Senate Okays Establishment of Seven Additional Law Schools

Sunday Aborisade

The Senate yesterday passed a bill seeking the establishment of seven additional law schools in the country.

The decision of the Senate followed the consideration of report of its Committee on the Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters chaired by Senator Opeyemi Bamidele.

The proposed legislation, sponsored by Senator Smart Adeyemi, was titled: “A bill for an Act to amend the Legal Education (Consolidation etc.) Act.’

It seeks to establish campuses for the Nigerian Law School, in all the geopolitical zones across the country.
The bill, seeks seven additional campuses in Kabba, Kogi State and Jos, Plateau State (North Central); Maiduguri, Borno State (North East), Argungu, Kebbi State (North West): Okija , Anambra State (South East); Orogun, Delta State (South South), and Ilawe, Ekiti (South West).

The existing law school campuses are located in Lagos (South West), Abuja (North Central, Yola – Adamawa – (North East), Kano (North West), Enugu (South East) Port Harcourt and Yenogoa – Bayelsa State (South South).
The Council for Legal Education had also obtained approval for the establishment of a campus in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State.

The passage of the bill followed the adoption of the recommendation of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters that considered the bill.

According to the bill, “There shall be established a minimum of two campuses in each of the six geopolitical zones, as specified in the schedule to the Bill.

“Subject to the provision of sub-section three, of this section, creation of additional campuses of the Nigerian Law School shall be approved by the National Assembly through legislation whenever the need arises.”

The Senate further resolved that the Bwari Law School should be for the Federal Capital City, while the proposed campuses in Kabba, Kogi State and Jos, Plateau state, would take care of the North Central zone.

The committee in its observation and findings, stated: “That in view of the exponential increase in the number of law graduates from our universities and even foreign universities, coupled with the backlog that existed over the years, this legislative intervention measure is not only apt and timely but paramount; that without prejudice to the establishment of the Law School Campus in Port-Harcourt, the provision for additional campuses in the six-geopolitical zones of the federation in this Bill is appropriate as it has not tampered with the seven existing campuses p, established by administrative responsibilities of the Council of Legal Education.

It added: “That the existing campuses are overstretched and the infrastructures are not enough to accommodate thousands of law students graduating from the universities; that apart from the statutory requirement for the creation of additional campuses, it should be strictly on the basis of need assessment and fulfillment of other indicators, such as, convenience, and accessibility by lecturers, staff and students, availability of office, lecture theater and hostel facilities, proximity to courts and law offices; and that the federal government should, as a matter of priority, provide adequate resources for the funding of the infrastructural needs of the Law School campuses, across the country.”