Nigeria’s 'Body of Benchers' to cap annual Call to Bar as lawyer numbers exceed 256,000
The body said some law graduates now struggle to establish a practice after admission. It expressed concern about lawyers soliciting clients around magistrates’ courts and police stations, a practice commonly described as “charge-and-bail” lawyering.
Nigeria’s Body of Benchers is considering limits on the number of graduates called to the Bar each year, citing pressure on legal training and concerns about employment in the profession.
The proposal follows the admission of 6,010 new lawyers at the 2026 Call to Bar ceremonies in Abuja. With the country’s practising lawyers previously estimated at about 250,000, the latest intake puts the estimated total above 256,000.
The body said some law graduates now struggle to establish a practice after admission. It expressed concern about lawyers soliciting clients around magistrates’ courts and police stations, a practice commonly described as “charge-and-bail” lawyering.
It also blamed delays in admission to the Nigerian Law School on universities taking in more law students than their approved quotas allow. According to the body, the pressure has required the Law School to run two admission streams, stretching lecturers and adding financial and logistical costs.
Universities that repeatedly exceed their quotas could face sanctions, including the loss of accreditation to produce law graduates eligible for Call to Bar, either for a fixed period or permanently. The body urged prospective students and their parents to check a law programme’s accreditation and admission status before enrolling.
The proposed cap comes as more than 4,000 law graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria seek admission to the Law School. In a petition to Attorney-General Lateef Fagbemi, they argued that a 2018 amendment recognised their degrees for professional legal training and questioned why later graduates remain excluded.
The graduates have asked for an urgent admission plan. The Body of Benchers, meanwhile, says it does not deliberately deny qualified candidates entry and maintains that admission standards must be protected as the profession grows.
