Members of the Nigerian Law School Class of 2002 have reunited in Port Harcourt for an evening of celebration, friendship and reflection, with the gathering specially honouring one of their own, Nigerian Bar Association President-elect, Mrs Oyinkansola Badejo-Okusanya, SAN.
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The reunion brought together members of the class, regarded as the pioneer set of the Nigerian Law School’s multi-campus system, more than two decades after they completed their professional legal training and were called to the Nigerian Bar.
Badejo-Okusanya’s emergence as the first elected female President of the NBA occupied a central place at the celebration, with her classmates describing the development as an important milestone both for their set and the leadership history of the Nigerian Bar.
Welcoming members and guests at about 8:06 p.m., the host and Pro Tem Coordinator of the Class of 2002, Tonye Sipoto-Pepple, said the reunion was organised principally to celebrate the sense of community built by members of the set and to honour Badejo-Okusanya following her historic election as NBA President.
Sipoto-Pepple, a former Secretary of the NBA Port Harcourt Branch, described the Class of 2002 as the “Greatest Set” of the Nigerian Law School, recalling the unusual experiences members shared as pioneers of the multi-campus structure that has since become a permanent feature of professional legal education in Nigeria.
He also highlighted the professional advancement recorded by members over more than two decades at the Bar.
The class has produced several judges, including a serving Justice of the Court of Appeal, more than 15 Senior Advocates of Nigeria, professors of law and senior lawyers occupying leading positions in private practice, public service and corporate organisations.
Members took turns introducing themselves, recalling the Nigerian Law School campuses they attended and identifying their current states of residence.
The session provided an opportunity for old classmates to reconnect and revisit memories of their Law School years while celebrating their individual and collective accomplishments in the legal profession.
Badejo-Okusanya attended the reunion with an entourage that included Mrs Oludayo Olorunfemi and Ada Udobi, a former Vice-Chairman of the NBA Onitsha Branch, among others.
Former Chairman of the NBA Lagos Branch, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, SAN, later proposed a toast to the Class of 2002 and described the emergence of Badejo-Okusanya as NBA President-elect as a historic moment for the set.
Ikwuazom congratulated her and urged the incoming administration to deliver “dividends of democracy” to members of the Nigerian Bar, while wishing the President-elect wisdom, good health and a successful tenure.
The celebration also featured the ceremonial cutting of a cake by Badejo-Okusanya, surrounded by classmates and other colleagues.
Eddie Inegedu, SAN, delivered the vote of thanks and closing remarks, expressing confidence in the incoming NBA administration and optimism that members of the Class of 2002 would continue to make meaningful contributions to the Association and the wider legal profession.
Beyond the speeches and tributes, the reunion celebrated friendships forged more than two decades ago during the demanding professional training at the Nigerian Law School.
Members also observed a moment of silence in memory of deceased classmates.
Speaking exclusively to TheNigeriaLawyer, in an interview conducted in connection with the reunion, Sipoto-Pepple explained why members considered the gathering particularly significant at this stage of their professional journey.
Asked about the principal objective of the reunion, he said:
“To celebrate our sense of community in overcoming the challenges of pioneering the multi-campus of the Nigerian Law School as well as celebrate our member, the Bar President-elect.”
On what had sustained the bond among members of the class for more than two decades, Sipoto-Pepple said:
“A sense of camaraderie in the crucible of training called the Nigerian Law School.”
Speaking on what Badejo-Okusanya’s emergence as the first elected female NBA President means to the Class of 2002, he said:
“It feels great to be part of making history and having the privilege of having the ears of the leader of the largest Bar Association in Africa.”
Sipoto-Pepple also reflected on the peculiar experiences that distinguished the 2002 set from other Nigerian Law School classes.
He told TheNigeriaLawyer:
“We surmounted the challenges of navigating the uncharted territory of multicampus system in a nascent digital milieu.
“We had to endure the lack of accommodation in some cases, and in other campuses starting from scratch, dealing with constant encounters with reptiles.
“Then came the most memorable challenge: the Double Bar Final Debacle, where we were forced to write the Bar Finals twice.”
The 2002 set entered the Nigerian Law School at a formative period in the institution’s transition from a single-campus system to training prospective lawyers across multiple campuses, making members pioneers of an arrangement that subsequently expanded nationwide.
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Sipoto-Pepple said those shared challenges helped forge the strong sense of identity and solidarity that continues among members more than two decades later.
Asked what the class expects from Badejo-Okusanya when she assumes leadership of the NBA, Sipoto-Pepple said:
“That it will provide a unifying and forward-looking leadership for all Nigerian lawyers, caring for its weakest links – by mentoring young lawyers and the oldest lawyers who can no longer fend for themselves.
“Also that her administration will prioritise the independence of the Bar as the voice of the voiceless in the Nigerian society as well as sustain respect for the Rule of law.”
He expressed the hope that members of the Class of 2002 would continue to play increasingly important roles in strengthening the Nigerian legal profession.
Asked how he hoped the set would be remembered in years to come, Sipoto-Pepple said:
“We hope to continue be increasingly relevant to the leadership and development of the legal profession in Nigeria in all ramifications.”
Summing up the significance of the reunion in one sentence, he told TheNigeriaLawyer:
“Nostalgic and hopeful of making more impactful contributions to the leadership of the Legal profession in Nigeria and the Nigerian society at large.”
The Port Harcourt reunion therefore served not merely as a social gathering but as a celebration of a class whose members began their professional journey during a major transition in Nigerian legal education and have since risen to prominent positions across the Bench, Bar, academia, public service and corporate sector.
For members of the set, Badejo-Okusanya’s election to lead the Nigerian Bar represents another chapter in that collective story — one that began with the uncertainties of pioneering the multi-campus Nigerian Law School system and has now produced the first elected female President of the NBA.
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