Tag: law school

 A paper presented by Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN) at the 50th anniversary of the Nigerian Law School.

In 1914, the Supreme Court Ordinance 1914 repealed the Supreme Court Ordinance of 1876.  This marked the second phase of legal training in Nigeria. During the second phase, the professionally qualified lawyers monopolised legal practice in Nigeria.  This was so because enrolment was restricted to qualified lawyers only.

3. Establishment of the Nigerian Law School
Clearly, the legal training in the United Kingdom (UK) then did not take into account the Nigerian Legal System especially, our customary law and the strong influence of Islamic law.  Accordingly in 1959 the Unsworth Committee was set up by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the recommendations of the committee included setting up of the Nigerian Law School in Lagos and establishing a Faculty of Law at the University College, Ibadan. Based on the recommendations, in November 1961, a board was constituted to make arrangements for the establishment of the Nigerian Law School.  This was accepted by the Government and the Legal Education Act, 1962 was passed under which the Council of Legal Education was set up.  Unfortunately, the recommendation of the Unsworth Committee that a Faculty of Law be established at the University College, Ibadan was not accepted by the government.  However, in 1961, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka established the Faculty of Law, the first in the country.
The academic stage of legal education in Nigeria after 1962 was characterised by acquisition of approved university law degree. It is generally agreed that undergraduate academic law should give the students a “broad general knowledge and exposure to other disciplines in the process of acquiring legal education. Academic legal education should therefore, act first, stir the student into the critical analysis and examination of the prevailing social, economic and political systems of his community and, secondly, as an intellectual exercise aimed at studying and assessing the operation, efficacy and relevance of various rules of law in society. We shall proceed to examine the various institutions of legal education and their impact on the Nigerian Legal Education system.

4. Institutions of Legal Education in Nigeria
On paper, it looks as though the system that produces lawyers in Nigeria is foolproof and devoid of cracks, but a closer inspection has revealed that this is not the case.
On one hand, the Nigerian lawyer oversees major financial and property transactions, often preparing the instrument of transfer and his statutory declaration of compliance is a sine qua non for the registration of a company. He also represents his clients in civil and criminal matters in court where he serves as mouthpiece. There are, as a matter of fact, Nigerians who do nothing without their lawyers’ consent. Everything from the preparation of Wills, signing of important documents and every day commercial negotiations, now seems to require the services of a lawyer. Legal Practice in Nigeria has therefore, developed steadily over the years, beyond court appearances. It has become so much more than that.
On the other hand however, only a minute percentage of Nigerian legal practitioners can be said to have tried to expand the frontiers of legal practice in Nigeria. Worse still, the toga of integrity was recently stripped from notable members of the profession, lawyers and judges alike.
We shall therefore, proceed to assess our institutions of legal education and their impact on our legal practice in the last 50 years. Quite naturally, the blame has been selectively placed on some components of the system to the exclusion of others. I would like to think that it should be more evenly spread amongst them. A law student goes through the University and then on to the Law School. It is after he has passed the Bar Examination and has been found worthy in character that he is called to the Nigerian Bar. We shall start with the Nigerian Faculties of Law.

(i)    Nigerian Faculties of Law
In Nigeria, the education of a lawyer starts at the university. Faculties of Law are to be found in some of the universities all over Nigeria and the conditions or qualification for admission to study law are usually as published by the   Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board Act. A prospective lawyer may also choose to study law in a foreign University.
A person aspiring to study law at a university in Nigeria is required to have completed Secondary School education and passed the West African Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination or its equivalent with at least five ‘O’ level credit passes in Arts and Social Science subjects including: English, Mathematics and Literature-in-English. Candidates are admitted into the Faculties of Law in Nigerian universities either by direct entry or by undertaking the Joint Admissions Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination. Direct entry candidates are admitted into the second year of the five-year LLB (Bachelor of Laws) degree programme. The qualifications acceptable for direct entry (in addition to the ‘O’ level subjects) include: a university degree in disciplines other than law; a two-year diploma in law; and other qualifications in fields outside law such as a Higher National Diploma in a related course. They also include ‘A’level papers in History, Government, Economics, Religious Studies and Literature-in-English. It takes five years to complete a law degree in a Nigerian University. Upon completion, graduates are awarded an LL.B (‘Bachelor of Laws’). The undergraduate curriculum requires law students to study 12 compulsory core law courses and 11 optional law courses.  There are currently over 30 faculties of law in Nigeria. They include, but not limited to faculties of law in: Abia State University, Afe Babalola University., Ahmadu Bello University, Ambrose Alli University, Ben Idahosa University, Benue State University,Delta State University, Ebonyi State University, Ekiti State University, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Igbinedion University, Imo State University, Lagos State University, Madonna University, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Obafemi Awolowo University, Adekunle Ajasin University, Ogun State University, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, University of Abuja, University of Benin, University of Calabar, University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin, University of Jos, University of Lagos, University of Maiduguri, University of Nigeria, Nsukka and University of Uyo.
In Nigerian Faculties, the typical Nigerian law student spends five sessions, which should ordinarily not exceed five  years, subject to unforeseen (or foreseen, depending on which side of the divide you belong) circumstances like industrial actions (“ASUU” strikes to the uninitiated) and internal administrative problems.
Quite naturally, industrial actions such as the now regular Academic Staff Union of Universities’ strike are peculiar to government owned Universities. Within these five sessions, Nigerian law students in these faculties are compulsorily introduced to the following courses one way or the other;
Legal Method, Land Law, Jurisprudence, Nigerian Legal System, Criminal Law, Law of Evidence, Law of Torts, Law of Equity, Law of Trusts, The Law of Contract, Constitutional Law, Commercial Law, Company Law.
The following Law courses are also offered as electives by law students at some point during the said five sessions;
Family Law, Environmental Law, Oil and Gas Law,     Law of Intellectual Property, Islamic law, Conflict of Laws, Labour Law, Law of International Trade, Law of Taxation, International Law, Administrative Law, Maritime law, Criminology, Law of Banking, Human Rights, International Humanitarian Law, Medical Law.
Law students in Nigerian faculties of law, to complete the package, also register for elective courses outside their faculties. The courses are to be found in Faculties of:
·    Arts.
·    Social Sciences.
·    Management Sciences.
·    Sciences.

