The Nigerian Law School is an educational institution set up by the Government of Nigeria in 1962 to provide a Nigerian legal education to foreign-trained lawyers, and to provide practical training for aspiring Legal Practitioners in Nigeria. Until the school was established, legal practitioners in Nigeria had received the requisite training in England and had been called to the English Bar.

Curriculum

The Law School offers course in criminal and civil litigation, property and corporate law, as well as a course in ethics. Over 70,000 students have graduated from the Nigerian Law School. Anyone who has obtained a University degree in law and wants to practice as lawyers in Nigeria must attend the Nigerian Law School. The Council of Legal Education gives certificates to students who pass the Bar Part II examinations, and these students are then called to the Bar.

Locations

Its campus in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

was set up in 1962, moving to its current location in 1969. The law school headquarters was relocated to the town of Bwari near

Abuja Abuja () is the capital and eighth most populous city of Nigeria. Situated at the centre of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), it is a planned city built mainly in the 1980s based on a master plan by International Plann ...

in 1997. At the time of the move, hostels and the main auditorium were still under construction. The town had no hospital, no telephone and banking services, and the school was constructing its own borehole to provide potable water. The Augustine Nnamani Campus is located in

Agbani Agbani is located in Nkanu West Local Government area of Enugu State, Nigeria. It is home to the diverse Eke Market and several institutions of learning such as the Nigerian Law School, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Renaissance ...

Enugu State Enugu State ( ig, Ȯra Enugu) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the south, and Anambra State to the west. T ...

. A fourth campus is located in Bagauda,

Kano State Kano State (Hausa: ''Jihar Kano''جىِهَر كَنوُ) (Fula: Leydi Kano 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤳𞤢𞤲𞤮𞥅 ) is one of the 36 states of Nigeria, located in the northern region of the country. According to the national census done in ...

. There are two additional campuses now which brings it to a total of 6 campuses. One in Yenegoa, Bayelsa State and the sixth in Yola, Adamawa State.

Notable alumni

Abdullahi Adamu Abdullahi Adamu (born 23 July 1946) was governor of Nasarawa State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. He is a member and newly elected chairman of the ruling Party All progressives congress (APC). Background Abdullahi Adamu was born ...

, governor of

Nasarawa State Nasarawa State is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria, bordered to the east by the states of Taraba and Plateau, to the north by Kaduna State, to the south by the states of Kogi and Benue, and to the west by the Federal Capital Ter ...

* Senator Godswill Akpabio, governor of

Akwa Ibom State Akwa Ibom State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered on the east by Cross River State, on the west by Rivers State and Abia State, and on the south by the Atlantic Ocean. The state takes its name from the Qua Iboe ...

* Issifu Omoro Tanko Amadu, justice of the Supreme Court of Ghana * Sullivan Chime, governor of

* Kayode Ajulo - Administrator, Arbitrator, Lawyer, * Solomon Dalung, Minister of Youth and Sports *

Oladipo Diya Donaldson Oladipo Diya (born 3 April 1944) is a Nigerian general who served as Chief of the General Staff, (''de facto'' Vice President of Nigeria) under military head of state General Sani Abacha from 1994 until his arrest for treason in 1997. ...

, Chief of General Staff *

Donald Duke Donald Duke (born 30 September 1961 in Calabar) is a Nigerian politician. He was the Governor of Cross River State, Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007 and the 2019 Nigeria Presidential candidate for Social Democratic Party, SDP. Persona ...

, governor of

Cross River State ) , image_map = Nigeria - Cross River.svg , map_alt = , map_caption = Location of Cross River State in Nigeria , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint ...

* Kanayo O. Kanayo, actor *

Alex Ekwueme Alexander Ifeanyichukwu Ekwueme (21 October 1932 – 19 November 2017) was the first elected Vice President of Nigeria from 1979 to 1983 during the Second Nigerian Republic serving under President Shehu Shagari as a member of the National Pe ...

, first elected

Vice President of Nigeria The vice president of Nigeria is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the federal government of Nigeria, after the president of Nigeria, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. Officially styled vice presiden ...

Abba Kyari Abba Kyari (23 September 1952 – 17 April 2020) was a Nigerian lawyer who served as Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria from August 2015 to April 2020. Early life Kyari was born on 23 September 1952, to a Shuwa Arab family fr ...

, Chief of Staff to President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

from 2015 *

Simon Lalong Simon Lalong CON (born 5 May 1963 in Shendam, Plateau State) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician, who is the incumbent Governor of Plateau State, Nigeria. Education After his elementary and secondary schools education in Shendam Local Gover ...

