PROFILE: Afam Osigwe, a thorough bar man set to become NBA’s 32nd president

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) elected Afam Osigwe, 51, as its next president on Saturday.

Mr Osigwe, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), won the election decisively, securing over half of the votes cast, after running a reform-focused campaign to address troubling trends in the legal profession, including the judiciary.

He polled 20,435 out of the 40,451 votes tallied for the office of the NBA president, with 205 abstentions, according to the results portal maintained by the Electoral Committee of the NBA (ECNBA).

His closest rival, Tobenna Erojikwe, the NBA Institute of Continuing Legal Education Governing Council chairperson, polled 10,998 votes. A former chairperson of the NBA, Lagos branch, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, also a SAN, who announced withdrawing in the middle of the election on Saturday, came third with 9,018 votes.

The result sets the stage for Mr Osigwe’s inauguration as the 32nd NBA President in August.

The upcoming event will crown Mr Osigwe’s long-standing dedication to NBA politics and his robust legal practice since his early days at the Bar, bringing him into the limelight and facilitating his ascent to the pinnacle of Nigerian Bar leadership.

He has held key elected, ad hoc and appointive positions at the branch and national levels of the NBA since he was called to the Bar in 1999, 25 years ago. Since he was elected the General Secretary in 2014, Mr Osigwe has been a constant feature of the NBA at the national level, taking up different roles, including leading the association’s observers committee for the 2019 general elections.

His elevation to Senior Advocate of Nigeria rank in 2020 is a tribute to his professional excellence in the courtroom, allowing him to garner admiration beyond his extensive bar activities.

Background

Mr Osigwe was born on 25 October 1972.

He graduated from the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, in 1997 and was called to the Bar in 1999.

He began his legal career at Chike Chigbue and Co. in Abuja before founding his firm, LAW FORTE, in 2002.

In 2006, he became a Notary Public of the Supreme Court of Nigeria.

His publicly available bio indicates that he earned a Diploma in International Commercial Arbitration from Keble College, Oxford, in 2010 and became a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (UK) in 2011.

He also holds a master’s degree in law (LL.M) from the University of Jos and another LL.M in Transnational Commercial Practice from the Centre for International Legal Studies, Austria, in collaboration with Lazarsky University, Poland. He is currently pursuing a doctorate.

His research and litigation works span corporate and business law, land law, banking law, intellectual property, international commercial law, telecommunications, energy, oil and gas law, and domestic and international commercial arbitration.

As a member of the NBA Abuja Branch, he served on numerous committees, including the NBA Abuja Law Reporting Committee (2003-2005) and the Committee on Continuing Legal Education (2004-2006, 2008-2010).

He also served as alternate chairman for the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the NBA Annual General Conference 2012 and held other notable positions.

He has also been the publicity secretary of NBA Abuja (2006-2008) and chairman of the branch (2010-2012).

He became the first chairperson of chairpersons of NBA branches in the FCT in 2012. As the general secretary of the NBA (2014-2016), he contributed to significant initiatives, including introducing personalised NBA adhesive stamps, e-voting, universal suffrage, and uniform bye-laws.

He is committed to pro bono legal representation for indigent persons and has served on several committees appointed by the Chief Judge of the FCT, Abuja.

He belongs to key institutions in the legal profession, including the Body of Benchers, the Council of Legal Education, the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, the NBA National Executive Committee, and the General Council of the Bar.

He is also part of various professional bodies, such as the International Bar Association, the Nigerian Institute of Management, and the Institute of Chartered Mediators & Conciliators. He is also a Knight of Saint Christopher.

Focus

During his campaign, Mr Osigwe promised reforms, including tackling corruption in the legal profession.

“As NBA president, I must look for reforms. I must make sure that we follow up on cases where judges have been found to be corrupt, where judgements given by a judge indicate either that the judge is corrupt or being induced, or that the judge is incompetent,” he said during the debate with other presidential candidates in the lead-up to Saturday’s election.

He emphasised the need for a proactive NBA to address the legal profession and judiciary’s evolving challenges.

In his acceptance remarks posted on social media platforms on Sunday, he restated his commitment to “advancing the cause of justice, upholding the rule of law, and fostering a vibrant and inclusive legal community”.

Mr Osigwe, who extended a hand of fellowship to his rivals in the contest, pledged to serve with integrity, transparency, and unwavering dedication.

His campaign also focused on securing partnerships with donors to create an endowment fund for legal education, sponsor training and conferences, and provide resources for legal professionals.

He also planned to enhance benefits for lawyers, advocate for fair compensation, and propose constitutional amendments to support branch welfare funds and lawyers with disabilities and senior citizens.

He also promised to focus on human capital development by establishing mentorship programmes and improving lawyers’ skills through mandatory continuing professional development.

He called for deepening financial autonomy for the judiciary and modernising court infrastructure.

He promised to push for legislative amendments for effective justice delivery and electronic filing of cases.

He also promised to promote case management systems, collaborate with anti-corruption agencies, and strengthen the Human Rights Institute of the NBA.