It is expected that by the time a law student completes five sessions at a faculty of law, he or she is equipped to deal with the rigours of the Nigerian law school.

(ii)    The Nigerian Law School
The Nigerian Law School is the institution responsible for the training of law graduates from the various accredited faculties of law. The Institution has been in existence for roughly half a century. It was established pursuant to the Legal Education Act with its location at Igbosere in Lagos and its first Director was an Englishman, Mr. G. Rudd, who served from 1962 to 1967. He was followed in succession by Dr. Olakunle Orojo from 1968 to 1976, a period during which the Law School Campus was also moved from Igbosere to Victoria Island (in 1969).  Mr. Justice J.O. Sofolahan served as Director from 1976 to 1978 and Babatunde Ibironke, SAN, from 1979 to 1993. Mr. Ibironke was succeeded by Chief John Kayode Jegede, SAN, who headed the Nigeria Law School with the new title of Director-General. Chief Dr. Kole Abayomi, SAN, became Director-General after Chief Jegede and ran the school from October 2004 to November 2005 when Dr. Maman Tahir succeeded him. In between these administrative changes, the Law School’s main campus was moved from Victoria Island to Bwari, Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory in1997. The Campus on Victoria Island thus ceased to be the main campus of the Law School and is now the Lagos Campus.
Subsequently, other campuses were added such as the Enugu and Kano in 2005 and the Yola and Yenogoa Campuses in 2010. All Campuses except Abuja, which is the Headquarters, are headed by Deputy Directors-General. The Director-General heads the Headquarters and is the overall administrative head of the Nigerian Law School.
The Nigerian Law School plays a very fundamental role in the development of a lawyer in Nigeria. Although it must be stated from the start that the education of a lawyer starts properly at the University.
There are over 30 faculties of Law in Nigeria from which students are admitted by the Nigerian Law School, sometimes annually. The content of the course of study leading to the award of a law degree whether from a Nigerian or foreign University must be approved by the Council of Legal Education, which runs the Nigerian Law School. Only foreign Universities in common law countries or teaching common law courses are approved by the council, which usually insists that the subjects taken must include Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Law of Contract, Tort, Land Law, Equity and Trust, Commercial Law and Law of Evidence.
Admission into the Nigeria law School is also open to persons who have passed the final Bar Examinations of the English, Scottish or Irish Bar or the Solicitor’s Final Examinations of England, Scotland or Ireland.
Today, persons educated in foreign countries can only practice law in Nigeria after being trained at the Nigeria Law School. For this purpose, the course is broken into two parts.
The first part, Bar Part I, is designed for persons educated in foreign countries. The courses taken include:

·    Constitutional Law.
·    Criminal Law.
·    Nigeria Legal System.
·    Nigerian Land Law.

The second part, Bar Part II is for all students whether trained in Nigeria or not. The courses taken include:
·    Civil Litigation.
·    Corporate Law Practice.
·    Criminal Procedure.
·     Law in Practice.
·    Property Law Practice.

For the students trained outside Nigeria therefore, they must first take and pass the Bar Part I examinations before they can join the students trained in Nigeria for the Bar Part II course.

