*Dr. Uju Agomoh: “You Are Entrusted Not Just With Cases But With Causes”
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The Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) has inaugurated the newly constituted membership of its Public Interest Litigation Committee, with the Chair, Dr. Uju Agomoh, emphasizing that public interest litigation is “not merely a procedural tool; it is a moral instrument.”
The virtual inauguration ceremony, held on Monday, December 22, 2025, at 8:00 PM, which TheNigeriaLawyer attended, brought together senior advocates, members of the legal profession, and international partners to witness the formal constitution of the 25-member committee.
The committee, presented by the Secretary of NBA-SPIDEL, Enome Amatey, comprises:
Leadership:
- Ndufum Mbah E. Ukwenyi, SAN — Chair
- Bulus Yohanna Atsen fsi — Alternate Chair
- Vincent Adodo — Secretary
- Dr. Lilian Ojima — Assistant Secretary
Members: Paul Daudu, SAN; Chinyere Igwegbe Moneme, SAN; Eni Faduwa-Oduwezai; Jennifer Nwodo; Daniel Asemekyi; Olajide Abiodun; Mohammed Danjuma; Mojirayo Ogunlana; Daniel Kip; Chikodidi Okeroji; George Ettodo; Godspower Iruka; Charles Okon; James Ibor; Chuks Odelegba; Joy Ebianju Nani; Ozier Reginald Iwala; Abdullahi Karaye; Ibrahim Baba-Saliu; Salih Mohammed; Simi Zee; Abba Shibu; and Chinedu Agu.
Advisors: Jubrin Samuel Okutepa, SAN; and Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu.
In her special address, Dr. Agomoh outlined three critical expectations for the committee:
Collaboration: She said, “Public interest work thrives on partnerships—within the Bar, with civil society organizations, academia, communities, and other stakeholders. No single institution can carry the weight of public justice alone.”
Integrity: She said the credibility of Public Interest Litigation depends on the integrity of those who prosecute it. “This Committee must remain above partisanship, personal gain, and external pressure. “Your legitimacy will always rest on your independence and ethical conduct.”
Impact: Dr. Agomoh noted, “We must move beyond symbolic litigation to outcome-driven advocacy. “Impact is measured not only in court victories, but in policy reforms, improved governance, institutional accountability, and restored public trust in the justice system.”
Dr. Agomoh charged the committee members that their appointment comes with high expectations. “You are entrusted not just with cases, but with causes. Not just with briefs, but with burdens the burdens of communities affected by environmental degradation, unlawful detentions, gender-based violence, economic exclusion, abuse of executive power, and violations of constitutional guarantees.”
The Chair emphasized, “Let me be clear, this Committee is not expected to be loud for the sake of noise, nor passive in the face of injustice. You are expected to be strategic, courageous, principled, and impactful. “Public Interest Litigation must be driven by sound legal reasoning, ethical clarity, and a deep understanding of social realities.”
The immediate past Chair of NBA-SPIDEL, Prof. Paul Ananaba, SAN, delivered a powerful goodwill message, calling on the committee to resist politicization. “Choose your fights, and those fights must be guided by public interest, not selfish interest and development,” Prof. Ananaba stated. “Public interest litigation is not only about filing cases in court. It is public interest advocacy in the best interests of the country.”
He warned: “Avoid politicizing public interest litigation. Space public interests, space development… Don’t take fights that will drain your resources, fights that are not in the best interest of the public, just for show.”
Prof. Ananaba, making his first official statement since the Uyo conference, said: “I have served SPIDEL with integrity and good conscience. And I’m happy that as I left SPIDEL as the chair, I left a SPIDEL that will stand the test of time by the grace of God.”
He added: “Our flag shall be our symbol that truth and justice reigns. Truth and justice reigns. And that’s what I’m leaving for this committee.”
Senior Advocate Jubrin Samuel Okutepa emphasized the importance of integrity and due process. “The crises, the quarrel that appears to have followed the nomination and the election and composition of SPIDEL EXCO is a product of the kind of partisan politics that has engulfed the Nigerian Bar Association,” he stated. “Having assumed the chairs of SPIDEL, let us, in the subsequent proposition of SPIDEL and all other compositions of NBA, follow due process, the rule of law, and ensure that all that we need to do is done in accordance with our rules and regulations.”
Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, one of the advisors to the committee, provided strategic guidance, including a memorable observation about measuring success. “George Soros actually did tell me in person once that the greatest way to measure your success or the impact of what you’re doing is the quality of your enemies. If your enemies are more impactful, the more serious your enemies become, the more you are making progress and making impact. And so my hope is that this committee will make the right kind of enemies.”
Prof. Odinkalu emphasized: “One enemy that you’re not going to have to make or wish to make is the NBA leadership. I think that’s the underlying reason why ultimately all of this thing about Uyo and what transpired is coming along. SPIDEL is a partner and was conceived as a partner to the NBA, and as a tool of the NBA, not as the institutional instrument with which to roil the NBA.”
“It’s easy to create effects, to make noise, particularly when we are saying we are against something,” Prof. Odinkalu noted. “Leadership is a very propositional enterprise. It’s not about being against as much as often this is how we need to do things, this is where we need to go.”
He concluded: “My hope and prayer is that this committee will be propositional in what it does, intentional in what it does. And when it is propositional and intentional, it will be effective, and it will create the right impact.”
The Alternate Chair, Bulus Atsen, speaking on behalf of the committee, pledged commitment to the mandate. “On behalf of the chairman of the committee and members of the committee, I want to pledge our commitment to the EXCO and the leadership of SPIDEL that we will discharge our duties honorably, taking into consideration the three pillars that Madam Chair mentioned: collaboration, integrity, and impact beyond symbolic litigation.”
Adaobi Egboka, representing the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice (a non-profit program of the New York City Bar Association), expressed the Center’s commitment to partnering with NBA-SPIDEL.
“It’s our honor to be invited to partner and work with SPIDEL as much as possible as we drive public interest and development in Nigeria. We are looking forward to engaging more, providing legal support as much as possible, being on the platform, and engaging wherever and however you want us to support the work that you decide to do or want to engage in.”
Senior Advocate Chinyere Igwegbe Moneme, drawing attention to trafficking issues she observed during recent travels, called for strategic focus. “There are so many problems in our country. We might not be able to address all of them in this tenure, but if we focus on one, two, three, four areas, I think we are good to go,” she advised.
The Vice-Chair of NBA-SPIDEL, Paul Daudu, SAN, though joining late, provided closing remarks. “I want to also commend the chair of this sub-committee. He’s someone I know very well, my brother Steve, past chairman of Calabar branch. I know that this committee is in good hands… There are several issues that require immediate litigation, and God will give all of us the wisdom to select which ones will add value to national development.”
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