The House of Representatives has begun an investigation into the prolonged exclusion of more than 5,000 law graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria from admission into the Nigerian Law School for professional training.
The investigation followed a petition by affected graduates under the group known as the Backlog of Law Graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria, who asked the National Assembly to intervene in the dispute that has prevented them from progressing to Bar training and qualification.
The House Committee on Public Petitions invited officials of NOUN and the Nigerian Law School, under the Council of Legal Education, to explain the circumstances surrounding the long-running disagreement.
However, representatives of both institutions did not appear before the committee at the initial hearing. NOUN submitted a letter explaining the absence of its Vice-Chancellor, while the Nigerian Law School also requested another date due to official engagements.
The affected graduates told the committee that they had completed their Bachelor of Laws programmes and should not be punished because of disagreements between institutions responsible for regulating legal education.
The graduates’ representatives argued that they were admitted into the programme before later regulatory concerns emerged and maintained that students who had already commenced their studies should not be denied opportunities available to other law graduates.
They also questioned the interpretation of earlier records submitted during discussions between NOUN and legal authorities, arguing that previous figures provided by the university did not represent all students who later completed the programme.
NOUN said the dispute dates back to 2015, when concerns were raised over the accreditation and recognition of its law programme. The university said it suspended further admissions into the programme at the time to prevent the number of affected students from increasing while discussions with regulatory bodies continued.
The university said it later engaged relevant authorities, including the Council of Legal Education, in efforts to resolve the issue and secure a pathway for its law graduates to proceed to professional training.
According to NOUN, discussions resulted in the approval of a Special Remedial Programme for its law graduates instead of direct admission into Bar Part II, which is the usual route for graduates of recognised university law programmes.
The disagreement has left thousands of graduates unable to complete the final stage required to become legal practitioners in Nigeria, despite having obtained their law degrees.
The House committee is expected to continue engagements with the relevant institutions as it seeks to understand the regulatory issues involved and find a resolution acceptable within the existing legal framework.
The outcome of the legislative inquiry could determine the next steps for affected graduates who have spent years waiting for clarity on their professional future.
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