The Council of Legal Education has officially set the machinery in motion for the 2025/2026 Bar Part II programme, releasing a rigorous and highly structured academic calendar that will govern the lives of thousands of aspirants to the Nigerian Bar. This calendar applies uniformly across all seven campuses of the Nigerian Law School: Abuja (Headquarters), Lagos, Enugu, Kano, Yola, Yenagoa, and the Dr. Nabo Graham-Douglas Campus in Port Harcourt.

The Bar Part II programme is the final vocational hurdle for law graduates before they are admitted to practice as Barristers and Solicitors of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. Unlike the theoretical focus of the university LL.B programme, the Law School curriculum is designed to be practical, intensive, and clinically oriented. The 2025/2026 calendar reflects this “hands-on” philosophy, balancing classroom instruction with field experience through court and chamber externships.

First Term: Foundations of Vocational Training

The academic year officially commences on Monday, 2 March 2026. The first two weeks, running until Friday, 13 March, are dedicated to registration, physical clearance, and institutional induction. During this period, students are initiated into the professional ethics and “Fit and Proper” standards required of a legal practitioner. A unique highlight of this introductory phase is the Mock Trials, which provide students with an immediate, if rudimentary, glimpse into the adversarial nature of the Nigerian courtroom.

Lectures are set to begin in earnest on Monday, 16 March 2026. The curriculum at this stage focuses on the five core modules: Civil Litigation, Criminal Litigation, Property Law Practice, Corporate Law Practice, and Professional Ethics and Skills. The teaching methodology is interactive, moving away from traditional long-form lectures to a “Lesson Plan” approach that requires significant pre-class reading.

Key milestones during the first term include:

• Director-General’s Address (Tuesday, 14 April 2026): A traditional high-level interaction where the DG outlines the expectations of the Council of Legal Education.

• First Term Body of Benchers (BOB) Dinner (Tuesday, 21 April – Thursday, 23 April 2026): These mandatory dinners are essential “dining terms.” Students must attend three of these dinners during their time at Law School to satisfy the requirements for Call to the Bar. They serve as lessons in professional etiquette and provide a rare chance to sit in the presence of Life Benchers and Justices of the higher courts.

Lectures for the first term will wrap up on Thursday, 14 May 2026, coinciding with a Pre-Externship Workshop designed to prepare students for their field assignments.

Second Term: The Clinical Externship Experience

The second term shifts the focus from the classroom to the field, representing the most critical “learning by doing” phase of the Bar Part II programme. This term is divided into two distinct components: the Court Externship and the Chambers Externship.

1. Court Externship (Monday, 18 May – Friday, 19 June 2026) During these five weeks, students are posted to various courts across the country (High Courts and Magistrate Courts). They are required to observe proceedings, take notes, and interact with Judges to understand the practical application of the rules of evidence and procedure they studied in the first term.

2. Chambers Externship (Monday, 29 June – Friday, 31 July 2026) Following a brief mid-externship break, students transition to Law Firms. Here, they work under the supervision of experienced Principals, learning the art of legal drafting, client interviewing, and the day-to-day administration of a law office. This exposure is vital for bridging the gap between academic knowledge and professional reality.

The term concludes with a Post-Externship Vacation from Monday, 3 August to Friday, 7 August 2026, allowing students a brief respite before the final academic push.

Third Term: Portfolio Assessment and the Final Stretch

The third term is the most intensive period of the academic year, as students return to their respective campuses to synthesize their field experiences and prepare for the Bar Final Examinations.

The term begins with Portfolio Assessment (Monday, 10 August – Friday, 21 August 2026). Students must present their logs and records from the externship period for evaluation by the academic staff. This is followed by a final block of lectures from Monday, 31 August to Friday, 9 October 2026.

This term is packed with clinical activities, including:

• Mock Registry Practice and Mooting exercises.

• Law Clinic activities and the Student Representative Council (SRC) Law Week.

• Final Mock Trials, which act as a dress rehearsal for practical advocacy.

The Third Term BOB Dinner will take place from Tuesday, 13 October to Thursday, 15 October 2026, followed by the highly anticipated Body of Benchers Annual Lecture on Thursday, 22 October 2026.

Revision and the Bar Final Examinations

The academic year culminates in the “Dreaded Week”—the Bar Final Examinations. To prepare students, a dedicated Revision Week is scheduled from Monday, 26 October to Friday, 30 October 2026.

The Bar Final Examinations are slated to run from Saturday, 31 October to Saturday, 7 November 2026. These exams are notoriously rigorous, testing students’ ability to apply law to complex scenarios across all five modules. Passing these exams is the sole prerequisite for being invited to the Call to the Bar.

Post-examination activities will continue until Friday, 18 December 2026, involving the finalization of records and student departures. The Council of Legal Education has noted that the publication of results and the official Call to the Bar ceremonies will be announced at a later date, typically occurring in the first quarter of the following year.

Conclusion: A Test of Character and Competence

The 2025/2026 calendar is a grueling 10-month marathon. For the aspirants, success requires more than just intellectual ability; it demands physical resilience and a high level of professional discipline. As registration begins on March 2nd, the Nigerian Law School remains committed to its mandate of producing lawyers who are not only learned but are “fit and proper” to join the noble profession.