The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has warned that the growing disregard for university law admission quotas is straining the Nigerian Law School, causing overcrowding and putting pressure on its facilities.
Speaking on Sunday, NBA President Afam Osigwe (SAN) stated that many universities are admitting law students far beyond the approved limits, resulting in more graduates than the Law School can accommodate. He described the surge as a “serious systemic problem” that has forced the school to expand its annual intake.
“The proliferation of universities and the increasing demand for law courses, coupled with abuse of the quota system, has created a backlog of graduates. People struggle to get into the Law School, and this impacts the quality of training and professional standards,” Osigwe said.
He also explained restrictions on guest invitations at the Call to Bar ceremonies. At the last sessions, approximately 5,728 candidates were admitted over three days, with an additional 4,429 being called in September. “The hall has limited capacity. Safety and crowd control concerns make it impossible to allow more than one guest per graduate,” he said.
Osigwe called for urgent reforms to align university admissions with the Law School’s capacity, stressing that unchecked intake could compromise both infrastructure and the quality of legal training.
The Call to Bar formally admits law graduates as barristers and solicitors after they have completed vocational training and passed the Council of Legal Education examinations.
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