Several new Nigerian Law School campuses will be established across the country's six geo-political zones, according to approval by the country's Senate last week.
The addition of the newly recognised law schools to the existing seven law schools brings the overall number of law schools in the country, excluding those in the Federal Capital Territory, to thirteen, up from the previous total of seven.
This decision was made upon examination of a report on the Legal Education Act (Amendment) Bill, 2021, by the Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters Committee of the House of Representatives.
Senator Smart Adeyemi was the primary sponsor of the legislation (Kogi West).
Thus, the Jos Law School Campus in Plateau State, as well as the Kabba Law School Campus in Kogi State, have been recognised for the North Central geo-political zone, according to the Senate.
Also approved by the chamber were the Yola Law School Campus in Adamawa State, as well as the Maiduguri Law School Campus in Borno State, which would service the North East zone.
The Kano Law School Campus in Kano State, as well as the Argungun Law School Campus in Kebbi State, were both approved by the Senate in the North West.
The Enugu Law School Campus and the Okija Law School Campus, both in Anambra State, received permission from the South-Eastern Regional Chamber of Commerce.
The Senate also approved the Yenegoa Law School Campus in Bayelsa State, the Port Harcourt Law School Campus in Rivers State, and the Orogun Law School Campus in Delta State, all of which are located in the South South zone.
The Lagos Law School Campus in Lagos State, as well as the Ilawe Law School Campus in Ekiti State, were both approved by the chamber in the South West.
The Bwari Law School Campus in Abuja will continue to serve only the people of the Federal Capital Territory.
Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, chairman of the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, and Legal Matters, stated that the establishment of the six law schools was a legislative intervention to address "the exponential increase in the number of law graduates from our universities and foreign universities, coupled with the backlog that has existed over the years." Bamidele also stated that the creation of the six law schools was a legislative intervention to address "the exponential increase in the number of law graduates from our universities and foreign universities, coupled with the back
In the words of the lawmaker, "current campuses are overburdened, and the infrastructures are inadequate to support the thousands of legal students who are graduating from institutions."
He pointed out that the United States of America, with a population of over 350 million people, has over 237 law schools, which is a significant number.
The lawmaker pointed out that certain nations, such as Canada and Australia, with significantly smaller populations than Nigeria, have 24 and 38 law schools, respectively, with populations of approximately 38 million and 26 million people, according to the United Nations Development Programme.
In his explanation, he stated that the provision for additional campuses in each of the federation's six geopolitical zones was appropriate since it does not interfere with the seven current schools that were formed by administrative responsibilities of the Council of Legal Education.
Bamidele, as a result, encouraged the federal government to allocate appropriate resources for the funding of infrastructural needs on law school campuses across the country as a matter of priority, rather than later.