Over 4,000 law graduates from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) have petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation, demanding to be admitted into the Nigerian Law School, following years of exclusion by the Council for Legal Education (CLE).
The petitioners claim their exclusion is unfair, noting that their law degrees are fully accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC), just like those from regular universities. They argue that the denial persists despite legislative amendments to the NOUN Act aimed at granting these graduates the same rights, including entry into Law School.
They highlighted that many of them have fulfilled all academic requirements and have been ready for vocational training to be called to the bar. The graduates are calling on the AGF to enforce CLE compliance and ensure equal treatment under the law.
The statement read, “We, the undersigned, wish to express our profound gratitude for the support we received from the presidency, under president Muhammadu Buhari, who signed National Open University of Nigeria (Amendment) Act, 2018 (Act No.6 of 2018), into law which resulted in the admission of the first set of law graduates from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) into the Nigerian Law School.
“We bring to your kind attention, Your Excellency, our rights to equal legal education have been jeopardised in the just-released Nigeria Law School 2025/2026 bar part II vocational training admission exercise, which excluded the Noun law graduates from applying for the professional program of being trained in the law school as barristers and solicitors of Nigeria this year.
“This has become a national crisis. Law graduates from other Nigerian universities are given the right of admission to the Nigerian Law School, while excluding us. This is against the constitutional principles of equality, fairness, and justice.
“We have equal rights to legal education like other Nigerian university law graduates. It is against our right enshrined in section 42 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). This is a pure state of discrimination!
“However, it is pertinent to inform you, sir, that we are over 4,150 NOUN law graduates currently still awaiting admission into Bar Part II , Nigeria Law School. Many among us have waited an average of more than five years, while many have sadly passed away, and the majority of us are now advanced in age.”
“In light of this situation, we earnestly seek your intervention to impress upon the Council for Legal Education and the Nigerian Law School the urgent need to address our matter. Specifically, we are requesting an immediate admission action plan that will accommodate these over 4,000 graduates into Bar Part II within the shortest possible time,” the statement said.
They noted that their “request for direct admission into Bar Part II is firmly grounded in the relevant laws and the following reasons: The Act establishing the National Open University of Nigeria (2018 as amended) has removed any existing lacuna regarding our eligibility.
