The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has secured an institutional partnership with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to implement a nationwide Justice for Children and Young People programme valued at N120 million.
The contract, which runs from 9 July 2026 to 30 March 2027, is seen as the return of a key donor-funded institutional collaboration for the NBA.
It follows the conclusion of the association's long-running support from the MacArthur Foundation, after which such large-scale partnerships had appeared harder to come by.
Under the agreement, the NBA is to lead a programme aimed at strengthening access to justice through policy engagement, nationwide capacity building for lawyers, and the expansion of pro bono legal representation for children and young people.
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The project also covers quality assurance and mentoring, community awareness campaigns, and efforts to increase children's participation in justice processes.
Further components include the establishment of structured legal aid mechanisms, advocacy for child-friendly justice reforms, diversion programmes, monitoring systems, and the training and certification of more than 7,000 lawyers across the country.
Expected outcomes of the programme include improved access to timely legal representation for children and young people, greater use of diversion and non-custodial measures, reduced detention of minors, stronger legal aid systems nationwide, and the development of policy frameworks intended to advance child rights and child-sensitive justice administration in Nigeria.
The partnership comes under the leadership of NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, whose administration has pointed to the deal as evidence of the association's continued relevance in attracting international programme funding for justice sector reform.
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