Nigerian Law School

The reason I came to Nigeria was to go to the Law School. When I was in the States I found the entire application process to be quite difficult, mainly because I did not know what the application process or how the whole law school thing worked in Nigeria. So since I’ve gone through the process, I figured I should pass on the acquire knowledge. Let’s get started.

The Structure of Nigerian Law School

Law school in Nigeria is generally one year, if you studied law in college. In Nigeria, unlike the U.S you are given the options to get a Bachelors Degree in the study of law. This is generally known as an LL.B. If you receive this degree, you are required to attend one year (9 months of law school). This 9-month program is known as Bar Part II. However, if you did not get a law degree in college you would be required to do a 2-year law program. For those of us who have Juris Doctors (or the foreign equivalent), we are required to do a 12-month program in order to achieve lawyer status in Nigeria. We have to do Bar Part I which is a 3-month crash course on the Nigerian legal system and then continue with Bar Part II.

Requirements for Admission

To be admitted into the Nigerian law school, a person holding a Juris Doctor (or a foreign equivalent) must provide the following: a copy of an official transcript, a letter of reference from the Dean of your law school (it will be provided online), a copy of your law degree, a copy of your certificate to practice (if you are a licensed attorney) and of course the completed application.

The Process

Applying for law school in Nigeria, really should not be difficult because you are not required to take an exam or submit a personal statement. However, being that the country is still developing, it is unnecessarily tasking. For instance, the website is slow to produce information and when the information is out, it is incomplete. And that’s where I come in. Bar part I is typically supposed to begin June ending, however, that can change based on Ramadan. For instance, our Bar I session was to begin June 26^th but it has been pushed back to July 3^rd. With that being said, the application should go live on the website in March, however that can also change. Our application was to be up first week in March but it wasn’t up until April 4^th. So you have to constantly check the website.

Before the application goes live, contact your U.S (or foreign) law school to inform them that they’ll have to send your transcript to the Nigerian Law School. Most law schools now allow you to request your transcript online or via phone, DON’T DO THIS. Chances are your law school will not find The Nigerian Law School. I contacted my registrar personally and had her send the transcripts. My suggestion is to have them send it the beginning of March to avoid all delay. The address is NIGERIAN LAW SCHOOL, BWARI, P.M.B. 170 GARKI, ABUJA NIGERIA. 

Once the application goes live, be sure to fill out ALL parts of the application. The application is pretty basic, so it can be completed in less than 20 minutes. The deadline for us was 24 days. The application went live on April 4^th and it was due April 28th, this includes the physical copy. After you filled out the application, submit and print it out and keep it safe because you’ll have to turn in the physical copy to the law school as well. You will be given a law school ID number, save it because it is what you will need to check your admission status. After you have submitted the application, email your Dean the faculty reference and your employer (if applicable) the employer reference as well. These forms must be submitted by the first or second week in May. For us, it was May 8.

After you’ve completed the application, you should print out the medical release form (pretty much go get a physical and an X-ray) and also the affirmation page, that must be notarized. Please get this form notarized on time, I had difficulties finding a notary in Nigeria. Smh, but it was my fault though, I waited until the last minute, don’t be like me.

*Please note that though there are six law school campuses around Nigeria, Bar I is only available in Abuja, in the town of Bwarri. Once you’ve successfully completed Bar I, you are able to transfer to the other campuses.

FAQs  

When you’ll find out about admission? You’ll find out about admission when they tell you. Lol. No but really, finding out about admission is a tricky subject. We were supposed to find out on June 12 but they told us a week later. On the application instructions, they’ll tell you when to start looking out for the admission letter.

 Types of admission – there are two types of admission, full and provisional. Full means you’ve done everything necessary and have submitted all of the right documents. Provisional means that you have been admission but something is missing from your file, it may be your transcript or letter of reference.  

Housing – the school provides on campus housing. It is said to be like a flat for four people. You can get off campus housing as well. There are a few places that are directly across from the law school but they are crazy expensive. One place was all inclusive (rent, light, water, furniture (bed, hot plate and fridge), gym, and breakfast) but the cost was N 1.8 million. Ain’t nobody got time for that. But you can definitely find other housing options around Bwari. But beware of those landlords who want to tax the students. They believe that law students are all wealthy, which kind lie be that one?

Is there a uniform? Yes and no, okay it’s not really a uniform but a dress code. Law students are required to wear black and white. Men are to wear black trousers and white button downs, while women are to wear black dresses or skirts with white button downs as well. This is the “corporate look”. NO PANTS FOR WOMEN. Don’t get me started on the dress code. rolls eyes

What are the fees? – see screenshot. 

What’s the customer service like? – very lackluster. It’s always best to go to the school in person to ask for help, do not depend on the phones or emails. When I was in the states, I tried calling but it was no help. Going to the school myself was much more beneficial for me. 

That's all I have for now. I start school soon, so I'll definitely keep you all posted. Stay blessed and beautiful!!