By Bashir Bello, Abuja
The Nigerian Bar Association and UNICEF on Monday launched a nationwide partnership to provide free legal representation to children, warning that denying vulnerable children access to lawyers turns legal trouble into lifelong disadvantage.
The initiative, unveiled in Abuja, will mobilise lawyers across Nigeria to offer pro bono services to children, strengthen the link between courts and child-protection agencies, and equip legal practitioners with skills to handle children’s cases differently from adult cases.
NBA President, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, said the absence of a lawyer for a child who cannot afford one is not just a service gap, but a failure of the justice system itself.
“Access to justice is not a privilege. It is the fundamental right of every child,” Osigwe said. He urged NBA branches to set up child-focused pro bono schemes, asked law firms to commit time to child-protection cases, and called on Senior Advocates to mentor younger lawyers in child-sensitive practice.
Delivering a message on behalf of the Attorney-General of the Federation, stakeholders stressed that children require a justice system that recognises their age, vulnerability and right to rehabilitation.
UNICEF Country Representative, Wafaa Saeed, said children in Nigeria’s justice system still face detention without representation, long delays, weak referrals, and poor access to diversion and support services.
“Access to justice is not simply a legal issue. It is a child protection issue, a development issue, and a matter of human dignity,” Saeed said.
UNICEF’s national assessment of children deprived of liberty found that many minors spend months in detention for minor offences simply because no one advocates for bail, diversion, or alternative care. In some cases, the intervention of a single lawyer led to release, family reunification, and a return to school.
Speakers including Garki NBA Chairman, Alkali Askira, also raised concerns about children being moved far from parents and communities to face trial, and about labeling children as “criminals” before a court determines guilt.
“An accused child is still entitled to due process. Poverty or lack of a lawyer does not cancel that right,” a stakeholder noted.
The partners said lawyers alone cannot fix the system. They listed the judiciary, police, correctional services, Legal Aid Council, civil society, government agencies, and communities as critical to reform.
UNICEF’s 2025 data shows two out of every three Nigerian children live in multidimensional poverty, increasing their risk of contact with the justice system without support.
Under the partnership, the NBA and UNICEF will: Expand pro bono legal services for children nationwide, Build capacity of lawyers in child-friendly justice. Improve referral pathways between courts and child-protection actors. Support diversion and rehabilitation for children in conflict with the law.
For Osigwe, pro bono must move from “ceremony to action.”
The true test of the partnership, stakeholders said, will not be in Abuja conference rooms, but in police stations and courts measured by the child who gets a lawyer before spending months in detention.
