Joshua Omoloye, Abuja
The Senate on Tuesday passed a bill approving creation of addition six campuses of the Nigerian Law School.
If the passed bill is signed into law, Nigeria will have 13 campuses of the law school.
The Bill, titled: “A Bill for an Act to amend the Legal Education (Consolidation, etc) Act by establishing the campuses for the Nigerian Law School, and for other related matters” was sponsored by Kogi West Senator Smart Adeyemi.
The passage of the Bill followed the adoption of the recommendation of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters that considered the Bill presented by committee chairman, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele.
According to the Bill, “There shall be established a minimum of two campuses in each of the six geopolitical zones, as specified in the schedule to the Bill.
“Subject to the provision of subsection 3, of this section, creation of additional campuses of the Nigerian Law School shall be approved by the National Assembly through legislation whenever the need arises.”
According to the Bill, campuses of the Nigerian Law School and their locations include: Bwari Law School Campus, FCT, Abuja; Kabba Law School Campus (North Central); Jos Law School, Plateau State (North Central); Yola Law School Campus, Adamawa (NorthEast), Maiduguri Law School campus, Borno State (North East); Lagos Law School Campus (Southwest) and Ilawe Law School campus, Ekiti State (Southwest);
Others are: Kano Law School Campus (Northwest); Argungun Law School Campus, Kebbi State (North West), Enugu Law School Campus, Enugu State (Southeast); Okija Law School Campus (South East); Yenegoa Law School Campus, Bayelsa State (Southsouth); Port-Harcourt Law School Campus, Rivers State (South South) and Orogun Law School campus, Delta State (South South).
However, it was resolved that the Bwari Law School should be for the Federal Capital City, while the proposed campuses in Kabba, Kogi State and Jos, Plateau state, would be for the North Central zone.
According to Senator Bamidele, the committee observed “That in view of the exponential increase in the number of law graduates from our universities and even foreign universities, coupled with the backlog that existed over the years, this legislative intervention measure is not only apt and timely but paramount;
“That without prejudice to the establishment of the Law School Campus in Port-Harcourt, the provision for additional campuses in the six-geopolitical zones of the federation in this Bill is appropriate as it has not tampered with the seven existing campuses p, established by administrative responsibilities of the Council of Legal Education;
Read Also: Senator Lau Replaces Bwacha as Deputy Minority Leader, Sekibo Kicks
“That the existing campuses are overstretched and the infrastructures are not enough to accommodate thousands of law students graduating from the universities;
“That apart from the statutory requirement for the creation of additional campuses, it should be strictly on the basis of need assessment and fulfillment of other indicators, such as, convenience, and accessibility by lecturers, staff and students, availability of office, lecture theater and hostel facilities, proximity to courts and law offices; and
“That the Federal Government should, as a matter of priority, provide adequate resources for the funding of the infrastructural needs of the Law School campuses, across the country.”
