The 2026 Call to Bar ceremonies took place from July 7 to 10 at the Body of Benchers Complex in Abuja, formally admitting thousands of new lawyers to the Nigerian Bar after completing the mandatory Bar Part II programme. Among those called, a group of students distinguished themselves with performances that went well beyond passing, and the Nigerian Law School honoured them accordingly.
At the top of that list is a young man from Lagos Campus whose academic record has been remarkable from the start.
The Overall Best Graduating Student
Israel Adekunle Adeniyi has been named the Overall Best Graduating Student in the Nigerian Law School’s 2026 Call to Bar. His journey to the top of the class didn’t begin at the Law School, it began at the University of Ilorin, where he graduated as the best student in the Common Law programme with a CGPA of 4.83. A performance that earned him a ₦2 million cash award from the Abubakar Bukola Saraki Foundation. 
At the Nigerian Law School’s Lagos Campus, he continued the pattern. Beyond the overall best student award, he also placed Second Prize in Professional Ethics, which is an area that speaks to the kind of lawyer he intends to be, not just the kind of student he has been.
The Other Top Performers
Chiamaka Happiness Modestus of Igbinedion University, Okada, and Adetutu Loren Gomez of the University of Lagos were named Joint Female Best Graduating Student and Joint Second Overall. Their shared placement reflects performances close enough that the examiners could not separate them.
Timilehin Adebayo and Freedolyn Ani, both of Obafemi Awolowo University, were named Joint Third Overall. Adebayo doubled his recognition by also winning First Prize in Criminal Litigation.
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Subject Prize Winners
Across the five core professional courses that make up the Bar Part II programme, the following students stood out:
Civil Litigation:
First Prize went to Ifeoluwa Ajaiyeoba F. of Abuja Campus, from Afe Babalola University.
Second Prize went to Ivy-Mary Eweputanna A. of Lagos Campus, University of Nigeria Nsukka.
Third Prize went to Sandra Idoko E. of Lagos Campus, Father Adasu University.
Criminal Litigation:
First Prize went to Timilehin Adebayo.
Corporate Law: First Prize went to Emmanuel Oyelami.
Property Law:
First Prize went to Francis Obiahu Alu of Lagos Campus.
Second Prize went to Victoria Sogade A. of Enugu Campus, University of Lagos.
Third Prize went to Niniolaoluwa Ilori T. of Lagos Campus, Ajayi Crowther University.
Professional Ethics:
First Prize went to Ogechi C. Ifezie of Lagos Campus, University of Nigeria Nsukka.
Second Prize went to Israel Adeniyi A., the overall best student.
Additional prize winners recognised across subjects included: Victoria Sogade, Niniolaoluwa Ilori, Oluwatomisin Daniel, and Ndukwu Chibundom.
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What This Represents
The Bar Part II programme isn’t a simple extension of university legal education. It is an intensive professional training course covering civil litigation, criminal litigation, corporate law, property law, and professional ethics, that is designed to test whether a law graduate is ready to function as a practising lawyer in Nigeria, not just as a student of the law.
Many of the students being honoured this week began their academic journeys years before they saw this ceremony, pushing through undergraduate programmes, UTME, university examinations, and then the additional demands of the Bar programme itself. The awards given at the Call to Bar aren’t participation trophies, they represent the top performers across an entire national cohort.
For Israel Adekunle Adeniyi, Chiamaka Happiness Modestus, Adetutu Loren Gomez, Timilehin Adebayo, Freedolyn Ani, and every prize winner whose name appeared at the Body of Benchers Complex this week, the ceremony marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of what they actually do with the training.
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