Vance Centre seeks pro bono partnership in Africa
The Nigerian Bar Association Section on Public Interest and Development Law (NBA-SPIDEL) and the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) have agreed to undertake a comprehensive review of the tinted permit policy to ensure that its enforcement aligns with public interest and national security imperatives.
Chairman of NBA-SPIDEL, Prof. Paul Ananaba (SAN), disclosed this in Lagos during an interactive session anchored by Wale Ogunade held as part of activities ahead of the SPIDEL 2025 conference.
Ananaba said that the decision followed weeks of deliberation between the association and senior police officers after widespread complaints by motorists over harassment and arbitrary vehicle impoundment by law enforcement officers enforcing the tinted permit directive.
He said that the association’s intervention became necessary in response to growing public outrage over the indiscriminate arrest of motorists without a tinted permit.
According to him, the committee, which comprises representatives of both the NBA-SPIDEL and the NPF, will examine the legal, regulatory, and security dimensions of the policy and recommend new modalities that strike a balance between citizens’ rights and public safety.
Ananaba stressed that SPIDEL’s engagement with the police was not adversarial but aimed at promoting fairness, accountability, and the rule of law within the nation’s law enforcement framework.
The senior advocate also announced that the SPIDEL 2025 conference will be held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on December 5, 2025, and would focus on reforms in justice administration, governance, and international collaboration to advance human rights and public accountability.
Meanwhile, the Vance Centre for International Justice has proposed a strategic partnership with NBA-SPIDEL to institutionalise pro bono legal services and strengthen public interest law practice across Africa.
Director of the Africa Initiative at the Vance Centre, Adaobi Egboka, disclosed this during the same interactive session in Lagos, where she outlined the Centre’s proposal to collaborate with the NBA in promoting access to justice, ethical legal practice, and development.
Egboka explained that the Vance Centre, a non-profit arm of the New York City Bar Association, works globally to advance justice through cross-border legal collaborations, institutional integrity, and pro bono initiatives.
She said the Centre operates through four major programme areas that include environment, human rights and access to justice, institutional integrity, and public interest reporting, all geared toward strengthening democracy and the rule of law.
She further stated that the proposed partnership would assist the NBA in developing a structured national framework for pro bono work, creating a database of participating law firms, and establishing metrics to measure and report contributions to legal aid.
Egboka, therefore, called for collaboration in formulating a “Pro Bono Declaration for Africa,” modelled after the Pro Bono Declaration of the Americas, which commits law firms to dedicating a specified number of hours yearly to providing free legal services for underserved populations.
She said that such a declaration would foster greater accountability within the legal profession, promote inclusivity, and expand access to justice for vulnerable groups.
