NBA pushes practice-ready, tech-driven lawyers
By Rashidat Kabiru/ Ibironke Ariyo
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has called for a radical rethink of the country’s law training system to produce technologically driven, globally competitive and practice-ready lawyers.
The NBA president, Mazi Afam Osigwe made the call during the official launch of the NBA standard and rules on legal education at the 2026 Legal Education summit on Monday in Abuja.
Osigwe declared that Nigeria’s legal education system must urgently evolve to meet the realities of a rapidly changing world shaped by technology, globalisation, and emerging legal complexities.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the summit, themed “Advancing Legal Education Reform in Nigeria: Progress, Problems and Prospects,” brought together senior lawyers, judges, academics, policymakers and law students to chart a new direction for legal training in the country.
Osigwe said legal education remains the backbone of the justice delivery system and warned that the future of Nigeria’s legal profession depends largely on the quality of training received by lawyers.
“A lawyer can only be as good as the system of legal education that produced him,” he said.
Osigwe lamented the poor state of practical legal training in the country, revealing that less than 35 per cent of young lawyers in major cities have meaningful access to pupillage and structured mentorship after being called to the Bar.
“Legal education must move away from rote learning toward practical, problem-solving and student-participation models such as moot courts, workshops and case-study methods,”he maintained.
The NBA president suggested that Nigeria may eventually abandon the present compulsory in-campus Nigerian Law School model due to rising costs and increasing admission pressure.
“We should prepare for a day when the present system of in-campus training at the Nigerian Law School may be jettisoned,” he emphasised.
In his welcome remarks, the Chairman, NBA Legal Education Committee, Prof. Damilola Olawuyi, said the legal profession worldwide had undergone a dramatic transformation.
Olawuyi added that it made it imperative for Nigeria to produce lawyers equipped with skills in artificial intelligence, project management, data analytics and entrepreneurship.
He disclosed that the NBA had spent the last two years consulting stakeholders through regional town hall meetings, webinars and surveys to gather recommendations for reform.
He said the consultations culminated in two major policy documents unveiled at the summit, the NBA Standards and Rules on Legal Education and a special journal publication on legal education and sustainable development.
“Repositioning legal education has become a national priority because of the strategic role lawyers play in governance, justice delivery and socio-economic development,”he said.
Also, Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Dr Titilayo Odusote, also raised concerns over declining mentorship culture in the profession.
Odusote lamented that many law firms merely isolate law school interns in conference rooms instead of exposing them to real legal practice and professional engagement.
She disclosed that the Nigerian Law School does not benefit from TETFund intervention despite its strategic role in legal training.
She, however, said the institution has introduced quality assurance mechanisms to strengthen standards and urged successful senior lawyers to support their alumni and invest in the future of legal education.
Other stakeholders at the summit agreed that without urgent and comprehensive reforms, Nigeria risks producing lawyers ill-equipped for the demands of a modern legal and business environment.
The high point of the event was the formal presentation and launch of the NBA Standards and Rules on Legal Education by the President of the NBA.
