Nigeria, Ghana law societies to establish Pan-African legal education institute

The Nigerian Law Society (NLS) and the Ghana Law Society (GLS) have agreed to establish the Pan-African Institute for Continuing Legal Education, PAICLE. This collaboration was signed on October 5, 2026, in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). The institute will focus on designing and delivering continuing legal education programs, both virtually and physically, according to the agreement details. The Pan-African Institute for Continuing Legal Education will be headquartered in Accra, Ghana.

Dr. Tonye Clinton Jaja, SCN, the Executive Director of NLS, signed on behalf of the Nigerian Law Society. He was represented by Rev. Dr. Apaerala Perey, while Rockson-Nelson Etse Kwami Dafeamekpor, the President of the Ghana Law Society, signed for the Ghana Law Society. Dafeamekpor serves as a Member of Parliament for South Dayi and Majority Chief Whip in the Ghanaian parliament.

As part of this partnership, the Ghana Law Society will send a seven-man delegation to the annual general conference of the Nigerian Law Society on November 4-5, 2026. The dispute over the legitimate version of the Nigerian Law Society was recently resolved when Ambassador Dahiru Aliyu and Dr. Jaja were acknowledged as the President and Executive Director of the organization, respectively.

The Nigerian Law Society primarily comprises non-litigation lawyers, unlike the Nigerian Bar Association, which represents legal practitioners recognized under the Legal Practitioners Act of 1962.