President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has officially transmitted the Legal Practitioners Bill, 2025 to the Senate, initiating what many legal experts call the most sweeping reform of Nigeria’s legal profession in decades.
The bill, which seeks to repeal and re-enact the existing Legal Practitioners Act (Cap L11, Laws of the Federation 2004), was read on the floor of the Senate by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Tuesday.
According to Akpabio, the proposed legislation is anchored on protecting public interest, strengthening the rule of law, and restoring public confidence in legal services. “It introduces key principles such as integrity, confidentiality, and ethical conduct as the backbone of legal practice,” he told his colleagues during the session.
Under the new bill, a Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee will be granted enhanced powers to investigate and sanction lawyers found guilty of professional misconduct. Penalties may include suspension or being struck off the roll entirely — reforms aimed squarely at addressing a longstanding gap in enforcement.
One of the most significant changes proposed is a mandatory two-year post-call pupillage (or internship) for newly called lawyers, coupled with compulsory Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for all practicing lawyers. These steps are intended to guarantee ongoing training, ethical reinforcement, and professional competence.
In addition, the bill proposes standardised licensing procedures, including issuing practising licences, accreditation of law offices, and the mandatory use of official stamps and seals on legal documents measures aimed at improving accountability and preventing malpractice.
President Tinubu, in his letter to the Senate, argued that the 2004 Act (originally based on the 1962 law) is no longer fit for purpose. He noted that the evolving domestic and international legal environment highlighted by growth in cross-border legal services and digital practice demands a modern regulatory framework.
Legal professionals and civil society have long called for such reforms. Over the years, bodies like the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and the Nigerian Association of Law Teachers (NALT) have warned that enforcement under the current Act has been weak, and that ethical standards are slipping.
Scholarly critiques also point out that the existing regulatory regime fails to adequately address the realities of modern legal practice. For example, many current rules were crafted for a strictly litigation-based legal world, and do not fully cover solicitors, legal work in government, digital lawyering, or cross-border practice.
Following its first reading, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Business, which is expected to produce a report within four weeks, according to Akpabio. If passed, the Legal Practitioners Bill 2025 is widely expected to bring Nigeria’s legal profession more in line with international standards and to restore public trust through stricter controls and meaningful accountability.
