The Council of Legal Education (CLE) has suspended the admission of students into the Faculties of Law at nine Nigerian universities due to the institutions’ failure to secure necessary accreditation. This decision was made during the council’s second quarterly meeting of 2024, chaired by Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN.
The 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; and Tansian University, Umunya, Anambra State.
The CLE found that these institutions had admitted and graduated law students without obtaining proper accreditation from the council. Chief Ngige stated, “We will not condone any breach of our accreditation protocols; it is mandatory for institutions to comply with our regulations before admitting law students.”
In addition, Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, has been placed under a five-year moratorium. The CLE cited inadequate infrastructure and repeated breaches of the admission quota as reasons for this sanction. The council has also pledged to accommodate over 1,000 students unlawfully admitted by Lead City University in available law programmes across other universities.
Furthermore, the CLE addressed a recent legal judgment concerning a property in Lagos that previously housed the first Nigerian Law School students. An ad-hoc committee has been established to ensure compliance with the court’s ruling and explore options to secure the historic building.
In a positive development, two private universities—El-Amin University and Newgate University, both located in Minna, Niger State—have been granted provisional accreditation with an admission quota of 50 students each. The council will also revisit the Faculties of Law at Veritas University in Abuja and Kola Daisi University in Ibadan at a later date to assess their compliance with recommendations from the accreditation team.
The University of Abuja received a boost as its admission quota was increased from 100 to 160 students following significant improvements in infrastructure and the hiring of additional academic staff.
In a related move, the CLE has approved the creation of a legal unit within the office of the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School. This unit will monitor court cases involving the council and keep it updated on legal developments.
Parents and prospective law students have been advised to avoid applying to the suspended universities for law programmes. Those who had already applied are encouraged to consider changing their institution of choice.
Sources: CLE meeting report, Chief Emeka Ngige’s statements.
