NASRDA Calls for Space Lawyers to Regulate Sector

National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) has advocated for more space lawyers in Nigeria and Africa to regulate the activities of space actors in the sector.

Dr Halilu Shaba, director-general of NASRDA, stated this at the Nigerian national round of “The Manfred Lachs Space Law Moot Court Competition,” held at the agency in collaboration with the International Institute of Space Law.

Dr Shaba said the country presently has the highest number of space lawyers on the continent, hence the call for training space lawyers as the sector develops.

“The space is for everyone, if everybody is coming into space, who guides the arena? Someone needs to guide it, so If we don’t develop the lawyers, you can’t pick them when you need them”

Isah YaYahaya, acting director of Legal and Space Regulation Services of NASRDA, said seven universities will be participating in the national-level competition, which includes the memorial and the oral stage.

He said the competition is one of the mandates of NASRDA and is targeted at catching them young, especially at Nigerian universities.

Yahaya said there is a need to train lawyers on space law, to replicate it at universities.

At last year’s competition, Nigeria took Second after China beating the USA, and Russia among other contestants.