In a decisive move, the Nigerian Law School has slapped a five-year ban on Baze University, Abuja, forbidding the institution from admitting new students into its Law Faculty.
The ban stems from Baze University consistently exceeding its approved admission quota of 50 students per session, as revealed by the Council of Legal Education (CLE).
The revelation was made public by Aderonke Osho, the acting secretary and director of administration of the Nigerian Law School, in a statement released on Friday.
The university, founded by Datti Baba-Ahmed, the running mate to Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate Peter Obi, has been under scrutiny for its admissions practices.
The CLE, chaired by Chief Emeka Ngige, found that Baze University had a staggering backlog of over 347 law students awaiting admission to the Nigerian Law School.
The university had consistently violated the CLE-approved quota, admitting more than 750 law students since 2017, an amount that would typically span 15 years under the allotted quota.
Further investigations by the CLE revealed that Baze University was running a three-year law degree program for some Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) candidates without the necessary approvals from the National Universities Commission (NUC), Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), and the CLE.
In response to these infractions, the Council of Legal Education imposed a moratorium on Baze University’s Law Faculty, effective immediately.
The moratorium, set for an initial five years, may be extended if corrective measures are not taken.
The council aims to utilise this period to address the backlog of law students admitted in excess of the approved quota.
The statement emphasised that follow-up visits would be conducted to assess the university’s actions in rectifying the observed anomalies.
Parents, guardians, prospective applicants, and the general public were alerted to the status of Baze University and its Law Faculty by the CLE, NUC, and JAMB.
This stringent measure by the Nigerian Law School reflects a commitment to upholding admission standards and ensuring the integrity of legal education in the country.