These courses are taught by the academic staff of the Nigeria Law School and outside experts (Judges, Senior lawyers and accountants) are called in to deliver lectures from time to time. Persons who have completed the professional training offered by the Nigerian Law School are entitled by Section 4 of the Legal Practitioners Act to be formally called to the Nigerian Bar and are issued a certificate authorizing them to practice law in the country by the Body of Benchers. This certificate can be withdrawn by the same Body for reasons usually related to gross misconduct and fraud24.

The Nigerian Law school is unique in the sense that a student’s lowest grade is what is used as that student’s final assessment. In other words, if a law student gets 4 As and one C in his Bar Finals, his lowest grade becomes his overall grade. The idea is for the student to be good at all subjects, thus potentially making him a good lawyer. Overall, the Law school’s primary objective is to ensure that lawyers in Nigeria are properly trained in the highest standards of the Bar.

5.    PROBLEMS OF LEGAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

At first glance it appears as though we have a fool-proof system but empirical evidence has shown that this is far from the truth. This is not to say that it is all gloom and doom as far as the Nigerian Legal Profession is concerned; I have merely highlighted the problems because I believe our Legal Education system has the potential to be much better than it is presently. I have separated the problems experienced by both institutions because while they might experience similar problems in some cases, more often than not, these problems are peculiar to each one of them.

(i)    PROBLEMS OF NIGERIAN FACULTIES OF LAW

Faculties of law in Nigeria suffer from the following problems, among others;

(a)    Too many Students

There is no gain stating the fact that Nigerian Faculties of law admit too many students. It is quite understandable that faculties of law seek to make Legal Education available to all and sundry but the downside of this desire is that the Nigerian faculties of law end up exceeding their quota at the Nigerian law school (each faculty of law is allowed to sell Law School forms to a particular number of its students).Some Universities are allowed to sell over one hundred (100) Law School forms to their students while others do not get more than 50 forms. The availability of these forms is dependent on how highly the said Faculty of Law is rated by the Council of Legal Education. Some Nigerian Faculties of law, despite the said rating, still admit more than their prescribed quota so we have instances where a particular faculty of law is entitled to say, 50 Law School Forms every year, but ends up graduating 250 students! Invariably, there is a backlog of students who eagerly await their respective turns to obtain Law School Forms. We therefore have instances where some students wait for as long as five years after graduation before they are allowed to go on to the law school. These are fallouts from the initial problem of admitting far more students than the faculty can cater for or is entitled to.

(b)    Lack of synergy with the Law School

Following closely on the heels of the problem of too many students is a lack of synergy with the Nigerian Law school. The bulk of what is taught in Nigerian Faculties of law is substantive law which tells us what law ought to be (de lege ferenda) instead of procedural law which deals with what law is (lex lata). When students arrive at the Nigerian Law School, from Nigerian Universities, they are immediately faced with the remarkable difference or distinction between what is taught by both institutions of learning. This makes for an awkward transition for the law students. In some cases, a good number of them never quite grasp the complexity of what they are facing since it all seems so surreal.  It is therefore a common sight to see students who had excelled in the University, having problems at the Nigerian Law School. It could, at first glance, be attributed to the intelligence (or lack of it) of the students involved but when an exceptional student’s academic career takes a sudden and inexplicable downturn, one would be advised to lay the blame where it belongs; at the feet of the faculties themselves.

The truth is that while the Council of Legal Education, in a bid to build a synergy between the Nigerian Law School and Nigerian faculties of law, has stipulated the courses to be offered and taught in Nigerian Universities, a couple of Nigerian faculties of law still offer some decidedly strange law courses which are not approved by the Council of Legal Education and which do not positively influence the making of a Nigerian Lawyer. A lot of Nigerian Universities have no room in their curriculum for the practical aspect of law, which is what is taught at the Nigerian Law School. Indeed, many Nigerian law students graduate from the University without having visited any Nigerian court. It is even far-fetched in some cases to assume that they would have seen some practice-related documents like Motions, Certificates of Incorporation, Writ of Summons, Charge sheets, etc. For such students, the Law School represents a totally different brand of education. This is a primary reason for the mass failure that usually characterizes the release of results by the Nigerian Law School. This is in addition to the fact that a good number of those who pass the Bar exams still struggle to adapt to the demands of legal practice which, despite the very best efforts of the law school, are very high.

(c)    Lack of adequate Funding

It is no secret that despite concerted efforts by the State and Federal Governments alike, our Universities and by extension, our faculties of law still suffer from lack of adequate funding, a situation that has led to the various Unions (Academic and Non-Academic Staff) going on strike intermittently to lodge their protest. The Universities require funds to make available the most basic of facilities and cater for the large population they harbour.

