Melaye, former Senator Emmanuel Bwacha, respected constitutional lawyer Chinyere Moneme, SAN, veteran legal practitioner Ikhide Ehighelua, media personality and lawyer Kanayo O. Kanayo (Anayo Modestus Onyekwere), public interest advocate George Itodo, alongside several professors, development experts and senior members of the Bar.
The committee also reflects broad regional and professional representation, bringing together practitioners from different parts of the country and diverse areas of legal practice—a feature that has increasingly defined SPIDEL’s approach to policy engagement and institutional development.
Providing strategic oversight is an advisory panel drawn from the SPIDEL Executive Committee, including Ntufam Mba Ukweni, SAN, Andrew Odum, SAN, Vincent Adodo, Saadatu Abdullahi Mohammed, Princess Frank-Chukwuani and other members of the Section’s leadership. Regional representatives have also been incorporated into the planning structure to ensure wider participation and national reach.
The committee’s secretariat will be led by Dr. Lilian Ojimma as Secretary, assisted by Daniel Kip, while the inauguration is expected to mark the commencement of planning activities for what many within the legal community anticipate will be one of the Section’s most significant conferences yet.
Over the years, the NBA-SPIDEL Annual Conference has evolved into one of the Bar’s leading platforms for debating constitutional governance, public interest litigation, judicial reforms, electoral integrity, anti-corruption, policing, human rights and other issues at the intersection of law and public policy. The calibre of personalities assembled for the 2026 planning committee suggests the Section intends to build on that tradition.
The inauguration comes at a period of heightened activity within SPIDEL. In recent weeks, the Section has intensified membership expansion across regional bar forums while also recording a significant legal victory after the National Industrial Court affirmed the NBA’s standing in public interest litigation and ordered the deployment of police lawyers to police stations nationwide in a judgment hailed by the Section as a milestone for the rule of law.
Against that backdrop, the composition of the Conference Planning Committee signals an organisation seeking not only to convene another annual gathering, but to reinforce its position as one of the Nigerian Bar Association’s foremost platforms for legal reform, policy advocacy and national discourse.
Below is the full list.
1. Ejike Ezenwa, SAN (Chairman)
2. E.T.O Ogunjide (Alternate Chairman)
3. Chinyere Moneme, SAN
4. Ikhide Ehighelua
5. President Aigbokhan
6. Senator Dino Melaye
7. Osita Chidoka
8. Senator Emmanuel Bwacha
9. Paul Chukwuma
10.Bulus Atsen
11.Emeka Nwadioke
12.Kanayo O. Kanayo (Anayo Modestus Onyekwere)
13.Lillian Okenwa
14.Dressman Ebikebena
15.Akpomiemie Akpomiemie
16.Fatima Zara Abdulmalik
17.Samuel Etuk
18.Gloria Ireka
19.Ntami Agube
20.Iwa-enih Katherine Anukwa
21.Dr. Sunday Kelechukwu Agwu
22.Folarin Aluko
23.Igbeaku Evulukwu
24.Funmi Adeogun
25.Stanley Ekpa
26.Idris Bawa
27.Bayo Akinlade
28.Joy Nnani
29.Chidinma Amadi
30.George Itodo
31.Prof. Usman Mohammad Shuib
32.Prof. Nnamdi Obiaraeri
33.Prof. Chizoba Okpara
34.Dr. Maureen Baribefe-Koate
35.Godwill Archibong Umoh
36.Abdulahi Karaye
37.Adaobi Egboka
38.Nkiru Uzodi
39.Mfonobong Udo-Inyang
40.Hilary Ogbonna
41.Daniel Asomeji
42.Okey Barrah
43.Kingsley Uche Iheanacho
44.Godfrey Echeho
45.Ibrahim Baba Saliu
46.Alpheus Anayo Mba
47.Abba Shuaibu
48.Francis Nwora
49.Ledua Akekue
50.Dr. Lilian Ojimma (Secretary)
51.Daniel Kip (Assistant Secretary)
CPC Advisory (Drawn from the SPIDEL Executive Committee)
1. Ntufam Mba Ukweni, SAN
2. Andrew Odum, SAN
3. Vincent Adodo
4. Tosan Barbara Onwubiko
5. Saadatu Abdullahi Mohammed
6. Mojirayo Ogunlana
7. Princess Frank – Chukwuani
8. Chika Okoli
9. Dr. Ike Ukam
10.Yakubu Bawa
11.Dr. Nnenna Eboh
12.Chisom Onuoha
13.Stanislaus Mbaezue
14.Monday Adjeh
SPIDEL Regional Representatives
15.Olawunmi Tope Adeola
16.Dorn Cklaimz Enamhe
17.Ibrahim Nassarawa
The inauguration of this Committee will be held from 7pm – 9pm on Thursday,
the 16th day of July, 2026.
