Young lawyers have been encouraged to adopt Strategic Public Interest Litigation (PIL) as a tool for advancing social justice, transparency, and accountability in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. This call was made during a capacity-building training for young advocates in Port Harcourt, themed “Empowering Young Advocates: How to Use Strategic Litigation to Promote Social Justice in Nigeria.”
The event was organized by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). Speaking at the training, Kolawole Oluwadare, Deputy Director of SERAP, said the initiative was designed to raise the consciousness and capacity of young lawyers, law students, and accountability advocates in promoting social justice through legal action.
“This engagement is about empowering young advocates to understand not just social justice but also how to use public interest litigation to achieve it. We hope to see a new generation of advocates who can hold government accountable through lawful means rather than self-help,” he said.
Oluwadare emphasized the importance of using tools such as Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and litigation to compel institutions to disclose information and ensure accountability. He noted that while Nigeria’s justice system is slow, lawful action remains the best alternative to violence.
On the role of the extractive industry, he urged oil companies to be accountable not only to regulators but also to host communities and the Nigerian public. Delivering a lecture on “Legal Basis and Constitutional Frameworks for PIL,” Festus Ogun, Managing Partner of FOE Legal, said it was imperative for young lawyers to defend the interests of the Nigerian populace through strategic litigation.“
A lawyer must live in the direction of his people. If lawyers do not take the initiative to ensure accountability and transparency in government, who else will?” he asked. Ogun stressed that reform in Nigeria’s governance and justice system would only come through sustained efforts like PIL.
He decried the inefficiency in the judicial process, warning that the slow pace of justice poses risks to the country’s stability and discourages investment. He also called for judicial autonomy, adoption of technology in court processes, and recruitment of more judges to address the overwhelming caseloads.
The first and foremost is that there should be true judicial autonomy in the sense that the judiciary should be in charge of their funds, he that bears the piper dictates the tone. When we still see cases where governors still buy cars for judges we still see cases where judges are dependent on the executive it should not be so.
Judges handling 30 to 40 cases a day cannot work efficiently. Until we reform our system and increase the number of judges, justice delivery will remain painfully slow,” he added. The training concluded with a charge to young advocates to embrace strategic litigation as a powerful tool to advance reforms and promote social justice in Nigeria.
