In set above are participants at the 40th anniversary celebration of the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports held at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos on October 9, 2025.
By Ibe Uwaleke, Editor-in-Chief, Advocate News Online.
AT the 40th anniversary celebration of the pathfinder publications of the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports, held on October 9, 2025 at the Civic Centre in Victoria Island, Lagos, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun joined other eminent jurists and prominent stakeholders in the judiciary and the academia to commend the birth and continued publications of major judgments of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal in NWLR since October 1, 1985 till date.
Justice Kekere-Ekun who was expected to chair the occasion was unavoidably absent but ably represented by a very senior Judge of the Supreme Court, Justice John Inyang Okoro who delivered the CJN’s speech.
In the speech the CJN said: “It gives me great pleasure to join you today to celebrate this remarkable milestone, the 40th anniversary of the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports, (NWLR). This is not merely an anniversary; it is a celebration of four decades of consistent excellence, intellectual rigour and enduring contribution to the development of Nigerian law and jurisprudence.
“The NWLR stands today as one of the most trusted, respected and authoritative repositories of judicial decisions in Nigeria. Since its establishment in 1985 by the late and illustrious Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, GCON, the publication has become indispensable to the Bench, the Bar, the academia and indeed, the entire legal system.
“It has shaped the evolution of our case law, provided clarity in the interpretation of statutes, and preserved the reasoning of our courts for posterity.
She continued: “For four decades, the NWLR has consistently demonstrated fidelity to accuracy, editorial discipline and professional integrity. These are the hallmarks that have sustained its reputation as the gold standard in law reporting. I must commend the Nigerian Law Publications Limited for maintaining this legacy with remarkable commitment and vision.
On the need to continue to improve the status of NWLR, the CJN said: “As we embrace the technological age, the task before us is to ensure that law reporting continues to serve the legal profession with speed, accessibility and reliability. The transition from print to digital formats must be guided by the same standards for precision and authenticity that have defined NWLR over the years.
“On behalf of the Nigerian judiciary, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the management, editors and staff of the Nigerian Law Publications Limited for this extraordinary achievement. May the NWLR continue to thrive as a beacon of excellence, guiding future generations of lawyers and judges in the pursuit of justice,” she finally canvassed.
Earlier in his welcome address, the chairman of the editorial board and the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the NWLR, Mr. Ayo Olanrewaju, while paying glowing tribute to the founder and first editor of the Reports, late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAM, SAN, GCON, said the NWLR was born as a protest against an unjust and arbitrary practice of law at the Bar, adding that its success is owed mainly to tenacity and uncommon determination to surmount all hurdles put on its way.
While reeling on the success so far attained by the NWLR, Olanrewaju said the “NWLR has become part of the legal architecture of Nigeria and holds a pride of place in any law library. To him: “It has become an essential part of the administration of justice system in Nigeria, and has fulfilled the mission of its founder to make available as fast as possible the judgments of our appellate courts. He concluded by saying that the NWLR “owes its continued existence to the strong foundation and the subsequent structure laid by its founder, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, GCON.”
In his maiden edition published on October 1, 1985, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, the first editor then set out his mission in publishing NWLR as follows: “Nigerian Weekly Law Reports starts today, Tuesday, the 1st of October, 1985. My aim is to make the laws of Nigeria available to all and sundry as quickly as possible. The decisions of the courts which constitute a fundamental part of our laws must be made more readily accessible with a view to ensuring that the learned men at the Bar and on the Bench are more learned and the entire spectrum of the administration of justice more just.”
Relying on this mission of Chief Fawehinmi, the 40th anniversary celebration key note speaker, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN, CON, a former governor of Lagos State and ex-minister of Works and Housing while recognizing the foresight of Chief Gani Fawehinmi agreed that the undisputable truth is that if the late Fawehinmi had not ventured into law reporting, his work as an activist who used law as his tool, and also as an advocate who trailblazed in the arena of public interest litigation would have been more than enough to memorialize him forever in Nigerian history.
According Fashola, Late Fawehinmi was a relentless pursuer of change in a country and society he passionately loved, and anything that obstructed that pursuit was to be disrupted and removed once Gani set his sights on it.
Acknowledging the success of NWLR, Fashola gave kudos to Gani Fawehinmi, the board of editors and staff of Nigerian Law Publications Limited, 16 years after the late activist’ passage, noting that the real success and victory of NWLR is that millions of practitioners today have almost immediate access to knowing and stating what the law is because Chief Fawehinmi published the NWLR without fear and has done so for 40 years without any sign of relenting.
With the introduction of the electronic version of NWLR in 2019, Fashola opined that the objectives of the access to judgments, supporting the administration to justice and internationally projecting the Nigerian law and jurisprudence amongst others have not only been met, they have been exceeded, adding that the NWLR in hard and electronic form is one of the points of recourse as they validate the concerns of the anniversary celebrations about the future of law reporting in general and the NWLR in particular.
Apart from Mr. Fashola’s key note address, there were other goodwill messages from the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, ably represented by the presiding Justice of the Lagos Division of the appellate court, Justice Y. Nimpar; the chief launcher of the two books: Nigerian Case Law Dictionary and Nigerian Weekly Law Reports: Trailblazing Law Reporting in Nigeria, unveiled at the event, Dr. Bolanle Olawale Babalakin, SAN, OFR; the president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Mr. Afam Josiah Osigwe, SAN, the governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Lawal Pedro, SAN; the presiding Justice of the Enugu Division of the Court of Appeal, Justice Joseph Olubunmi Oyewole; a panel discussant, Mr. Abdul Dapo Mohammed and the chairman of the board of directors of the Nigerian Law Publications Limited, Mr. Rotimi Obende, FCA.
In the end, the 40th anniversary cake was cut to mark the four decades of NWLR led by the representative of the CJN, Justice John Inyang Okoro, JSC.
Awards were also given to a select few of the dignitaries, including Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, CJN; Justice John Inyang Okoro, JSC; Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, Keynote Speaker; Justice Joseph Olubunmi Oyewole, JCA, panel discussant, and Mr. Abdul Dapo Mohammed, SAN, panel discussant.
Among dignitaries who also graced the occasion were: Justice Okon Abang, JCA; Mr. Tayo Oyetibo, SAN; Dr. Wahab Shittu, SAN; Mr. Wemimo A.R. Ogunde, SAN; Mr. Edwin Anikwem, SAN, and Mr. Clement Onwuenwunor, SAN, and so many other personalities.
