The President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mazi Osigwe, SAN, at the 2026 NBA Legal Education Summit, has said that Nigeria’s legal education system must undergo urgent reform to remain relevant.
A statement published on Tuesday by the NBA on Facebook revealed that Osigwe had called for a major review of how lawyers are trained in the country.
As explained in the statement, Osigwe had said that the present system must become more practical, technology-driven and skills-based if it is to prepare lawyers for modern legal practice in Nigeria and beyond.
Osigwe also used the summit to examine whether Nigeria’s current legal training model is still meeting the demands of a changing profession.
His comments shifted attention from academic certification to the issue of competence, as he argued that legal education should focus less on theory alone and more on producing lawyers who can function effectively in contemporary practice.
He spoke on the theme, “Accelerating Legal Education Reform in Nigeria: Progress, Problems & Prospects” and warned that legal education in Nigeria risks falling behind if reforms are delayed.
He said the profession could continue to produce graduates who are academically qualified but insufficiently equipped for the realities of legal work in the modern era.
He stressed that the legal profession now operates in an environment shaped by technology, innovation and changing client expectations.
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Legal education, Osigwe noted, must respond to these realities by developing lawyers with practical knowledge, problem-solving ability and professional competence.
Osigwe called for a training model that gives greater room for practical exposure during legal studies. He advocated the strengthening of mentorship systems, wider use of legal clinics and moot courts, and a reduction in overdependence on rote learning.
He said law students should be trained in ways that allow them to apply knowledge rather than simply reproduce legal principles in examinations.
He also urged legal education authorities to integrate technology, innovation and entrepreneurship into legal training.
Osigwe maintained that lawyers entering practice today need more than traditional legal knowledge, as the profession increasingly demands adaptability and competence in new areas of practice.
In one of the more pointed aspects of his remarks, Osigwe questioned whether the present duration for obtaining an LL.B degree should remain untouched.
He argued that the main issue should not be the length of time spent in training, but whether graduates emerge with the practical skills and professional readiness required for legal practice.
Osigwe’s intervention responded to how the legal profession could be aligned with present-day realities and ensure that future lawyers are prepared not only to understand the law, but also to practise it effectively.
