The management of the Nigerian Law School is set to admit law graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) for Bar Part 11 training by the Council of Legal Education (CLE).
This followed years of rejection of law graduates from the university by CLE, which stated that NOUN was not accredited to offer Bachelors Degree in Law, a prerequisite to admitting their graduates for the Bar Final training and examinations.
However, following interventions by senior lawyers and members of the bench spanning several years and discussions at several fora, the NOUN law graduates were in 2020 given the opportunity to embark on a special remedial programme to test if actually, they are who they claim to be.
During the interventions, the Council of Legal Education (CLE) told NOUN that its students would be admitted to commence their journey towards becoming lawyers on the condition that it closes its law faculty and send a letter indicating that compliance has been effected to the Council.
It is not clear whether NOUN has closed its law faculty but Law & Society gathered that until the Council was recently dissolved by the federal government along with other statutory bodies, no letter of compliance was submitted.
This perhaps explains the stalemate after the completion of the Bar Part I programme in 2021 by students of NOUN.
However, the deadlock is finally over as the Nigerian Law School has now given the intending lawyers an opportunity for admission to the Bar Part 11 programme.
The average age of the NOUN Law graduates is about 55 years, indicating that all of them have come of age and maturity.
Investigations have revealed that several of them are Permanent Secretaries, Commissioners of Police or top-ranking military personnel, Directors, former members of the legislature, captains of industry, University professors, medical directors, and senior journalists, among others.
With a recent call for applications for admission into the Bar Part II Programme for the 2023/2024 Academic Session, it was gathered that the NOUN law graduates who possess requisite pre-Bar Part 11 training at the NLS have been cleared to apply for admission, thus, putting paid to over 15 years of frustration faced by some of them after obtaining the LLB and even LLM.
They will join law graduates from other Nigerian universities and those from Commonwealth countries who have successfully completed the mandatory Bar Part 1 for the vocational training.
A memo to that effect stated that the Bar Part 11 Programme “would be conducted simultaneously at the Nigerian Law School’s Headquarters in Bwari, FCT, and the various campuses across Nigeria, including Lagos, Enugu, Kano, Yenagoa, Yola, and Port Harcourt, starting from November 27, 2023.”
The memo states that:
“The programme is open to law graduates from Nigerian universities and foreign-trained law graduates who had successfully completed and passed the Bar Part I Course at the Nigerian Law School.
“Intending applicants have been requested to go to the Nigerian Law School website, www.nigerianlawschool.edu.ng, for instructions on procedure for application.
“All applicants are required to adhere to the guidelines provided to ensure a smooth application process.
“The application window will open on Monday, July 24, 2023. Prospective candidates are urged to submit their downloaded application forms, along with references, to the Nigerian Law School via their respective Faculties of Law on or before Friday, August 25, 2023.
“Applications received after this date will not be considered.
“For further inquiries, please contact: Nigerian Law School Headquarters, Bwari, FCT P.M.B. 170, Garki, Abuja Website: www.nigerianlawschool.edu.ng Email: info@nigerianlawschool.edu.ng Phone: +234 (0) 123456789.”
