A decade-long analysis of the best graduating students from the Nigerian Law School reveals clear trends of female dominance, public university excellence, and significant regional disparities. The data, spanning 2015 to 2024, highlights not just individual academic brilliance but systemic insights into the institutions and regions producing Nigeria’s legal elite.
Female excellence leads the Bar.
Of the ten best graduating students from the Law School in the past decade, seven were female, a striking indicator of sustained academic excellence among women in legal education. These top-performing women also earned some of the highest numbers of academic awards.
In 2021, Bukola Alada from the University of Ibadan received 16 academic awards. In 2017, Gureje Grace from the University of Lagos secured 15 awards. In 2018, Naomi Uwem Ekop of Afe Babalola University bagged 13 awards.
In 2024, Oluwabusayo Olawale Ifonlaja, a male graduate from Nile University, Abuja, broke previous records with 18 academic awards, the highest ever recorded, yet this remains an outlier in a decade otherwise dominated by women.
The data affirms a consistent pattern: women are excelling in legal training at the highest levels, reflecting broader shifts in gender representation in Nigeria’s professional spaces.
Public universities remain the powerhouses.
Despite the growth of private legal education, public universities remain dominant. Seven out of the ten top graduates earned their LLBs from public institutions.
University of Ibadan leads with three of the best graduates (2020, 2021, 2023). University of Lagos follows closely with two (2016, 2017). University of Ilorin (2022) and University of Abuja (2015) also feature.
Private universities contributed three of the top ten graduates: Afe Babalola University (2018), Babcock University (2019), and Nile University (2024).
This suggests that while private universities are rising contenders, public institutions still account for 70 per cent of the decade’s best law school graduates, demonstrating their continued strength in producing legal talent.
Southwest dominance, regional gaps
The Southwest geopolitical zone emerged as the most represented region, producing six of the ten top-performing graduates, two from Lagos, one each from Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti and Osun states.
Kwara and Kogi States, in the North Central zone, produced three graduates (2015, 2021 and 2022), while Akwa Ibom contributed one to the South-South. The Southeast, Northeast, and Northwest recorded no representation on the list, highlighting persistent regional disparities in academic outcomes.
A decade of awards: rising bar of excellence
The analysis also shows a general increase in the number of academic awards earned by each year’s top graduate.
In 2015, Fatima Bombom Sabi earned 9 awards. By 2024, Ifonlaja had raised the bar to 18 awards.
This upward trend may reflect increased academic rigour, competition, or evolving recognition criteria at the Nigerian Law School. It also signals that academic excellence at the bar is becoming more competitive.
Best graduates: 10
Women: 7 | Men: 3
Public university graduates: 7 | Private: 3
Top state of origin: Kwara (2 graduates)
University with the most top performers: University of Ibadan (3)
Highest awards received: 18 (Ifonlaja, 2024, Nile University)
A legal system in transition
The data comes at a time when the legal profession is facing calls for reform in both structure and training. With fewer than 160,000 lawyers ever called to the Nigerian bar since the founding of the Law School in 1962, and only an estimated 50,000 still active, the system continues to operate under pressure.
This elite list of graduates, mostly women, largely from public schools, and concentrated in certain regions, raises broader questions about equitable access to quality legal education and representation in the profession.
As debates around education reform, regional development, and gender equity continue, the Nigerian Law School’s decade of academic excellence offers both a mirror and a guide to what the legal future of the country may look like.
