Aishat Omotolani Jimoh spent nearly ₦3 million and sacrificed a year of her life to attend the Nigerian Law School, emerging in the top 17% of her class—an experience that tested her limits but proved her resilience and readiness for a career in law.
After five rigorous years earning her law degree, Aishat Omotolani Jimoh entered what would become the most defining chapter of her academic journey — a year at the Nigerian Law School. The experience demanded nearly ₦3 million, tested her endurance in every way, and ended with her graduating in the top 17% of her class.
Aishat graduated from the University of Ilorin in 2023 with a Second-Class Upper in Law. Her interest in law was more than just prestige-driven; it was personal. She had always been drawn to questions about justice, governance, and power. Law, for her, was the key to understanding how the world worked.
Admission into the Nigerian Law School isn’t guaranteed. Each university has limited slots — in Unilorin’s case, only 150 students per year. After her convocation in October 2023, Aishat wasn’t sure she’d get in immediately. To avoid delays, she enrolled in the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). In January 2024, on her way to her NYSC posting in Lagos, she got the call: she’d been admitted to law school.
Initially posted to the Port Harcourt campus, she was redirected to the Abuja campus after arrival. She had to defer NYSC, as it’s illegal to combine both programs due to their full-time requirements.
The first payment — ₦506,000 — covered tuition and application fees. But over the 11-month period, Aishat spent close to ₦3 million covering essentials like books, travel, feeding, medicals, and daily upkeep.
Here’s a rough estimate of her expenses:
• Tuition and application: ₦506,000
• Textbooks: ₦100,000
• Flights (about five trips): ₦500,000
• Clothes and footwear: ₦100,000
• Feeding (~₦100,000 every 3 weeks): ₦800,000
• Stationery & snacks: ₦120,000
• Transporting belongings: ₦130,000
• Medical tests: ₦30,000
These costs were shouldered entirely by her parents. With no cooking allowed on campus, feeding became a major expense. Some days, she spent up to ₦8,000 on meals, while on others, she got by with snacks or skipped breakfast altogether due to her packed schedule.
Law school drained her finances, and on more than one occasion, she had to dip into personal savings. Still, she managed her spending carefully, averaging ₦100,000 every three weeks.
Aishat had heard the stories: law school was brutal. But what stood out was how much of the pressure came from within. From the moment she was admitted, she began preparing — watching interviews of past First-Class students, following legal mentors online, and building a study routine.
Her study hours were intense — sometimes up to 12 hours a day. Her room became a study haven, covered in handwritten notes, past questions, and reference materials like Agbata (widely circulated summaries used by law school students). She was relentless.
By May 2024, she began her externship: five weeks at a court and another five at a law firm. After returning, she had to defend her portfolio before a panel, proving she was fit to be called to the bar.
In November came the Bar Finals — six days of make-or-break exams:
• One day for multiple-choice questions
• Five days of essay exams in Criminal Litigation, Civil Litigation, Corporate Law, Property Law, and Professional Ethics
She immersed herself in preparation, revising with past questions from the last decade and studying every note she could find. Peer discussions and quizzes helped keep her sharp.
When the results came in April 2025, Aishat didn’t check them herself. She handed the task to a friend. The news: Second-Class Upper.
Her first reaction was numbness. She had visualised a First Class so many times that anything less felt distant. But she’d already grieved that possibility months earlier and made peace with the outcome.
More than the final grade, she valued how much she had grown.
Support came from every corner — her family, friends, and especially her roommate. Still, Aishat was her own loudest cheerleader. She leaned into her faith like never before, prayed deeply, and pushed herself with quiet determination.
She gave up 2024 for law school. Social life, rest, even NYSC — all on hold for one goal: pass the bar, and do it well.
Aishat says yes — a thousand times over. Though she didn’t get the First Class she dreamed of, she earned something even greater: the certainty that she could do hard things.
She’s proud to be in the top 17% of over 7,000 students, and even prouder of the grit it took to get there. Law school challenged her in every way imaginable — financially, mentally, emotionally — but she came out sharper, stronger, and ready for what’s next.
With NYSC resumption around the corner, she’s now setting her sights on a career in Corporate and Commercial Law — and she’s more than ready.
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