Graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) have renewed calls for their admission into the Nigerian Law School, accusing the Council of Legal Education (CLE) of denying more than 4,000 qualified graduates access to mandatory professional legal training despite years of appeals.
The graduates, under the umbrella of the Backlog of NOUN Law Graduates, staged a peaceful procession to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation in Abuja on Wednesday, urging the Federal Government to intervene in what they described as a prolonged injustice that has left thousands of aspiring lawyers unable to complete their professional qualification.
The demonstration came two days after members of the group marched to the National Assembly to press the same demand.
Addressing journalists during the procession, the group’s National President, Adefowora Adedeji, said the continued exclusion of eligible NOUN graduates from the Nigerian Law School had subjected many of them to financial hardship, emotional distress and stalled careers.
According to him, although the National Universities Commission (NUC) accredited NOUN’s Faculty of Law and an earlier set of graduates was admitted into the Nigerian Law School through a special arrangement, graduates from subsequent sets—spanning 2019 to 2024—have remained excluded from the programme.
Adedeji argued that the situation amounts to discrimination against graduates of a federally established university, insisting that the 2018 amendment to the National Open University Act removed every legal obstacle to the admission of NOUN law graduates into the Nigerian Law School.
“Our position is firmly rooted in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the laws establishing the National Open University of Nigeria,” he said. “There is no legal justification for continuing to deny qualified graduates access to professional legal education.”
The group called on President Bola Tinubu, Attorney General of the Federation Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), the Federal Ministry of Education, the Council of Legal Education and the management of the Nigerian Law School to ensure that all backlog graduates are admitted into the 2026/2027 academic session.
Adedeji disclosed that the association had submitted nearly 50 petitions to various government institutions, including the National Assembly, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Body of Benchers, the National Universities Commission and the Federal Ministry of Education, without securing a lasting resolution.
“We have exhausted dialogue and administrative channels. What we need now is a definite timeline for resolving this issue,” he said.
He warned that the association would expand its peaceful protests across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory if no concrete action is taken.
The group also alleged that the prolonged impasse stems from unresolved disagreements between NOUN and the Council of Legal Education, arguing that graduates have become victims of an institutional dispute beyond their control.
“It is not because our certificates are deficient,” Adedeji said. “Government institutions have unresolved issues, and innocent graduates are paying the price.”
He further accused the Council of Legal Education of failing to admit thousands of qualified NOUN graduates despite the successful integration of an earlier batch into the Nigerian Law School under a remedial arrangement.
According to him, the uncertainty has taken a heavy emotional toll on affected graduates, claiming that one member of the association died after developing health complications linked to the prolonged delay.
The dispute over the admission of NOUN law graduates into the Nigerian Law School has persisted for several years.
In 2016, the House of Representatives directed its relevant committees to investigate complaints over the exclusion of NOUN law graduates from the Law School. While the Council of Legal Education has maintained that admission is guided by the Legal Education Act and accreditation requirements, it previously approved a special remedial programme that enabled an earlier batch of NOUN graduates to undergo Bar training.
Despite that intervention, thousands of subsequent graduates say they remain locked out of the professional training required for Call to Bar, even as successful candidates from other universities are currently participating in the 2026 Call to Bar ceremonies in Abuja.
