…over 5,000 graduates petition National Assembly as NOUN, Law School seek fresh hearing
By Gloria Ikibah
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 for mandatory Bar training and examinations.
The intervention followed a petition by affected graduates under the aegis of the Backlog of Law Graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria, who asked the House to resolve what they described as a long-running stalemate that has prevented them from completing their professional legal training.
The petitioners put the number of affected graduates at more than 5,000, saying they had completed their LLB programmes but remained unable to proceed to the Nigerian Law School and qualify for Call to Bar.
The issue came before the House Committee on Public Petitions on Wednesday, following a petition jointly signed by the group’s President, Dr Adeniyi O. Oladele; Vice-President, Mrs Nora John; Secretary, Mr Paschal Emeka Egerue; and Public Relations Officer, Chibueze Kenneth Obochi.
The committee had invited NOUN and the Council of Legal Education (CLE), the body responsible for the Nigerian Law School, to explain their positions on the dispute.
The latest hearing was, however, not conclusive, with the committee directing the parties to complete their outstanding submissions before the matter comes up again on September 30, 2026.
Speaking with journalists after the hearing, Obochi said the graduates were compelled to approach the National Assembly after exhausting other avenues of resolving the matter.
He argued that the affected graduates should not bear the consequences of disagreements between government institutions.
Obochi cited Section 18(1) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, in making the case for equal educational opportunities for Nigerian citizens.
He said, “Section 18, subsection 1 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended, makes it clear that the government shall give directive that equal education of all citizens of Nigeria shall be a core matter to the federal government, and that’s the reason they’ve set up schools and universities here and there.
“So this is our position, that 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.”
The association also disputed the interpretation of an earlier list of 1,883 graduates submitted by NOUN during engagements with the relevant authorities in 2019.
Obochi argued that the use of the words “so far” in describing the number of graduates meant that the list was not necessarily a final record of everyone who would subsequently complete the programme.
He said, “Every lawyer, even a layman, understands the express statement when you say ‘so far’. That means it opens a window to some persons left behind.
“As of 2015, when the National Open University was advised to stop admission, we had already started the programme. And every reasonable person knows that when you stop admission, it does not mean that you have chased away those who are already studying.”
He said the affected graduates had documents, including matriculation numbers, showing when they were admitted into the university.
According to him, “So we are of the opinion that justice and fairness shall prevail over this matter. And what was done to our seniors should also be extended to us. So, as we stated earlier, we have done LLB and we are proud of the programme we did and the certification thereupon.”
NOUN gives account of dispute
NOUN did not appear physically before the committee on Wednesday, with the university instead submitting a letter explaining the absence of its Vice-Chancellor.
The letter, signed by the Registrar, Oladipo A. Ajayi, acknowledged receipt of the committee’s summons and explained that the Vice-Chancellor was away on an official assignment.
The university consequently requested another date to appear before the committee.
In its earlier submission, NOUN welcomed the House intervention and said it appreciated the committee’s efforts to find an equitable and lasting solution to the matter.
The university said an accreditation team from the National Universities Commission, led by Prof Nsongurua Udombana, visited the institution in 2015 as part of the accreditation process for its LLB programme.
It said that while it was awaiting the accreditation report, the CLE published its position rejecting admission of NOUN law graduates into the Nigerian Law School.
NOUN said it subsequently suspended fresh admission into the LLB programme in 2015 and had not admitted new students since then.
According to the university, the decision was intended to prevent the number of affected students from increasing while the regulatory issues remained unresolved.
The institution said that between 2015 and 2019, its management engaged the CLE and other stakeholders in an attempt to resolve the eligibility of its law graduates for admission into the Nigerian Law School.
In 2019, it formally appealed to the CLE for the admission of its law graduates and submitted a list of 1,883 graduates.
NOUN later discovered that 90 graduates had inadvertently been left out, bringing the actual number at the time to 1,973.
The university further stated that the Body of Benchers considered the matter in 2020 and approved a Special Remedial Programme for NOUN law graduates instead of direct admission into Bar Part II, which applies to graduates of other Nigerian universities.
It added that on May 13, 2022, it submitted another batch of 2,226 law 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 subsequent submission on grounds including an alleged understanding that the 2019 submission represented the total number of NOUN law graduates and an allegation that the university had continued admitting students into the LLB programme after 2015.
NOUN rejected the allegation, insisting that admission into the programme was suspended in 2015 and never resumed.
The university explained that those included in the subsequent submission were students who had been admitted before the suspension but completed their studies after 2015.
Law School seeks fresh date
The Nigerian Law School also did not appear before the committee.
Its Director-General, Dr Olugbemisola Odusote, sent a letter explaining that she could not attend because of an official assignment requiring the participation of relevant officials on the scheduled date.
The institution expressed regret over its absence and requested that the committee communicate another date for the hearing.
It also submitted a response to the petition and assured the House of its willingness to cooperate with the committee.
The dispute has persisted for several years, with thousands of NOUN law graduates repeatedly seeking access to the professional training required for qualification as legal practitioners. Recent reports have put the number of affected graduates at more than 4,000, although the petition before the House puts the figure at over 5,000.
The Council of Legal Education has previously maintained that admission into the Nigerian Law School is subject to applicable legal and regulatory requirements, while earlier batches of NOUN graduates were admitted through a special remedial arrangement.
The House committee is now expected to consider the submissions of the parties as it continues its investigation.
The Chairman of the House Committee on Media and Publicity, Rep. Akin Rotimi, who laid the petition before the House on July 21, 2026, expressed commitment to ensuring that the concerns of the affected graduates receive attention.
Rotimi stressed the need for a fair and lasting resolution, saying graduates who had completed their academic programmes should not be left in prolonged uncertainty over their professional training.
He assured the affected graduates of his support for efforts to resolve the issues surrounding their admission and ensure that the matter receives the necessary attention from the relevant authorities.