(d)    Inadequate facilities

This problem, a fallout of the earlier stated “lack of adequate funding” is one that pervades Nigerian Universities collectively, and by extension their faculties of law. There is a need for Nigerian Faculties of Law to conform to the ever increasing standards of legal practice, setbacks like poor funding; lack of basic infrastructure; poor power supply, lack of standard lecture halls, lack of Information Technology equipment and poorly equipped libraries, inadequate accommodation and transport system, and in some cases, management problems, tend to crop up every now and then. This is a rather disturbing trend as faculties of law in other parts of the world (even in nearby Ghana and Benin Republic) have somehow managed to present an appreciable solution to these problems. Many Nigerian Faculties of law however helplessly accept these conditions and have somehow attuned themselves to them instead of thinking outside the box. Thus, we have Law Students who are not I.T Compliant, due to no fault of theirs, but because the system has not allowed them to be so. It is generally believed that learning in a conducive environment enables a student to assimilate much faster. When a student is taught in an environment where he has no access to information, relevant books, good lecture halls, basic amenities like electricity or water, he/she inevitably spends more time attending to issues well outside the ambit of what he is taught in school. Sadly, this is the lot of a good number of law students, particularly those who attend public schools. The effect such poor facilities have on Nigerian law students can be better imagined when one considers how well they perform when they travel abroad for further studies. It is thus obvious that Nigerian law students are held back from fully developing their potentials by poor facilities.

(e)    Incessant Industrial Actions

Like all institutions, it is inevitable that Nigerian Universities would experience industrial actions once in a while but what we have in Nigeria is a situation in which industrial actions have become the norm rather than the exception. A cursory look at the history of strikes undergone by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would reveal some appalling statistics.

In 1999, Nigerian Universities were closed for five months, in 2001, for three months, in 2003, for six months, 2007 for three months, 2009 for four months, in 2010 for five months, in 2011 for three months and currently as we speak, Nigerian Universities are on strike with the said strike having entered its fourth month.

The negative effects of these strikes are better imagined than stated but suffice it to state that it has become acceptable for parents to mentally add a couple of extra years to the number of years their wards are expected to  spend in the Universities upon admission. If a Nigerian Student were to gain admission into a University for instance, it would be wise to anticipate about 2 extra years to the 5 years that the student is expected to spend in the University. One could only imagine the effects that 2 extra years would have on a future lawyer. Some even go out of touch and only barely manage to pass exams. Apart from the facts highlighted above, the major effect of such strikes is that the victims lose their much coveted parity with their mates in private Universities. Beyond that however, law is a course that requires regular contact with books and a situation whereby a law student spends in total, about 2 years away from his books does not bode well for the student or the profession that he plans to join.

(f)    Insecurity

This problem of insecurity in Nigerian faculties of law is only limited to some Northern parts of the country where Universities and other institutions of learning have either been attacked or have come under the threat of attack at some point.

By and large, universities in Nigeria need a lot of work to conform to international standards. Consequently, faculties of law in Nigeria also need a lot of work in order to produce the kind of lawyers that the society needs.

Having addressed the problems faced by Nigerian faculties of law, we shall proceed to the Law School itself which is the final bus stop for law graduates who desire to wear the wig and gown.
(ii)    PROBLEMS OF THE NIGERIAN LAW SCHOOL

The Nigerian Law school which represents the pinnacle of Legal Education in Nigeria suffers from the following problems;

(a)    Disparity in sale of Forms
The Nigerian Law school issues Law School forms to Nigerian faculties of law depending on their standing with the Council of Legal Education. It is not uncommon for established faculties of law like the University of Lagos (UNILAG) Faculty of Law to have twice as many forms as less established faculties of law. In the past, this disparity in the sale of Law School forms was justifiable but in recent times these “less prestigious” faculties have also recorded outstanding performances at the Nigerian Law School. It is therefore no longer tenable for a faculty of law to rest on past laurels and the disparity needs to be revisited because the Law School owes a duty to ensure that the best students are admitted at all times. If one of the not so illustrious faculties of law has been performing well over a period of time, then it goes without saying, that the number of forms available to such a faculty must be increased while those of low or non-performing faculties of law should be reduced to prevent a situation whereby the Law School would have too many law graduates to manage. That way, a student with good potential would not be sidelined simply because he is from a less prestigious University while one who is less endowed intellectually gets to attend the law school because he is from a prestigious University.

(b)    Too many students to manage
While it is, on the face of it, a good idea to have as many lawyers as possible, it should not translate to the law school being inundated with too many students. It is not uncommon for a campus to have as many as 1, 500 (One Thousand Five Hundred) students. This does not allow for efficient teaching as students get to engage in other activities besides listening in class due to the sheer number of law graduates in the lecture hall. This in turn is reflected in the overall performance of the students in their Bar Final exams. The fact that the Nigerian law school is the only institution allowed to admit students from faculties of law also contributes to this problem. There are clamours for private law schools or an adoption of the American model where each University has its own law school.

