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The Nigerian Bar Association Lawyers With Disabilities Forum (NBA-LWDF) has called for comprehensive legal, institutional and infrastructural reforms to guarantee full inclusion of lawyers with disabilities within Nigeria’s justice system and broader society.
The call was part of resolutions reached at the NBA-Lawyers with Disabilities Forum Annual Conference, held in Asaba, the Delta State capital under the theme “Beyond Triumphs: Advancing Inclusion, Impact, And Leadership For Persons With Disabilities.”
In a communiqué adopted at the close of the conference and signed by the Chairman, Patience Etumudon, participants emphasized that disability inclusion must move decisively from charity-based gestures to a rights-based framework anchored in law, accountability and institutional responsibility.
While saying the conference was convened to advance multidimensional inclusion of lawyers with disabilities, strengthen enforcement of existing legal frameworks, and reposition persons with disabilities as professionals and leaders contributing meaningfully to national development, the forum identified persistent structural and societal barriers undermining access to justice and professional advancement for lawyers with disabilities which they listed as inaccessible courtrooms, police stations and public buildings.
Other barriers included weak implementation of disability laws; inadequate data for planning; high unemployment rates among lawyers with disabilities; exclusion from NBA conferences and activities; and deep-seated stigma and discrimination.
The forum also highlighted the concealment of disability at birth, poor registration systems, limited political will, insufficient funding, cultural barriers, and weak institutional capacity across the justice delivery chain.
Among its far-reaching resolutions, the NBA-LWDF called for reforms of federal and state laws regulating disability rights, including the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the Discrimination Against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018, the Electoral Act, and the National Policy on Disability (2017).
The Forum also demanded guaranteed accessibility in all public infrastructure, courts, police stations and transport systems; strengthened disability data collection; recognition of diverse disability clusters; inter-agency collaboration; and the appointment of qualified lawyers with disabilities to the Bench, including reserved quotas in judicial appointments.
Further recommendations included the development of a comprehensive NBA policy on disability inclusion, mandatory accessibility of NBA conferences and law schools, disability data collection at enrolment into the legal profession, and a requirement that applicants for the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) employ at least one lawyer with a disability.
The conference also called for accessible continuing legal education, inclusive curricula, and systematic training of judges, police officers, lecturers and law firms on disability inclusion.
In its call to action, the NBA-LWDF urged government at all levels to prioritise accessibility, enforce disability rights laws and champion systemic change, challenging the NBA and related institutions to sanction discrimination, adopt workplace inclusion policies and ensure accountability, while states yet to domesticate disability laws were urged to do so without delay.
Legal practitioners were encouraged to integrate inclusion across recruitment, practice and retirement, while sustained national awareness was identified as critical to empowering lawyers with disabilities to claim their rights.
Participants were drawn from across the justice and development spectrum, including the NBA, the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities (NCPWD), the National Judicial Institute (NJI), the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Special Needs and Equal Opportunities, Hon. Mohammed Abba Isa, as well as civil society organisations such as the Brace Foundation, Cedar Seed Foundation, PEDANET, the George Etomi Empowerment Initiative, private law firms and advocacy groups.
NBA Lawyers With Disabilities Forum calls for inclusion within Nigeria’s justice system
