.….Law School Sanctions 5 For Exam Misconduct, 2 For Indiscipline as Pass Rate Drops To 45.3% In Resit
The Council of Legal Education, CLE, has barred five law students from sitting the Bar Final Examination for 10 years over examination malpractice.
The decision was taken during the council’s third-quarter meeting on Monday, August 24, at the Nigerian Law School headquarters in Bwari, Abuja.
In a statement on Sunday, the council’s Secretary and Director of Administration, Aderonke Osho, said the meeting reviewed reports from the examination misconduct committee on cases from the December 2025 Bar Final Examination.
“Following consideration of the reports, the Council approved the disqualification of five candidates found guilty of examination misconduct and barred them from sitting the Bar Final Examination for a period of ten years,” the statement said.
The council also approved penalties for two students found guilty of indiscipline-related misconduct. The names of the affected students and their universities were not disclosed.
Osho said the meeting also discussed policies, regulations, academic and administrative matters relating to legal education and the running of the law school.
The council recalled that 1,067 out of 7,602 candidates failed the 2025 Bar Final Examination.
A breakdown showed 212 candidates earned first-class honours, 1,216 had second-class upper, 2,961 got second-class lower, 1,622 passed, and 314 had conditional passes. A total of 210 candidates did not sit the exam. The overall pass rate was 79.1 percent, lower than the previous year.
For the 2026 Bar Final resit held in May, 983 out of 1,955 candidates failed. This represents 50.3 percent. Only 883 candidates passed, giving an overall pass rate of 45.3 percent.
The Bar Final Examination is the qualifying test administered by the Nigerian Law School for law graduates who have completed vocational training. It is held once a year and is mandatory for those seeking to be called to the Nigerian Bar.