In the UK, from the original four Inns of Court, there are now ten institutions that run the Bar Vocational Course.  According to Idornigie25

“Legal Training in the United Kingdom from which that of Nigeria evolved has changed.  Today, to become a Barrister in the UK, an aspirant undertakes the Bar Professional Training Course (Bar Vocational Course or BVC)26.   The BVC is a graduate course that is completed by those wishing to be called to the Bar, i.e. to practice as a barrister in England and Wales. The ten institutes that run the BVC27 along with the four Inns of Court are often collectively referred to as ‘Bar School’. This vocational stage is the second of the three stages of legal education, the first being the academic stage and the third being the practical stage, i.e., pupillage”

It is imperative that the Nigerian law school is not burdened with the sole responsibility of training law students so as to reduce the number of students that it has to manage. Private Law Schools can therefore be established for this purpose.

(c)    High Tuition Fees

This is one of the problems that some critics have complained of, although it must be established from the start that I do not consider it a problem. Recently, Bamidele Aturu, a Human Rights Lawyer sued the Council of Legal Education over what he termed “excessive and oppressive” tuition fees28. The suit, which was filed at the Federal High Court was dismissed on October 18, 2013. As earlier stated, I am of the view that Law School fees are not too high. Nothing good comes easy and one must be prepared to pay for a sound education, particularly legal education.

(d)    Lack of synergy with the faculties of law
As earlier stated, there appears to be a slight disconnect between what the law school wants and what it is given by Nigerian Universities. On the surface, it looks as though the provision of a strict curriculum for Nigerian faculties of law by the Council of Legal Education suffices but some of the Nigerian faculties of law take liberties with this curriculum, offering courses that could only be described as distractions. By the time these students, having graduated, get to the Nigerian law school, they meet a whole new world; one they had never imagined. This lack of synergy between the Nigerian Law School and faculties could also be identified as one of the reasons Nigerian law graduates fail at the law school, as the transition is not smooth enough. It is therefore important that the institutions of legal education cooperate and arrive at a meeting point.

6.    EFFECT OF PROBLEMS OF LEGAL EDUCATION ON LEGAL PRACTICE IN NIGERIA IN THE LAST 50 YEARS

Education is supposed to provide students with the general ability to think critically and independently and apply this line of independent thinking to the practical aspects of what they have been thought. This paper does not aim to create the impression that there is nothing good about legal education presently; it only aims to show us where we are and what can be done to improve it. The Nigerian legal education system has produced some of the best brains in legal practice all over the world in the last 50 years, but there is still room for improvement and the full utilization of the vast potential.

I feel highly uncomfortable commenting on the competence or otherwise of some of my colleagues at the Bar, but this must be said without mincing words. Since 1962, it seems the quality of lawyers turned out every year has been on the wane.

We have lawyers who cannot draft processes, who cannot speak good English and who argue illogically. A lawyer should stand out from the crowd, even if he/she is not in active legal practice. Sadly this is not restricted to junior lawyers. Even Lawyers of over 10 years’ post call experience do make these mistakes. The blame here lies largely on our training institutions, particularly our Law Faculties and the Nigerian Law School. The Law Faculties of Universities owe a duty to adequately prepare Nigerian Law Students for the largely procedural law that will be studied at the Nigerian Law School and encountered in practice. That way, the transition from substantive law to procedural law will not be too sudden. The law school, in turn, owes a duty to ensure that those who are eventually called to Bar are competent and can defend their Call to Bar Certificates at all times. Every year (sometimes once, sometimes twice) over 3, 000 (Three Thousand) lawyers are released into the society and it saddens me to say that many of them do not have a clue about what legal practice entails. In most cases, they have to be trained all over again by their prospective Chambers. From my own experience, and indeed from the experience of many of my colleagues, our offices in most cases become an extension of the Law School as we have to re-introduce these young lawyers to the basics of the legal profession. That high sense of ethical responsibility that once pervaded the legal profession has somehow been lost amidst all the fanfare and celebration that greets each admission of lawyers to the Nigerian Bar.

In the last three (3) years alone, two (2) Senior Advocates have been temporarily stripped of the prestigious rank. Something is obviously wrong with our noble profession. In the past, the disciplinary issues never involved Senior Advocates but now we have seen two (2) of our senior lawyers affected within three (3) years. Lawyers insult each other in court; there was even a reported case of two senior lawyers exchanging blows within the court premises. It is now the norm for senior lawyers to refer to our younger colleagues as “my juniors”. I refer to my younger colleagues as my colleagues. I sincerely hope I am not in the minority. This is a classic case of “physician heal thyself”. A lot of in-house cleansing needs to be done if we are to improve the quality of our lawyers29.

