The Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Dr Olugbemisola Titilayomi Odusote, has called for stakeholders to consider whether candidates who repeatedly fail the Bar Final examinations should be allowed unlimited opportunities to resit the examination.
Odusote made the remarks on Thursday while presenting the report of the Council of Legal Education at the Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Addressing concerns over candidates who have failed the Bar Final examination several times, the DG questioned whether there should be a limit to the number of attempts permitted.
She said stakeholders might need to determine whether candidates should continue to sit for the examination indefinitely or whether a fixed number of attempts should be established.
“More than four times. And so maybe we need to also advise if there is, I mean, if we are not comfortable with this number, whether, I mean, it should be an indefinite attempt at the Bar, or we have a particular number of attempts, and then if they are not successful at the Bar Final, then maybe the Bar is not for them at this point in time. They can explore other professions,” she said.
Odusote, however, clarified that no new policy had been introduced to limit the number of Bar Final examination attempts, describing the matter as an issue for consideration in view of candidates who have repeatedly sat the examination without success.
The Law School DG also raised concerns about the treatment of students posted to law firms and courts under the institution’s externship programme.
According to her, feedback from the recently concluded portfolio assessment indicated that some students were not adequately engaged by lawyers and law firms during their placements. She added that some students also returned without the required confidential reports.
Odusote described the externship as a form of practical pupillage designed to expose aspiring lawyers to the realities of legal practice and urged practitioners to take the responsibility seriously.
She warned that students who fail the portfolio assessment could still be permitted to sit the Bar Final examinations, but their results would be withheld until they repeat the required component.
“Those who fail the portfolio assessment would write the Bar Final exams, but their results will be withheld until they go back to repeat,” she said.
She also urged law firms to accurately report students who fail to attend their placements instead of shielding them from the consequences of absenteeism.
“If they do not come, report that they were absent for 80—I mean 80 percent. They didn’t make the attendance. They only came 20 percent. We will take it up, and then we will refer them the next year,” she said.
Turning to infrastructure, Odusote appealed to the Nigerian Bar Association to support the Nigerian Law School by providing hostel accommodation across its campuses.
She said some campuses were in deplorable condition, while others were overstretched, partly because of the high demand for placements in locations such as Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt.
“Some campuses are in deplorable condition. Some campuses are overstretched,” she said.
“If we have NBA hostels in these campuses, then it will ease the plight of those who are coming to join us this time next year.”
The DG urged the NBA and other stakeholders to regard investment in legal education as part of their responsibility to the profession.
“So I think part of giving back to society is that we should let charity begin at home and come back to the Nigerian Law School and help us,” she said.
Odusote also disclosed that the Federal Capital Territory Administration, under Minister Nyesom Wike, had supported the Nigerian Law School with land documentation and residential accommodation.
She said the FCT Minister facilitated the issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy and provided 10 four-bedroom bungalows for the institution. Construction of an additional 10 bungalows has also commenced, with the intervention expected to eventually reach 32 units.
The AGM also considered the persistent challenge of universities admitting Law students beyond the quotas approved by the Council of Legal Education.
Responding to a question on which body has the authority to sanction universities that exceed their approved admission quotas, Odusote said the Council of Legal Education had the power to do so and was already exercising it.
“The Council of Legal Education has the power to sanction, and we are sanctioning,” she said.
She explained that excess admissions had contributed significantly to the backlog of Law graduates awaiting admission into the Nigerian Law School.
Odusote consequently advised parents and prospective students to make proper inquiries before accepting admission into university Law programmes, particularly concerning accreditation status and approved admission quotas.
The discussion also examined whether the Nigerian Law School curriculum was adequately keeping pace with artificial intelligence, technology and other developments in modern legal practice.
Responding to concerns over students’ exposure to emerging technologies, Odusote said curriculum review was an ongoing process but stressed that the approximately six-month Law School programme could not be solely responsible for producing fully equipped legal practitioners.
“The issue of revamping our curriculum, it is a continuous thing,” she said.
She maintained that universities, the Nigerian Law School and practising lawyers must collectively contribute to developing competent and technologically prepared legal practitioners.
The DG further expressed concern that some practising lawyers undermine aspects of the training students receive at the Law School after they enter the profession, particularly in areas such as professional dressing, ethics and other soft skills.
She urged practitioners to reinforce the professional standards taught at the Nigerian Law School rather than disregard them in practice.
Odusote said closer cooperation among the Council of Legal Education, the Nigerian Law School, universities, the NBA and individual practitioners would be essential to improving the quality of lawyers entering the profession.
Following her presentation and responses to questions from NBA members, the Council of Legal Education’s report was formally moved for adoption and seconded at the AGM.