Nigerian Law School Admission Requirements, How To Check Result And All You Need To Know

The Nigerian Law School (NLS) is a body governed by the Council of Legal Education under the close supervision of the Body of Benchers. It is the highest qualifying body for lawyers as well as a one year rigorous programme that qualifies law graduates in Nigeria with the Barrister at Law (BL) degree. The Law School headquarters is at Bwari, Abuja with five branches in Victoria Island, Lagos; Yenagoa, Bayelsa State; Agbani, Enugu State; Kano State and in Yola the Adamawa State Capital. Graduates of Law cannot appear before any court in Nigeria until they pass the qualifying examination at the Law School.

Even though the Law School has campuses in these five States and the Federal Capital Territory, the curriculum is the same throughout the Law School and the examinations taken are the same with a single academic calendar running throughout all six campuses. Graduating from the Law School is the dream of every law student and upon such graduation, a ceremony is conducted by the Body of Benchers called the Call to Bar ceremony where successful graduants are accepted into the bar by members of the Bench, who are senior judges, and the Council of Legal Education.

Graduants typically cannot put on their wigs before they are asked to do so and a dinner is conducted for them after the Call Ceremony.

Admission Requirements At The Nigerian Law School

To qualify to apply to the law school:

You must be a graduate of law from a recognised University in Nigeria or other common law countries.
If you studied abroad, you will need to apply for the Bar Part I programme at the law school before being admitted to the Bar Part II programme. Nigerian graduates are automatically admitted into the Bar Part II programme.
You must qualify to attend the law school at your University. All Universities in Nigeria have a slot allocated to them at the law school and in a situation where the graduating students are more than the slots available, candidates will be sent to the law school by priority. The University will use their results to allocate them with the least qualifying students getting to the law school last.
Candidates from civil law countries like Benin Republic are generally unqualified to attend the Nigerian Law School and have been accepted only on one occassion where remedial courses were conducted for them.

This arrangement is because the laws are different by countries and Nigeria practises the law in England which is the common law. All countries that do not practise the common law practise civil law with a different curriculum and set of laws.

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To Qualify To Study Law At A Nigerian University

The first step to qualifying to apply to the Nigerian Law School is qualifying to study law at a Nigerian University or another common law University. In order to qualify to study Law in a Nigerian University, you should note the following:

You must pass your O’level examinations with five credits including in English, Mathematics, Literature and Government.
You must pass your Jamb examinations with English, Literature, Christian Religious Studies or Islamic Religious Studies and Government as your subject combination.
You must score fifty per cent or more in your post UTME.

On getting to the law school, students will need to pass their multi choice questions test and bar examinations as well as attend three dinners before they qualify for the call.

How To Check Law School Result

To check your law school result for Bar Part I or Bar Part II:

Log into the law school website at www.nigerianlawschool.edu.ng
Click on Bar final
Click on check result
Insert your examination number and your surname
Your result will pop up on the screen and you can now print.
If you passed the examinations, your result slip will come with your Call to Bar date.

The Nigerian Law School Curriculum is daunting but the entire experience is worthwhile.