, governor of

Plateau State Plateau State is the twelfth-largest Nigerian state. It is in the centre of the country includes a range of hills surrounding the Jos Plateau, its capital, and the entire plateau itself. Plateau State is described as "The Home of Peace and To ...

Tahir Mamman Professor Tahir Mamman OON, SAN is a Senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN). Educational administrator and the Director-general of the Nigeria Law School from 2005 to 2013. He was the pioneer Head of Nigeria Law school Kano which is the First law sc ...

, Professor of law, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and director-general of Nigeria Law School from 2005 to 2013 *

Richard Mofe-Damijo Richard Eyimofe Evans Mofe-Damijo (born 6 July 1961), popularly known as RMD, is a Nigerian actor, writer, producer, lawyer, and former journalist. He was also a former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in Delta State in 2009. In 2005, he wo ...

, actor *

Lai Mohammed Layiwola "Lai" Mohammed (born 6 December 1951) is a Nigerian lawyer and politician. He is currently the Minister of Information and Culture, a position he has held since November 2015. He is also the former National publicity secretary of the ...

, Minister of Information * Mary Odili, Justice of the

Supreme Court of Nigeria The Supreme Court of Nigeria (SCN) is the highest court in Nigeria, and is located in the Central District, Abuja, in what is known as the Three Arms Zone, so called due to the proximity of the offices of the Presidential Complex, the National Ass ...

and former First Lady of

Rivers State Rivers State, also known as Rivers, is a state in the Niger Delta region of southern Nigeria (Old Eastern Region). Formed in 1967, when it was split from the former Eastern Region, Rivers State borders include: Imo to the north, Abia and Akwa Ib ...

* Bianca Ojukwu, Nigerian ambassador to Spain * Chris Okewulonu, Chief of Staff to

Imo State Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a States of Nigeria, state in the South East (Nigeria), South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its n ...

Government *

Kenneth Okonkwo Kenneth Okonkwo (born November 6, 1968) is a Nigerian actor, lawyer and politician, known for his role in the movie '' Living in Bondage'' as Andy Okeke. Career In 2013 he won the African Movie Academy Award on a Special Recognition of Pillars ...

, actor * Tim Owhefere, Nigerian politician *

Umaru Shinkafi Umaru Shinkafi (19 January 1937 – 6 July 2016) was a Nigerian intelligence chief, and Federal Commissioner of Internal Affairs. He was a presidential aspirant during the Third Nigerian Republic. Early career Umaru Shinkafi's father Ali Bisije ...

, Federal Commissioner of Internal Affairs *

Gabriel Suswam Gabriel Torwua Suswam (born 15 November 1964) is a Nigerian politician and former governor of Benue State. He is a Senator of the 9th assembly, of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Early life and education Gabriel Suswam was born on 15 Novemb ...

, governor of

Benue State Benue State is one of the North Central states in Nigeria with a population of about 4,253,641 in 2006 census. The state was created in 1976 among the 7 states created at that time.The state derives its name from the Benue River which is th ...

* Edwin Ume-Ezeoke, Speaker of the

Nigerian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Nigeria's bicameral National Assembly. The Senate is the upper chamber. The House of Representatives has 360 members who are elected in single-member constituencies using the plurality ( ...

during the Second Republic

News

In August 2009, a legal practitioner Asbayir Abubakar called for reductions in the fees paid at the Nigerian Law School in order to accommodate the less-privileged into the legal profession. In November 2009, the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Prof

SAN, said that ''students who passed through unauthorized law faculties would not be admitted into the Nigerian Law School. He said the Council of Legal Education will refer law Professors and teachers managing illegal law faculties to the disciplinary committee of the Body of Benchers''. This is why Prof

SAN is referred to as the most successful Director General since the inception of the institution. Mr O. A. Onadeko the previous Deputy Director General of the Lagos Campus served as the Director General of the Nigerian Law School from 2013 to 2018. In February 2018 Prof.

Isa Chiroma Isa Hayatu Chiroma (13 April 1963) is Nigeria legal practitioner and professor of law at the University of Maiduguri. In February 2018, he is appointed as the Director General of the Nigeria Law School by Muhammadu Buhari. He replaced Professor Ol ...

was appointed as the new Director General The Nigeria Law School is one of the most prestigious and credible institutions in Nigeria.

References

{{authority control 1962 establishments in Nigeria Educational institutions established in 1962 Nigerian Law School

Curriculum

Locations

Notable alumni

News

See also

References