…NOUN, Nigerian Law School Seek Fresh Dates to Face House Committee
The House of Representatives has stepped into the prolonged dispute over the admission of law graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) into the Nigerian Law School, with more than 5,000 affected graduates awaiting a resolution.
The intervention followed a petition by the affected graduates, under the aegis of the “Backlog of Law Graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria,” urging the National Assembly to address what they described as years of uncertainty after completing their LLB programmes.
The petitioners said their inability to gain admission into the Nigerian Law School had prevented them from undertaking the mandatory Bar training and examinations required for Call to Bar.
The petition was signed by the association’s President, Dr. Adeniyi O. Oladele; Vice-President, Mrs. Nora John; Secretary, Mr. Paschal Emeka Egerue; and Public Relations Officer, Chibueze Kenneth Obochi.
Following the petition, the House Committee on Public Petitions commenced an investigative hearing and invited NOUN and the Council of Legal Education (CLE) to explain the circumstances surrounding the dispute.
The CLE is responsible for the administration of the Nigerian Law School.
Speaking after the Committee’s hearing on Wednesday, Obochi said the affected graduates should not bear the consequences of disagreements between government institutions.
He argued that the graduates had fulfilled their academic obligations and should not be denied the opportunity to proceed with their professional training because of disputes between NOUN and regulatory authorities.
Citing Section 18(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, Obochi argued that the government has a responsibility to promote equal educational opportunities for Nigerian citizens.
“We should not be made victims of inter-agency rivalries. We were not part of any agreements or disagreements between NOUN and CLE and Nigerian Law School. We are Nigerian citizens and we are innocent of whatever that must have transpired,” he said.
The graduates also challenged the interpretation of a 2019 submission by NOUN containing the names of 1,883 graduates.
Obochi argued that the university’s description of the list as graduates produced “so far” indicated that it was not necessarily the final number of students who would eventually complete the programme.
He maintained that many of the affected graduates were admitted before NOUN suspended fresh admission into its LLB programme in 2015.
“As of 2015, when the National Open University was advised to stop admission, we had already started the programme. When you stop admission, it does not mean that you have chased away those who are already studying,” he said.
NOUN’s Account
NOUN, however, did not appear before the Committee on Wednesday. The university instead submitted a letter explaining that its Vice-Chancellor was away on an official assignment and requested another date to appear.
In its earlier submission to the Committee, the university welcomed the intervention, saying it could help achieve an equitable and lasting resolution for the affected graduates.
NOUN said the dispute dates back to 2015, when an accreditation team from the National Universities Commission (NUC), led by Prof. Nsongurua Udombana, visited the university as part of the accreditation process for its LLB programme.
According to the university, while it was awaiting the accreditation report, the CLE published its position rejecting the admission of NOUN law graduates into the Nigerian Law School.
NOUN said it subsequently suspended fresh admission into the LLB programme in 2015 to prevent the number of affected students from increasing.
The university said it continued discussions with the CLE and other stakeholders between 2015 and 2019 in an effort to resolve the issue.
In 2019, it formally appealed to the CLE and submitted the names of 1,883 graduates.
NOUN later discovered that 90 graduates had inadvertently been omitted, bringing the number at the time to 1,973.
The university further stated that in 2020, the Body of Benchers approved a Special Remedial Programme for NOUN law graduates rather than direct admission into Bar Part II, the route applicable to graduates of other Nigerian universities.
On May 13, 2022, NOUN submitted another batch of 2,226 graduates who had completed their studies between 2019 and May 2022 for consideration for admission into the Nigerian Law School.
According to NOUN, the CLE rejected the submission, partly on the grounds that it had understood the 2019 list to represent the total number of NOUN law graduates and that the university had allegedly continued admitting students after 2015.
NOUN rejected the allegation, insisting that no fresh students had been admitted into the LLB programme after the 2015 suspension.
It explained that those included in the later submission were students who had been admitted before the suspension but completed their studies afterwards.
Nigerian Law School Also Absent
The Nigerian Law School was also absent from Wednesday’s hearing.
Its Director-General, Dr. Olugbemisola Odusote, wrote the Committee, explaining that the institution could not attend because of an official assignment involving relevant officials on the scheduled date.
The Nigerian Law School expressed regret over its inability to appear and requested an alternative date.
It also assured the Committee of its readiness to cooperate with the investigation and appear at a rescheduled hearing.
Rotimi Backs Resolution
The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, Hon. Akin Rotimi, who presented the petition before the House on July 21, 2026, said efforts would be sustained to address the concerns raised by the affected graduates.
Rotimi stressed the need for a lasting resolution to the dispute, particularly for graduates who had completed their academic programmes but remained unable to proceed to the Nigerian Law School.
He assured the petitioners that their concerns would receive the necessary attention as the House engages the relevant institutions on the matter.
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