Ayoade: How UNILAG’s Joint LLM with Dundee Will Shape Globally Competitive Lawyers

As legal practice becomes increasingly global, the University of Lagos and the University of Dundee have introduced the first joint LLM degree between a Nigerian and a UK university. In this interview with Funmi Ogundare, Head of UNILAG’s Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, and Professor of Energy, Extractives and Governance Law, Dayo Ayoade discusses how the programme will prepare Nigerian lawyers for global legal practice, while emphasising the importance of investment in higher education, institutional reforms and strategies to address brain drain and drive national development

As the legal profession continues to evolve in response to globalisation, technological advancement and increasingly interconnected legal systems, universities are under pressure to produce graduates with international exposure, practical skills and the capacity to address complex cross-border challenges.

For Nigeria, this means going beyond producing competent lawyers to nurturing legal professionals who can compete globally while contributing meaningfully to national development.

It is this vision that inspired the pioneering Joint Master of Laws (LLM) programme between the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and the University of Dundee, Scotland, the first joint master’s degree between a Nigerian and a United Kingdom university.