The Federal Government has condemned universities for what it described as the ‘flagrant disobedience’ of admission quotas approved for their law programmes.
It blamed the institutions for the difficulties faced by graduates seeking admission to the Nigerian Law School.
The Council of Legal Education (CLE), which oversees the Nigerian Law School, said many public and private universities had continued to admit students beyond their approved quotas, allegedly putting profit ahead of the interests of law students.
Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Dr Olugbemisola Titilayomi Odusote, stated this while presenting the CLE report at the Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) during its Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Odusote said the Nigerian Law School should not be blamed for the inability of some university graduates to secure immediate admission into the institution after completing their LL.B programmes.
She said: ‘The Nigerian Law School is not the architect of the difficulty presently being encountered by university graduates.
‘If there is any quarter to blame for students’ inability to gain admission instantly into the Nigerian Law School, even after a phenomenal performance at their LL.B programmes, such blame absolutely lies on the universities that have created this monster.’
According to her, several universities, both private and public, had ‘presumptuously, arrogantly and disrespectfully disobeyed’ the quotas prescribed and approved by the CLE.
She alleged that some institutions regarded the running of law programmes primarily as a means of generating revenue, leaving students stranded after completing their degrees.
‘Many of them see the running of their institutions as a lucrative avenue for raking in finances at the expense of the unsuspecting candidates admitted into them, only to leave them hanging at the completion of their programmes,’ she said.
The CLE chief urged stakeholders to condemn what she described as the flagrant violation of approved quotas, while calling for enforcement of sanctions against institutions that breached the rules.
‘We must all boldly condemn the flagrant disobedience of given quotas,’ she said.
Odusote also commended the NBA for its interventions, public statements and assistance towards enforcing the CLE’s sanctions against universities that violate admission quotas.
She said the Nigerian Law School had continued to discharge its statutory responsibility of providing practical training for persons aspiring to become legal practitioners in Nigeria.
According to her, academic sessions at the institution have continued uninterrupted over the years, without strikes or other disruptions capable of affecting learning activities.
She also rejected recent calls for the scrapping of the Nigerian Law School, describing such demands as unwarranted and lacking merit.
6,010 pass December Bar Final
The CLE report also gave an account of candidates’ performance in the December 2025 Bar Final Examinations.
A total of 7,601 candidates sat for the examinations, with 6,010 emerging successful.
Of the successful candidates, 212 made First Class, 1,216 graduated with Second Class Upper Division, 2,958 obtained Second Class, while 1,617 graduated with a Pass.
Odusote attributed the performance to the commitment and work ethic of Nigerian Law School staff, as well as the hard work of the students.
50.3% fail May resit
The report showed a significantly poorer performance in the May 2026 Resit Examinations.
Of the 1,995 candidates who sat for the examinations, 883, representing 45.3 per cent, passed, while 55 candidates, or 2.8 per cent, recorded conditional passes.
A total of 983 candidates, representing 50.3 per cent, failed, while 32 candidates, or 1.6 per cent, were absent.
Odusote attributed the below-average performance partly to the fact that some candidates had attempted the Bar Final Examinations more than twice.
She also said some students failed to take advantage of the Nigerian Law School’s revision programme.
According to her, although the School requires students to attain 70 per cent attendance at the eight-week revision classes, some candidates preferred materials provided by individuals outside the institution who claimed to offer better teaching than Nigerian Law School staff.
She stressed that the School’s revision classes were designed to prepare candidates adequately for the Bar Final Examinations and urged students to make proper use of the academic support provided by the institution.