The Future of Legal Education in Nigeria

Abstract

Legal education in Nigeria is patterned after the System in England except whereas lawyers in England are solicitors or barristers, all lawyers in Nigeria qualify and can practice as both barristers and solicitors. Legal education in Nigeria consists of academic study for 4 to 5 years (depending on the mode of entry) in a law faculty and a year in the Law School followed by call to the Nigerian Bar and enrollment as a legal practitioner at the Supreme Court.It is the National Universities Commission (NUC) that has established minimum academic standards for the conferment of law degrees (LL.B). Likewise, the Council of Legal Education established requirement which a law degree must satisfy before it can qualify its holder for admission into the Nigerian Law School for a BL. This therefore subjects Law faculties to two accreditations: - one by the NUC and another by the Council of Legal Education (CLE).In recent times, there has been growing concerns about the deteriorating state of Nigeria’s educational system stemming from the quality of our university graduates, which has become less than satisfactory and the law graduates are no exception. Hence the growing demand for reforms not only in legal education but of the entire educational system in Nigeria.It is against this background that this paper seeks to achieve the following objectives: -i. To highlight the purpose and underscore the value of legal education to national development and to the legal profession in Nigeria;ii. To identify the ways of improving the quality of legal education and that of young lawyers in Nigeria;iii. To articulate the way forward for the future of legal education in Nigeria.