The Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) has announced the commencement of entries for its 2026 Essay, Poetry and Spoken Word Competition, offering a total of ₦900,000 in cash prizes to outstanding young lawyers and undergraduate law students across Nigeria.
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The competition forms part of activities marking the NBA-SPIDEL 2026 Annual Conference, scheduled to commence on November 10, 2026, in Umuahia, Abia State, under the theme, “IN PUBLIC INTEREST: ADVANCING JUSTICE, DEMOCRACY AND DEVELOPMENT.”
According to the organisers, the initiative is designed to inspire young legal minds to critically examine the relationship between justice, ethical governance, democracy and sustainable development in Nigeria while promoting creativity, intellectual engagement and public interest advocacy through written and spoken expression.
The competition is divided into two major categories, namely Young Lawyers and Law Students, with participants in each category eligible to compete in essay writing, poetry and spoken word performance.
NBA-SPIDEL disclosed that separate prizes would be awarded to the first, second and third-place winners in each of the three subcategories under both major categories.
Under the Young Lawyers category, participation is open to legal practitioners called to the Nigerian Bar within the last seven years, specifically those with Call Years from 2018 to 2026.
Eligible young lawyers may submit analytical or argumentative essays of between 1,500 and 2,000 words addressing the conference theme or any aspect of justice, accountability and development in Nigeria.
Those interested in poetry are required to submit original poems inspired by the conference theme, with each entry not exceeding 40 lines.
For the spoken word subcategory, participants must submit an audio or video performance creatively exploring the conference theme, with a maximum duration of three minutes.
The Law Students category is open to all registered undergraduate law students in Nigerian universities and faculties of law.
Students participating in the essay writing competition are required to submit original, well-researched essays of between 1,000 and 1,500 words addressing the conference theme.
For poetry, undergraduate law students may submit original compositions of not more than 35 lines, while those entering the spoken word competition must provide recorded performances of no longer than three minutes.
The organisers emphasised that all entries must be original, unpublished works reflecting the conference theme.
Each participant is permitted to submit only one entry per subcategory.
For essay submissions, participants must prepare their entries in Microsoft Word or PDF format, using Times New Roman font, size 12, with double-line spacing.
Poetry entries must be clearly titled, while the author’s name and contact information should appear on a separate cover page.
Spoken word performances must be submitted in MP4 or MP3 format, with file sizes not exceeding 25 megabytes.
NBA-SPIDEL further directed that every submission must contain the participant’s full name, institution, law school or Call Year, as applicable, category of participation, contact telephone number and email address.
All entries are to be submitted electronically through nbaspidel2026competition@gmail.com.
Participants are required to use the email subject line: “NBA-SPIDEL 2026 Essay/Poetry/Spoken Word Competition ”, indicating whether they are entering under the Young Lawyers or Law Students category.
The organisers fixed November 5, 2026, as the deadline for submission of entries, warning prospective participants to ensure that their works comply with the stipulated requirements.
The screening and evaluation of submissions will take place from November 6 to 8, 2026, while the results of the competition will be announced on November 9, 2026.
The award presentation is scheduled to form part of the NBA-SPIDEL Annual Conference activities in Umuahia, Abia State.
According to the competition guidelines, the conference opening ceremony will take place on November 10, 2026, while winners will be formally recognised during the conference dinner scheduled for November 12, 2026.
On the prizes, NBA-SPIDEL announced that first-place winners in each subcategory would receive a Plaque of Excellence, a cash award of ₦75,000 and publication of their works in the SPIDEL Conference Report and other related visibility platforms.
Second-place winners will receive ₦50,000, a Certificate of Participation and publication of their works in the conference report and related platforms.
Third-place winners will receive ₦25,000, a Certificate of Participation and publication of their works in the SPIDEL Conference Report and other related platforms.
With three subcategories under each of the two major categories, the competition provides for six first-place winners, six second-place winners and six third-place winners.
Based on the announced prize structure, the six first-place winners will collectively receive ₦450,000, while the six second-place winners will share ₦300,000.
The six third-place winners will collectively receive ₦150,000, bringing the total cash prize allocation to ₦900,000 across 18 winning positions.
The organisers also disclosed that all winners would receive official certificates and be formally presented at the NBA-SPIDEL Conference Dinner on November 12, 2026.
In addition to the cash awards and certificates, selected works may be featured in the conference magazine and on the section’s official social media platforms, providing participants with opportunities for wider professional recognition and public engagement.
NBA-SPIDEL explained that entries would be evaluated based on five major criteria, including relevance to the conference theme, originality and creativity, depth of analysis or insightfulness, quality of expression, and adherence to the competition guidelines.
Under quality of expression, the judges will consider language, structure and delivery, depending on the nature of the submission.
The organisers stressed that the competition seeks to encourage young lawyers and law students to develop informed perspectives on the challenges confronting Nigeria’s justice system, democratic institutions and development agenda.
Through the essay category, participants are expected to demonstrate analytical reasoning, legal understanding and the ability to advance persuasive arguments on issues of public interest.
The poetry and spoken word categories are intended to provide alternative platforms for participants to communicate ideas about justice, accountability, democracy and development through creative expression.
The competition also provides an opportunity for emerging legal professionals and aspiring lawyers to contribute to discussions surrounding public interest law and the role of legal practitioners in promoting accountable governance.
For further information and enquiries, interested participants have been directed to contact the NBA-SPIDEL 2026 Conference Essay, Poetry and Spoken Word Competition Secretariat through nbaspidel2026competitions@gmail.com.
The secretariat can also be reached by telephone on +234 902 432 7026 or 0806 358 0823.
NBA-SPIDEL encouraged eligible young lawyers and undergraduate law students across the country to participate in the competition and contribute their perspectives to the conversation on advancing justice, democracy and development in Nigeria.
The competition is expected to provide a platform for recognising emerging legal talent while promoting greater involvement of young members of the legal community in public interest advocacy.
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