Hot SourceSteve Aya
Nigerian Lawyers have been advised to see current Technology and Innovation drive reshaping law and Business Laws worldwide, as a blessing. This is the view of the Panelists at the 2nd day of the Nigerian Bar Association’s Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) 19th Annual International Business Law Conference, which just ended at the Harbour Point Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.
The Second day of the well attended signature event, the 19th since its Section’s inception, was graced by the cream of Nigeria’s business law community, who were joined by legal professionals from jurisdictions further afield, as well as by leading players from the business, professional and academic worlds, were drowned by the topic of the first plenary session of the day ‘Technology and Innovation: Reshaping Business Law’.
Drawing from their personal, courtroom and general experience, the Panelists made up of Mrs Yemisi Diya-Salawu, Director Legal, IHS Towers; Mr. Oswald Guobadia, Managing Founder, DigitA; Mr. Nkem Nweke, Growth Advancement Partner, Lagos Business School, Pan Atlantic University; Ms Stephanie Brown, Law Society, England and Mr Uzoma Dozie, Founder, Sparkle, shared deep insights of how they were able to use AI and present day technological advancement, to save both cost and time in their work.
While accepting the fact that there are disadvantages, they all stress that the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages, noting that AI should be seen as a working tool and that Lawyers must all the time do their due diligence at the workplace, regardless of the positive impact of AI.
The 2025 NBA-SBL International Conference, whose theme was ‘The Future of Business Law in an Intelligence Age’, was formally declared open on on Tuesday July 2, 2025 by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was ably represented at the occasion by the Secretary to the Government of the State, Mrs Bimbola Salu-Hundeyin.
The Keynote Speaker, His Royal Highness, the Sarki (Emir) of Kano, Khalifa Muhammad Sanusi II, which was delivered on his behalf by his Chief Counsellor, Alhaji Bashir Mahe. Bashir Wali (the Walin Kano) noted that the recent advances in technology, but more essentially, to the evolution of society, adding that it represents an inquiry into capacity in an era defined by deep shifts.
“We are not approaching an era of transformation”, he said. “We are in it. We find ourselves at a critical juncture in human history, where the rapid advancement of technology is fundamentally reshaping every facet of our lives. Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning, big data, and blockchain are no longer buzzwords; they have become integral parts of our personal and professional environments.”
The Emir however, warned, that the enormous power afforded by advances in tech are not without equally enormous challenges, notably in the following three areas: regulatory compliance and adaptation; consumer protection in the digital space; and intellectual property in the age of AI. To navigate and surmount these challenges, the monarch said, the Nigerian legal industry must harness technology through solutions that simplify tasks such as contract review, e-discovery and compliance monitoring, and to embrace tools like AI-driven analytics, with a view to increasing efficiency and focusing on higher-level strategic thinking.
The opening ceremony also featured welcoming remarks by the Chairman of the NBA-SBL, Mrs Ozofu ‘Latunde Ogiemudia; President of the NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, as well as goodwill messages by the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, which was delivered on his behalf by Wada Ahmed Wada, the Special Assistant to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Special Duties, in the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.
