Unilorin: Faculty of law hosts judicial reform workshop

• Revisiting Nigerian judiciary and socioeconomic rights

• Egbewole's JRC collaborates with South Africa’s LRC

Amidst lots of activities hosted by the better by far university in recent weeks is the 2-days workshop on Judiciary and socioeconomic rights organized by the Judicial Reform Cluster (JRC) University of Ilorin in collaboration with Legal Resource Center, South Africa (LRC) and International Constitutional Law Society (ICONS) which held at the faculty of law, university of Ilorin. It was an engaging outing at the faculty of law, university of Ilorin between 25th-27th of October. 

The atmosphere was yet another platform where the town meets the gown as attendance was drawn from members of the judiciary, academics and legal practice. The workshop’s aim was to revisit and to put in proper perspectives, the judiciary and socio economic rights in Nigeria with a view to exploring lessons from abroad.

In his welcome address, the convener and leader of JRC, Professor W. O Egbewole SAN, The director of General Studies, University of Ilorin who doubles as the maiden chairman of Nigerian chapter of ICONS expressed his optimism on the achievement of the workshop’s objective which was to foster collaborations and walk the much talks on the Nigerian judiciary and socio-economic rights in Nigeria and its implications for the Nigerian legal system.

The workshop engaged its participants through several plenary sessions on its theme and also in its concluding session, unveiled the very first national chapter of ICONS, the Nigerian chapter. While the South African participants, McConnachie Cameron and Sarah Sephton who were representing the LRC in their respective presentations and engagements chronicled the nature of the South African judicial system and approaches to socio-economic rights in concrete terms, other participants engaged on the Nigerian realities and the way forward.

Amongst several submissions, recommendation and action plan of the workshop were the need to have a continuing education for judicial officers, the necessity of concretizing the operational framework for the separation of power, the need for creative advocacy towards ensuring the justiciability of socioeconomic rights in Nigeria, the need for collaboration between legal and media practitioners in creating awareness on socioeconomic rights.

The organizing secretary, Dr. Azubike Onuora-Oguno of the faculty of law, university of Ilorin also brilliantly coordinated some of the workshop sessions while ensuring that the workshop went on without hitches. The attendance structure was quite impressive and diverse as it includes judicial officers, legal practitioners and academics from Anambra, Kwara, Osun, FCT, Lagos, Edo, Niger and Oyo states.

In attendance were, K.K Eleja SAN who presented a paper on judicial education, Prof. A.A Oba; The Dean of law, Dr.U.A Abduraheem; the chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities Prof. Muhtar Etudaiye,Dr. A.O Sambo, Prof. M.M Akanbi SAN, Dr. (Mrs) Amoloye Azeezat, Dr. (Mrs) Niyi-Gafar, Dr. Abdulkadir A.B all of the Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin and a host of others.



Reported by: M.B Amubajal


UCJ UNILORIN.