251 make first class, 888 fail as Amaechi joins new lawyers called to bar

A total of 888 candidates have failed the final examination by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

The NBA administered its final exam of 2023 in November, hosting the call to bar ceremony in Abuja on Tuesday.

Isa Hayatu Chiroma, the director-general of the Nigerian Law School (NLS), who spoke at the event, said 4,412 candidates were successful out of a total of 5,300 who sat for the examination.

Rotimi Amaechi, the former governor of Rivers and immediate past minister of transportation, was among the 4,412 new lawyers called into the Nigerian bar.

Chiroma added that 888 failed the examination while 251 had first class.

“I will be presenting at this Call to the Bar ceremonies a total of 4,412 candidates who were successful at the November 2023 Bar Final examinations as well as 14 candidates from previous bar final examinations,” the DG said.

“I am happy to report on the good performance recorded by the candidates as seen in the Executive Summary below: outstanding/general performance.

“Total number of students who participated in the Examinations: 5,300. Total number of successful candidates: 4,412

“The Nigerian Law School is proudly happy to report that a total number of 251 candidates bagged first-class grades in the last Bar final examination. This is indeed an outstanding excellent performance and, of course, unprecedented.

“These figures translate to 83.3 percent success at the Bar final examinations.”

Mary Peter-Odili, the chairman of the body of benchers and a retired justice of the supreme court, while addressing the successful candidates, said the judiciary is facing trying times, with public confidence in the court system dwindling due to conflicting judgments.

“It is a bad period in the sense that the judiciary is being bashed and public confidence in the legal system is dwindling, occasioned by incessant conflicting judgments in our courts and flagrant indiscipline amongst lawyers,” Mary said.

She said the body of benchers had set up a committee to see to the issue of conflicting judgments.

“In a bid to address this vexed issue of conflicting judgments, the Body of Benchers constituted a committee made up of ranking members of the profession,” she said.

“The committee will come up with the best possible ways of addressing the concerns.

“When the committee completes its assignment and presents its report to the Body of Benchers, it will, upon consideration and approval, be forwarded to the relevant bodies for implementation,” she stated.

She urged the new lawyers to avoid all forms of corruption as well as conduct that could tarnish the image of the judiciary.