As Africa accelerates the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and moves towards a more integrated continental market, a new legal initiative is seeking to address one of the critical questions confronting the continent’s economic transformation: Are African lawyers sufficiently equipped to practise, advise, negotiate and compete across borders?
The question will take centre stage in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on August 25, 2026, when the Cross-Border Legal Practice Fireside, convened and organised by international lawyer Lugard Agbomoagan, brings together distinguished African and internationally experienced legal and professional practitioners for a high-level gathering.
The event is positioned as a platform for examining the “NOW of Legal Practice in Africa” in an era when trade, investment, technology, finance and commercial relationships increasingly transcend national borders.
The AfCFTA represents one of the most significant developments in Africa’s economic integration agenda, creating new opportunities for intra-African trade, investment and business expansion. However, the success of cross-border commerce will also depend on the availability of lawyers capable of navigating different legal systems, regulatory frameworks, dispute-resolution mechanisms and international commercial environments.
The Cross-Border Legal Practice Fireside seeks to place the African legal profession at the heart of this conversation.
The initiative advocates a generation of African lawyers who are not constrained by traditional jurisdictional boundaries, but are equipped with the knowledge, networks, technological competence and international outlook required to support businesses and institutions operating across the continent and beyond.
The keynote address will be delivered by Abisoye Coker, a distinguished cross-border legal expert and Group Chief Executive Officer of Kiakia Group. His participation brings together legal practice, entrepreneurship and cross-border business experience at a time when African enterprises are increasingly seeking opportunities beyond their domestic markets.
The programme will also feature a distinguished panel of experts with experience spanning multiple jurisdictions and professional disciplines.
Onome C. Anakanire, a Nigerian and New York attorney and Legal Counsel and Director of the New York State Senate Committee on Banks, brings a unique perspective shaped by legal practice and public-sector experience in Nigeria and the United States. She is expected to provide insights into international legal practice, financial regulation and opportunities available to African lawyers within global legal systems.
Rukayat Ojo-Oba, an information security expert, will bring expertise at the intersection of information security, technology and professional practice, highlighting the increasingly important relationship between legal services, cybersecurity, privacy and emerging technologies.
Akintola Makinde, a seasoned litigation expert, will contribute extensive litigation and advocacy experience, offering perspectives on dispute resolution, legal excellence and the evolving demands of modern legal practice.
A major feature of the event will be the African Young Lawyers Excellence Awards.
The organisers describe the awards as a pioneering platform designed to recognise and celebrate outstanding young lawyers whose achievements, leadership, innovation, advocacy and professional contributions are helping to shape the future of Africa’s legal profession.
The awards are intended to establish a new culture of continental recognition—one that celebrates young lawyers not merely for conventional professional milestones, but also for their ability to create impact within Africa and the wider international community.
The event will also feature the presentation of Law School Scholarship Awards to beneficiaries of the Lugard Agbomoagan Law School Scholarship Scheme.
The scholarship initiative reflects the convener’s commitment to expanding access to legal education and creating opportunities for promising young Africans seeking to enter the legal profession.
Lugard Agbomoagan: A Continental Legal Practice Vision
The initiative was founded and is being convened by Lugard Agbomoagan, a Nigerian lawyer and advocate of greater international engagement by African legal practitioners.
According to Agbomoagan, Africa’s economic integration cannot be achieved without a corresponding integration in the way African legal professionals think, collaborate and deliver legal services.
“The AfCFTA is creating an Africa where businesses, capital, investments and commercial relationships can increasingly move across borders. The legal profession must be prepared for that Africa.”
He further emphasised that African lawyers should not merely respond to continental economic integration after it occurs, but should actively participate in shaping the legal architecture and professional ecosystem that will support it.
The Port Harcourt gathering is intended to mark the beginning of a broader continental conversation.
The Cross-Border Legal Practice Fireside seeks to build a sustained platform for connecting African lawyers with international opportunities, professional networks, knowledge, mentorship and recognition.
One of Agbomoagan’s long-term objectives is to contribute to the emergence of a globally competitive African legal profession capable of supporting cross-border trade, investment, technology, dispute resolution and economic development across the continent.
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