You could beat your chest firmly in the past and boast that lawyers would never be arrested or charged to court for the sort of crimes you would expect from an average lawless citizen but that is not the case now as the legal profession has been infiltrated by wolves in sheep’s clothing who could not care less about its Rules of Professional Conduct and old traditions. Lawyers now get arrested for crimes bordering on tampering with clients’ money. This was unthinkable in the past but it is now the norm. Something needs to be done about the system that produces our lawyers so that the society can return to seeing them as the social engineers that they are. The Legal Profession has therefore suffered from the problems experienced by the institutions of legal education, most especially:

·    Lack of synergy between the institutions.
·    Lack of basic facilities.
·    Too many students.
·    Industrial actions.
·    Lack of basic facilities.
·    Very few lecturers in faculties of law who actually practise law

7.    THE WAY FORWARD.

(a)    Synergy in curriculum between Nigerian Faculties of law and the Nigerian law school.

Over 70% of a Lawyer’s foundation is the job of the University he/she attends. It is therefore important that the Universities prepare a law student adequately for the complexities of legal practice. A lawyer must not only demonstrate intelligence and great wit, he is also supposed to be honest and above board. I am well aware of the fact that the issue is sometimes out of the hands of the Universities as the foundation of some students might have been severely damaged in Secondary School. Education in Nigeria is at its lowest ebb and even though the authorities are rising to the challenge, there is still a lot to do.

At the Law School, a law graduate is introduced to the ethics of the profession but one wonders if nine (9) months is not too short a period for this. The Law Faculties could be made to incorporate professional ethics into their curriculum over the five (5) sessions that a law student is expected to spend in the University. Overtime, the ethics of the profession become engraved in the minds of the law students who will most likely know them by heart by the time they graduate. This same solution could be applied to other aspects of law in which lawyers experience problems today. That way, the introduction to procedural law is gradual and not sudden. It should also be a pre-condition that a Law Student must be found worthy both in learning and in character before he/she is sent to the Nigerian Law School. This will go a long way in preparing law students for the side of law which is nothing like what they have learnt in the University.

(b)    More practising lawyers should be engaged as lecturers or part-time lecturers.

The Universities and to a lesser extent, the Nigerian Law School, are the factories in which an aspiring lawyer’s foundation is built. By the time law graduates proceed to the Nigerian Law School for the relatively short period (nine months) that they would be there, the seeds sown during their time at the University (where they spend about five years and in some cases, more) would have taken hold, molding them into the lawyers that they will be. The Nigerian Law School equips them for Legal Practice but what has been learnt for five years cannot be compared to what is learnt in nine months. The Faculties at the Universities therefore have a lot to do if they are to produce competent law graduates and by extension, competent lawyers. The Universities therefore have to ensure that more practising lawyers are employed as lecturers in their faculties. Periodic accreditation programmes by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Council for Legal Education (Nigerian Law School) would also help to ensure that the faculties of law have the requisite teaching personnel and the right learning environment for their law students30.

(c)    Separation of the Council of Legal Education from the Nigerian Law School

The Nigerian Law School as presently constituted is over centralized in terms of admission and examination. Although there is a Secretary to the Council of Legal Education and Chairman of the Council, the Director General of the Nigerian Law School virtually runs the Council.  This should not be the case.  It should be the other way round, that is, the Council running the law schools.  In any case, before the multi-campus system was introduced, there was no legislation providing for multi-campus.  It was merely an administrative fiat.

We believe that the Legal Education Act of 1962 is overdue for immediate review and amendment to provide for autonomous campuses and separation of the Council from the Law School31.

(d)    Private Law Schools And Institutions

At present, we have a total of one hundred and twenty eight Universities in the country. Fifty (50) out of this number are Private Universities, forty (40) are Federal universities while the remaining thirty eight (38) are State Universities. If private individuals or institutions, can run Universities, I do not see any reason private individuals or institutions cannot run Law Schools under the guidelines to be published by the Council of Legal Education and a central examination conducted by the Council. However, there must be strict regulations and accreditation of such Private Law Schools. This is more or less the practice in other climes, for example, the English system has moved from four Inns of Court to the creation of additional ten institutions for the training of lawyers.

(e)    Rating of Faculties

Faculties of law in Nigeria should be rated annually. This rating should be continuous with the parameters clearly stated. It should also be the basis upon which law school forms are issued to these faculties of law, regardless of their previous standing with the Council of Legal Education. This way, there would be competition which would only bode well for the legal profession in the long run as a favourable

(f)     Continuing Legal Education

Continuing legal education (CLE; also known as MCLE (mandatory or minimum continuing legal education)) is a professional education of lawyers that takes place after their initial admission to the bar. It is to ensure that lawyers remain professionally competent throughout their careers. In the United Kingdom for instance, a lawyer has to be assessed every year before he is allowed to practise. To remain competent, the lawyer has to stay in touch with the profession. All Nigerian Lawyers in legal practice or employment must comply with the Nigerian Bar Association’s Mandatory Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) Programme.

