Growing up, Anthony (not real name) always dreamt of the day he would be called to bar and become a practicing lawyer. This dream fueled Anthony’s ambition. In pursuit of his ambition, Anthony sought to study law at Lead City University via direct entry in 2019.

For him, gaining admission to study law brought him a step closer to achieving his dream. After spending four years as a law student at Lead City University, he wrote his final exams and graduated.

When the time to proceed to law school, the final step towards becoming a lawyer in Nigeria, came, Lead City refused to mobilise him.

Anthony is not alone. He is one of over 300 law graduates from Lead City University who have not been mobilised for law school by the university. Nobody from his set has been mobilised. Many law graduates from previous years have also not been mobilised by the school since they graduated.

A BACKLOG OF LAW GRADUATES

Law school is like a line that, when crossed, students of law become practicing lawyers. Without law school, no graduate of law can be employed by a law firm to practice law. Every year, universities in Nigeria with an accredited law programme mobilise graduates of law for law school.

The number of students each university can mobilise for law school is determined by the Council of Legal Education. The Council of Legal Education gives quotas to faculties of law in various universities across the country. For each university, there is a specific number of graduates the Nigerian Law School can admit annually. For Lead City University, the quota is 50.

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What this means is that, all things being equal, the faculty of law at Lead City University ought not to admit more than 50 students to study law per session, so that upon graduation, each one of them would be mobilised for law school without leaving anyone behind.

The reverse is the case, however, at the university. A source told FIJ that the university admits double, sometimes triple, of the quota given to them by the Council of Legal Education.

“They have 50 slots but admit over 150 every year,” the source told FIJ. As a result of this, Lead City University has a backlog of law graduates who are yet to be mobilised for law school.

For many government-funded universities, the quota is relatively higher. Ahmadu Bello University and the University of Lagos have quotas of 280 and 270, respectively, and are the two universities with the highest quota. Others have as many as 180, 170 and 150 slots, while the quota is low for others. The University of Port Harcourt is the government university with the lowest quota of 50 slots.

FIJ learned that Lead City University has over 300 law graduates from previous years that have not been mobilised for law school because of the backlogs. An insider told FIJ that the graduates of law from the university who are currently in law school are those from the class of 2020.

Lead City University is not the only university that exceeds the quota given by the Council of Law Education when admitting students to its law programme. Universities like Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, and the University of Ilorin usually admit students above the quota, but the figures are not always far from the quota.

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For instance, a set from OOU, a university with 170 slots, had about 200 students in their first year, but upon graduation, about 185 students made the graduating list. Unlike Lead City University, which has a backlog of over 300 law graduates from different sets, OOU does not have that many.

When the time comes for this set to be mobilised for law school, the backlog from the precious set will first be considered. The school also has criteria for determining how law graduates will be mobilised.

“For instance, 180 students graduated in 2023 and are being mobilised for law school in 2024. The top 170 students are selected according to their academic standing, while the others will be mobilised the following year,” a law graduate from OOU told FIJ.

FIJ spoke to law graduates from different sets to narrate their ordeal, and all of them pleaded anonymity because they were scared that when their time to be mobilised came, the school would not mobilise them for speaking out against them.

‘I HAD PLANS‘

Naomi (not real name) gained admission to study law at Lead City University in 2015 and graduated in 2020. It has been almost four years since she said goodbye to the four walls of the university, but Naomi has not been able to progress into the next phase of her law career because of this issue.

Like Anthony, Naomi also dreamt of days she would represent people in court. “I had plans. I have always wanted to be a practicing lawyer, not just for the money but because I would love to help humanity to an extent,” Naomi told FIJ.

People who knew when she graduated from the university now question if she truly graduated because they are surprised she has not been admitted into law school years after her graduation. She told FIJ that this really affects her.

“People ask me ‘Are you sure you graduated with good grades, this one that you have not gone to law school?’ and a lot of questions,” she added.

While waiting to be mobilised by Lead City University for law school, Naomi served as a corps member for the National Youth Service Corps, a one year mandatory scheme for Nigerian graduates. She got married and is now a mother. To make ends meet, she now sells recharge cards.

In the face of this, Naomi remains hopeful that she will one day go to law school. “I am still hoping Lead City University will do the needful by mobilising me and others. I will be so grateful if I am mobilised this year,” said Naomi.

‘I DON’T EVEN KNOW IF I AM GOING TO LAW SCHOOL‘

Fatoumata (not real name), another law graduate from Lead City University, who graduated in 2022, told FIJ she was on the lookout for employment opportunities that were not legally inclined since she could not practice law yet.

Fatoumata completed her NYSC service year last year but like others, she has not been mobilised for law school yet and also can not join a law firm as a lawyer.

“I don’t even know if I am going to law school at this point. I cannot join a law firm because there are firms that do not accept law graduates who have not been called to bar. Even if I join, I won’t be able to harness my full potential and there is really no progress,” Fatoumata told FIJ.

“I am looking out for opportunities that are not legally inclined,” she added.

Year in and year out, the university would continue to admit more law students than they could mobilise for law school and the backlogs would keep increasing.

“They don’t care whether we go or not,” another graduate told FIJ.

FIJ contacted the Dean of the Faculty of Law at Lead City University, Dr. Yemisi Abimbola, but she said she could not provide responses to the questions asked because she was not a part of the university management.

“I am only the dean of the Faculty of Law and cannot answer your question. Contact the university management,” she told FIJ.