09th October, 2026
As a young lawyer, there is a growing trend in our universities I find unethical and very disturbance.
Today, if you open social media, you will see a 200, 300 Level Law student, sometimes even a 100 Level student, fully dressed in the authentic wig and gown of a Barrister, conducting a “Mock Trial.” The pictures looks so real. To the untrained mind, they are already lawyers.
This is wrong, and we must say it.
For those of us who went through the Nigerian Law School mandatory training, wearing the wig and gown at Call to Bar was an emotional moment. It was the reward for six years of sacrifice — five years in the university and one rigorous year in Law School. That day meant something because we waited for it.
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But what are we doing now? We are making the wig and gown a costume for university drama. When a student wears it from year one to final year for every moot and mock, there is nothing left to anticipate at Call to Bar. The prestige is gone. The honour is made common.
There is a serious legal issue. The Legal Practitioners Act, Cap L11, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, is explicit on that.
Section 2(1) provides: “Subject to the provisions of this Act, a person shall be entitled to practise as a barrister and solicitor if, and only if, his name is on the roll.”
The Roll referred to is the Roll of Legal Practitioners kept at the Supreme Court. By Section 4 and Section 7 of the Act, only a person Called to Bar by the Body of Benchers and whose name is enrolled on that Roll is entitled to practise. Section 24 defines a Legal Practitioner as a person so entitled.
Section 22 then makes it an offence for any person who is not so qualified to hold himself out as a legal practitioner or pretend to be one by false description.
When our faculties allow students to parade themselves in the exact attire of lawyers, we are encouraging a practice that, in the eyes of the public, amounts to holding out — contrary to the spirit of Section 22. Clients cannot differentiate. On social media, some of these students are already addressed as “Barrister” in their posts.
This does not help the profession; it diminishes it.
I am not against Moot and Mock Trials. They are vital for advocacy training. What I am against is the use of the original Bar attire for them.
The Council of Legal Education, the National Universities Commission, and Deans of Law Faculties should consider the introduction of University-Specific Academic Gowns for Law. Just as every university has a unique colour for matriculation and convocation gowns, let each Faculty of Law adopt a distinct moot gown and wig colour.
This way, when a student finally wears the original wig and gown, the whole world will know: today, a lawyer is born.
We must protect the dignity of our profession. The wig and gown is not a drama costume. It is a symbol of honour earned through years of hard work. Let us keep it that way.
NAJEEBULLAH LAWAN, Esq, writes from FCT, Abuja, Nigeria. He can be reached via: [email protected]
