Senior lawyers clashed on Monday over a proposal to abolish the Nigerian Law School during the 2026 Legal Education Summit hosted by the Nigerian Bar Association.
According to a report by Punch Newspaper, Prof. Uchefula Chukwumaeze, SAN, Vice Chancellor of Imo State University, said the Law School has outlived its purpose. He urged the Council of Legal Education to stop running it and focus only on setting standards for admission to the Bar.
Citing the US and UK models, Chukwumaeze said universities should handle training while professional bodies manage accreditation and examinations. He proposed transferring training to accredited university law faculties through a seven-year program: five years of study, one year for Bar Part 2, and one year of internship. The Council would conduct the final Bar exams, similar to WAEC and NECO.
He also called for removing the mandatory Literature in English requirement and fixed JAMB subject combinations. Candidates would need credits in English and three other subjects, with standards set jointly by the Council and the National Universities Commission.
The proposal drew opposition. Dr. Olugbemisola Odusote, Director of the Nigerian Law School, said it was misplaced. She warned that letting universities train students for seven years without proper oversight could harm the profession, noting that some NUC-accredited universities are not approved by the Council to run law programs.
Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN, Chairman of the Council of Legal Education, rejected the comparison with WAEC and JAMB. He said legal education coordination should not be open to all and stressed that the goal is reform, not dismantling the system. He urged the NBA to support existing law schools and noted that past summit recommendations have often gone unimplemented.
Other speakers backed reform. Prof. Joash Amupitan, SAN, Chairman of INEC, said the summit was timely for improving the quality and global competitiveness of legal training. Mr. John Akintayo, President of the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers, said academics must be included as stakeholders.
NBA President Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, supported reform and suggested shortening the duration of legal studies. He said practical, focused university training could yield better results in three years and noted that the growing number of law graduates and limited Law School capacity may force a review.
The summit brought stakeholders together to assess legal education and propose steps to make it more relevant to Nigeria’s evolving legal and economic needs.