By Fidel Ozugha
Nine Nigerian universities have been suspended by the Council of Legal Education (CLE) from admitting students into their Faculties of Law.
Taking the decision during their second quarterly meeting of 2024 which was chaired by Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN., the Council discovered that the universities have admitted and graduated law students without obtaining the required accreditation.
The nine affected universities are:
- Nigerian Police Academy, Wudil, Kano State
- Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State
- Redeemers University, Ede, Osun State
- Taraba State University, Jalingo
- Western Delta University, Oghara, Delta State
- Kwara State University, Malete
- Bingham University, Karu, Nasarawa State
- Crescent University, Abeokuta, Ogun State
- Tansian University, Umunya, Anambra State
In the same vein, the Council has placed Lead City University located in Ibadan, Oyo State under a five-year moratorium.
The Council cited inadequate infrastructure and repeated violations of the university’s admission quota as the reasons for this decision. Proffering solution to the affected students, the legal body pledged to accommodate the over 1,000 students unlawfully admitted by Lead City University within the available space.
The CLE also Reacting to a recent judgment against it regarding a property in Lagos that once housed the first Nigerian Law School students, an ad-hoc committee was set up to ensure compliance with the judgment and explore options for securing the historic building.
Furthermore, The Council, going further, granted provisional accreditation status to two private universities. They were El-Amin University and Newgate University, both located in Minna, Niger State. These institutions have been given an admission quota of 50 students each.
The CLE will revisit the Faculty of Law at Veritas University in Abuja and Kola Daisi University in Ibadan at a later date to assess their compliance with the accreditation team’s findings. The University of Abuja, however, has had its admission quota increased from 100 to 160 students due to improvements in infrastructure and the recruitment of additional academic staff.
The Council approved the establishment of a legal unit within the office of the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School. The mandate of this unit is to monitor court cases involving the CLE and keep the council informed of any developments.
