SPONSORED BY SENATOR SMART ADEYEMI (CON) – Kogi West
Mr. President, Chairman of Senate Committee on judiciary, invited guests and Distinguished Colleagues, you are all welcome to the public hearing of a Bill which seeks to amend the Legal Education (consolidation etc.) Act by establishing the Campuses of the Nigerian Law School, and for other related matters.
It should be noted that the Nigerian Law School was established in Lagos under the Legal Education Act 1962 which is now Legal Education (Consolidation Etc) Act Cap. L10, Laws of the Federation, 2004. From 1962 up till December 1997 the Law School remained in Lagos but the School was relocated to Bwari in Abuja in December 1997 following a Federal Government directive.
Mr. President, Chairman and members of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, invited guests, the Nigerian Law School developed a Multi-Campus structure in 1999 and the original premises in Lagos became the Lagos Campus of the Nigerian Law School.
The Nigerian Law School is a tertiary institution set up to provide a Nigerian Legal Education to law graduates of Nigeria Universities and to foreign Law graduates to provide practical training for aspiring Legal Practitioners in Nigeria. Before the establishment of the School in 1962, Legal Practitioners in Nigeria had received the requisite training in England and had been called to the English Bar.
The Nigerian Law School later established four other Campuses so as to accommodate the increasing number of Law Students that graduated yearly from Nigerian Universities, many of who had to wait for years after graduation before they could secure admission into the only two Campuses that existed as at then. The four additional Law School Campuses includes:-
- Enugu Law School Campus
- Bayelsa Law School Campus
- Kano Law School Campus
- Yola Law School Campus.
The six Law School Campuses were also strategically located in such a way as to ensure that each Geopolitical Zone of Nigeria got one Campus. This initiative is in furtherance of the deliberate and decisive resolve to keep Nigeria united by giving every section of the country the expected sense of belonging.
Mr. President, Distinguished Colleagues, the Nigerian Law School offer Courses in Criminal Litigation, Civil Litigation, Corporate Law Practice, Professional Ethics and Skills, as well as Property Law Practice. Nigerian Law School has graduated over 70,000 students, many of whom are now successful Lawyers, Judges, Solicitors and Politicians. Anyone who has obtained a University Degree in Law and wants to practice as a Lawyer in Nigeria must attend the Nigerian Law School, the Council of Legal Education then gives Certificates to Students who pass the Bar Part II Examinations, and such students are then called to Bar.
As at when the need arose to increase the number of Nigerian Law School Campuses to six, less than 20 Nigerian Universities had Law Faculties, mostly Federal Universities. Today, the number of Nigerian Universities that has Law Faculties has increased to about 60 which comprised of Federal Universities, State Universities, and Private Universities, ladies and gentlemen, invited guests, this figure above is ever increasing.
Distinguished Colleagues, according to the admission quota of Law Students allocated to all this Universities per year, 5640 students are admitted yearly into their Law Faculties. The implication of this data is that, about 5500 Law Graduates are produced from the 55 Universities yearly, in Nigeria not taking into consideration about 1000 law graduates from foreign countries.
It should be noted that while the records of the Nigerian Law School indicates that it has the capacity to admit 6510 Students yearly, which ordinarily would have been adequate to accommodate all prospective Law Graduates from the Universities, unfortunately less than or about 70 Percent yearly performance of the Law School has over several years accumulated about 30 Percent failure yearly. This record implies that about 2000 of the 6510 admitted yearly have to repeat the School for another year, with no automatic guarantee of making it on the second attempt.
A five year analysis of this spillover of about 2000 students amounts to 10,000, while it builds up to 20,000 over a period of 10 years.
Mr. President, Distinguished Colleagues, invited guests, Legal luminaries, the consequences of the situation narrated above carries negative financial, psychological, emotional, social and productivity implications on the Law Graduates from Universities, their parents, the economy and government of Nigeria. In the last 5 years or more, Law Graduates are made to wait for between 2 to 4 years, awaiting admission into the Nigerian Law School, due to lack of vacancy to admit them into the few Campuses available.
Much as the standard of the Nigerian Law School has been one of the best across the globe, any attempt to stretch its admission Capacity beyond its facilities and human resources will be counterproductive as it will negatively affect the welfare and performance of the students. Also, to allow the present situation persist for the next few more years will spell doom for this nation in several ways.
In view of the imminent disaster in our legal industry, this amendment to the Nigerian Council of Legal Education is to encourage the Federal Government of Nigeria to increase the number of Campuses of the Nigerian Law School to 12, at the minimum, by establishing additional one each in the 6 Geopolitical Zones of Nigeria.
As a politician and a journalist, I can confidently say that I know all the towns that have been proposed and indeed all States of the Federation. On this premise, the proposed Campuses of the Nigerian Law Schools, and their locations are:- - North Central
a. Bwari Law School Campus, Abuja
b. Kabba Law School Campus, Kogi (Kabba is a peaceful community and the home of intellectuals). - North East
a. Yola Law School Campus, Adamawa
b. Maiduguri Law School Campus, Borno (Maiduguri people are very peace loving and hospitable people). - North West
a. Kano Law School Campus, Kano
b. Argungu Law School Campus, Kebbi (Highly enterprising and God fearing people). - South East
a. Enugu Law School Campus, Enugu
b. Okija Law School Campus, Anambra (Okija people are peace loving, receptive, caring and honest people. It is also Home of intellectuals). - South South
a. Yenegoa Law School Campus, Bayelsa
b. Orogun Law School Campus, Delta ( A peaceful and bless land which is conducive for learning). - South West
a. Lagos Law School Campus, Lagos
b. Ilawe Law School Campus, Ekiti ( Hospitable, and the bed rock of Legal luminary)
The proposed Campuses are towns and cities conducive for learning. I therefore urge my respected colleagues, invited guests, to support this Bill so as to rescue the future of Nigerian youths, i.e. the intending Lawyers, to save parents from the burden of prolonged dependency, and to also reposition the Nigerian Law School for optimal service delivery. Thank you.
Distinguished Senator Smart Adeyemi (CON)
Representing Kogi West Senatorial District.
