The Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Prof Isa Hayatu Chiroma, on Tuesday, disclosed that a total of 888 candidates failed the final bar examination conducted in November 2023. According to him, out of the total number of 5,300 candidates that sat for the final examination, only 4,412 were successful, with 251 candidates achieving first class.
The DG made this known at the call-to-bar ceremony held in Abuja on Tuesday, noting that, “I will be presenting at this call-to-the Bar ceremony a total of 4,412 candidates who were successful at the November 2023 bar final examinations, as well as 14 candidates from previous bar final examinations.
I am happy to report on the good performance recorded by the candidates, as seen in the Executive Summary below: Outstanding/General Performance
“(a) Total number of students who participated in the examinations: 5,300.
“(b) Total number of successful candidates: 4,412
“(c) The Nigerian Law School is proudly happy to report that a total number of 251 candidates bagged a first-class grade in the last bar final examination. This is indeed an outstanding, excellent performance and, of course, unprecedented.
“(d) These figures translate to 83.3% success at the bar final examinations,” he said.
The chairman of the Body of Benchers, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Mary Peter-Odili, described the current period as bad for the judiciary, adding that confidence in the judiciary was dwindling due to the spate of conflicting judgments and indiscipline among lawyers.
She said, “It is a bad period in the sense that the judiciary is being bashed and public confidence in the legal system is dwindling, occasioned by incessant conflicting judgments in our courts and flagrant indiscipline amongst lawyers.”
According to her, the Body of Benchers had set up a committee to address the issue of conflicting judgments.
“In a bid to address this vexed issue of conflicting judgments, the Body of Benchers constituted a committee made up of ranking members of the profession.
“The committee will come up with the best possible ways of addressing the concerns.
“When the Committee completes its assignment and presents its report to the Body of Benchers; it will, upon consideration and approval, be forwarded to the relevant bodies for implementation,” she stated.
She urged the new lawyers to avoid all forms of corruption as well as conduct that could tarnish the image of the judiciary.
Peter-Odili said, “You have been called to the bar in a very important historic period in the legal profession in Nigeria; a period when the good, the bad, and the ugly are all operating at the same time.
“The good, to the extent that the Supreme Court now has the full complement of justices required to man the court.
“The good, to the extent that the welfare of judicial officers is being taken seriously and the Body of Benchers, alongside other relevant bodies, is championing the process.
“I have read in the papers about the increased funding of the judiciary, which is a positive development. I hope it will be backed by adequate release of funds as and when due,” she said.
Among the new wigs were a former Governor of Rivers State and immediate past Minister of Transportation, Chief Rotimi Amaechi.
By John Gabriel
