The pivotal role of lawyers and judges in the dispensation of justice in any society is one that demands a higher standard of training. However, members of the Bench and the Bar can only be as good as the system of Legal Education that produced them. Legal education in Nigeria is in two phases, namely: theacademic stage in the universities and the professional stage in the law school. This paper examines legal education in Nigeria, its historical origin, challenges and its effectson our national development. The authors adopted historical and analytical methods for conducting this research. Findings show that the current structure where government alone monopolisestraining of students in Law school has worked great hardship on the system. The paper recommends that the private sector should be brought in as partners to provide requisite facilities and training by establishing private law schools, while government should exclusively retain the powers of regulating standards and quality of Bar examinations through the council of Legal Education.