IBA Recognises Yusuf Nurudeen for Pro Bono Legal Work in Nigeria

Nigerian lawyer Yusuf Nurudeen has received an International Bar Association honour recognising his sustained involvement in providing legal assistance and advancing access to justice in Nigeria.

Nurudeen, who founded the Foundation for Public Interest Law and Development, received the IBA Pro Bono Award during the association's annual conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Thursday. The recognition was reported in a Global Legal Post update published on Friday.

The International Bar Association credited Nurudeen's work with supporting people seeking access to legal remedies and defending human rights. The award places particular emphasis on pro bono practice, where lawyers provide professional legal services without expecting payment from the people receiving the assistance.

In accepting the honour, Nurudeen directed attention to the network of lawyers working with his organisation rather than treating the recognition as an individual achievement. He said the Foundation for Public Interest Law and Development has 141 volunteer lawyers operating across 18 Nigerian states. According to his remarks, those volunteers contribute their professional knowledge, time and other resources without expecting financial compensation.

Nurudeen's acknowledgment of the volunteers highlighted the collective structure behind the organisation's legal-aid work. His comments also indicated that the award reflects contributions made by lawyers working across several parts of Nigeria through the foundation's pro bono centre.

The Copenhagen conference also recognised legal practitioners from two other countries. Zar Li Aye of Myanmar received the IBA honour for outstanding contribution by a legal practitioner to human rights, while Singapore's Charmaine Yap received the association's Outstanding Young Lawyer Award.

The three recognitions covered different areas of legal practice and professional contribution. In Nurudeen's case, the focus was specifically on sustained efforts to make legal support and justice more accessible in Nigeria through pro bono service.

The award therefore brings international recognition to both Nurudeen and the volunteer network he credited in his acceptance remarks, while highlighting the role unpaid legal assistance can play in supporting people who need representation or access to justice.