The Nigerian Bar Association Institute of Continuing Legal Education (ICLE) serves as the Continuing Legal Education regulatory authority for the NBA and the profession by providing the standards and scope for the MCLE programme. The institute is overseen by the Board of the Nigerian Bar Association’s Mandatory Continuing Legal Education and works closely with Nigerian Bar Association Sections and the various local branches at large in developing programs on Mandatory Continuing Legal Education.

In many states in the United States, Continuing Legal Education participation is required of attorneys to maintain their license to practise law. Continuing Legal Education requirements exist in many other jurisdictions, such as in Canada.

If we impose these same conditions here in Nigeria, we can be sure that any Lawyer who practises in Nigeria is not out of touch with the Profession32. This should be seen as a further contribution of legal education to the profession in Nigeria.

8.    CONCLUSION

There is no doubt that legal education in Nigeria has come a long way since the days of “igbosere”. We now have more campuses of the Nigerian law school than before, more faculties of law, more law students and by extension, more lawyers. This is an encouraging development but it is not enough that the period of 50 (fifty) years of legal education has brought us more lawyers, we also need to know that their quality is such that they can stand among the best in the world. This should be our collective objective. Today’s lawyer lacks adequate preparation for the basics of legal practice and this lack of preparedness stems from the problems already highlighted. There is a need to adjust legal education in Nigeria to be more in tune with what obtains in the developed parts of the world. Happily, there have been concerted efforts made by the current Leadership of the Nigerian Law School to address these problems, some of which were inherited.

We should aim not only to have as many lawyers as possible but also to have lawyers we can be proud of at all times; both intellectually and otherwise. We should be more forward thinking. What would legal education in Nigeria look like when it is 100 years old? Would it be better than it is presently or worse? These are the questions that should agitate our minds. Like I said earlier, it is not all gloom and doom. The profession has coped well after 50 years of legal education. We are not where we are supposed to be but we are also not where we were befor

9.    BIBLIOGRAPHY

Statutes referred to

1.    Legal Education (Consolidation, etc.) Act, Cap L10, LFN 2004.
2.    Legal Practitioners Act, Cap L11, LFN 2004.

Books Referred To
1.    Adewoye, O. The Legal Profession in Nigeria 1865-1977 (Lagos: Longman, 1977).
2.    Doherty O Legal Practice and Management in Nigeria (London: Cavendish Publishing Limited, 1998).
3.    Encylopaedia Brittanica 2003 Edition ISBN-10: 0852299613 | ISBN-13: 978-0852299616.
4.    Imhanobe S Lawyer’s Deskbook (Abuja: Temple Legal Consult, 2010).
Articles and Publications Referred To

1.    A Model Definition of the Practice of Law: If Not Now, When? An Alternative Approach To Defining the Practice of Law-Soha. F, Volume 61, Issue 4, Article 13, Washington and Lee Law Review. 9/1/2004.

2.    Address delivered by Dr Tahir Mamman, Director General of the Nigerian Law School at the Presentation of Candidates for Call to the Nigerian Bar at the International Conference Centre, Abuja on 14 February, 2012.

3.    Court Dismisses Aturu’s Suit on Law School’s Fees-This Day Newspaper, October 18, 2013.

4.    Democracy And Socio-Economic Imbalance in Nigeria: the role of law. Being the full text of a Keynote Address delivered at the Nigerian Bar Association (Benin Branch) Law Week On June 24, 2013 at  Fourteen Eighty Five Marquee, Edo Hotel Premises, No.4, Okada Drive, GRA, Benin City, Edo State. By Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama, MFR, SAN, FCIArb. (UK).

5.    Jurist: The Legal Education Network:  History of the Legal Profession in Nigeria. Prof. Yemisi Akinseye George, (now SAN) Acting Head and Senior Lecturer, Department of Public and International Law, University of Ibadan.

6.    Modernizing Legal Practice In Nigeria: Challenges And Prospects: Being The Full Text Of A Paper Delivered At The 2013 State Of The Legal Profession Lecture Of The Nigerian Institute Of Advanced Legal Studies (Nials) On August 06, 2013 At Shehu Musa Yar’adua Centre, Abuja By Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama, MFR, SAN, FCIArb. (UK)+

7.    mynlasportal.com (the Nigerian Law School’s official website) on Friday, September 27, 2013.

8.    Soha F Turfler A Model Definition of the Practice of Law: If Not Now, When? An Alternative Approach To Defining the Practice of Law- Volume 61, Issue 4, Article 13, Washington and Lee Law Review. 9/1/2004.

9.    The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin. October 5, 2010.

10.    Training to Become a Lawyer in Nigeria’ – Idornigie, P O being a Chapter Contribution to the book The Anatomy of the Legal Profession in Nigeria  published by the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, 2013

(Footnotes)
1
Now Legal Education (Consolidation, Etc) Act, Cap L10, LFN, 2004.
2 1962.
3 See the Address delivered by Dr Tahir Mamman, Director General of the Nigerian Law School at the Presentation of Candidates for Call to the Nigerian Bar at th
e International Conference Centre, Abuja on 14 February, 2012
4 See the Body of Benchers
’ Programme for the Call to the Nigerian Bar: 14 February, 2012 at page 5.
5  Soha F Turfler
A Model Definition of the Practice of Law: If Not Now, When? An Alternative Approach To Defining the Practice of Law
– Volume 61, Issue 4, Article 13, Washington and Lee Law Review. 9/1/2004.
6 See generally, Idornigie, P O
‘Training to Become a Lawyer in Nigeria
’ being a Chapter Contribution to the book
The Anatomy of the Legal P
rofession in Nigeria
published by the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, 2013
7 The words
‘lawyer
’ and
‘legal practitioner
’ are used interchangeably.  Indeed in the Legal Practitioners Act the word used and defined is
‘legal practitioner
’ while Rule 56 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners, 2007 defines the word
‘lawyer
’ by reference to the definition in the Act.
8 Ordinance No 4 of 1876.
9 These include experienced court clerks
10 See Supreme Court Ordinance No. 4 of 1876 that granted powers to the Chief Justice to admit persons to so practice.
11 Gray
’s Inn, Inner Temple, Lincoln
’s Inn and Middle Temple.
12 He was enrolled in England as Barrister in November 1879 and in Nigeria on 11 August, 1880.  He set up practice first in Accra which was then part of the Southern Protectorate of Nigeria and then Lagos.  He practised among self-taught attorneys.  Thereafter there were few legal practitioners who established practice in Lagos, Calabar, Onitsha and Warri as sole practitioners.
13 Adewoye Fn 20 at 16
14 Doherty Fn 20 at 7
15 Ordinance No. 6 of 1914
16 A qualified lawyer may either be a non-graduate barrister or solicitor or a graduate barrister or solicitor.  To qualify as barrister or solicitor, a person must possess Ordinary Level or its equivalent, join any of the four Inns of Court and pass the Bar Part I and II examinations or Law Society Examinations for Part I and II respectively.  The graduate lawyers enjoyed some privileges
– a person with a law degree having a minimum of Second Class Honours is exempted from Bar/Law Society Part I examination, enjoyed enhanced salary and served shorter period of pupilage.
17 The membership of the Committee were: E I G Unsworth (the Attorney General of the Federation), Chief F R A Williams (Attorney General, Western Nigeria), M O Ajegbo (Attorney General, Eastern Nigeria), G K O Amachree (Solicitor General of the Federation), I M Lewis (Solicitor General, Northern Nigeria) and the following legal practitioners: Alhaji Jibrin Martin, C A H Obafemi, Asuquo Okon, J M Udochi, Dr F A Ajayi and C O Nwokedi.
18 In 1962, one campus was established in Lagos but the Nigerian Law School now has campuses in Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Enugu, Yenogoa and Yola.
19 Now Legal Education (Consolidation, Etc) Act, Cap L10, LFN, 2004
20 The other enactment is the Legal Practitioners Act, Cap L11, LFN 2004.
21
PROBLEM OF LEGAL EDUCATION IN NIGERIA
–
Hon. Justice M.O. Onolaja, OFR, JCA, LLD, is the former Chairman of the Council of Legal Education
22 1962
23 Culled from the mynlasp
ortal.com (the Nigerian Law School
’s official website) on Friday, September 27, 2013.
24
MODERNIZING LEGAL PRACTICE IN NIGERIA: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS:
BEING THE FULL TEXT OF A PAPER DELIVERED AT THE 2013 STATE OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION LECTURE OF THE NIGERIAN INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED LEGAL STUDIES (NIALS) ON AUGUST 06, 2013 AT SHEHU MUSA YAR
’ADUA CENTRE, ABUJA  BY
CHIEFJOE-KYARI GADZAMA, MFR, SAN, FCIArb. (UK)
+

25 Idornigie Fn 21 at 5.
26
http://en.
wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bar
Professional Training Course accessed on 18 May, 2012
27 The ten institutions are:
BPP Law School
, London, BPP Law School, Leeds, University of the West of Engl
and, Bristol, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, The College of Law, London, the College of Law, Birmingham,  City Law School, London,  Manchester Metropolitan University,  Manchester, Northumbra University, Newcastle up
o
n Tyne  and Kaplan Law School, London
28
Court Dismisses Aturu’s Suit on Law School’s Fees-This Day Newspaper, October 18, 2013.

29
See Fn 25.
30
See Fn 25.
31
Supra See Fn 25.
32
Supra. See Fn 25.