*NANS Says Graduates Stranded, Demands Immediate Resolution
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A Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Atiba University, Oyo State, has drawn criticism after describing some protesting law students as “intellectually bankrupt” during a confrontation over the crisis surrounding the university’s Law programme and the 10-year moratorium imposed by the Council of Legal Education.
The confrontation occurred on Monday as students protested the implications of the Council’s decision, including concerns over the ability of affected graduates to proceed to the Nigerian Law School.
In a video from the protest which circulated online on Tuesday, the university official initially appealed to the students to remain calm and conduct themselves as intellectuals.
“Let’s calm down. We’re all intellectual beings, so one day you might even find yourself in my shoes. So, don’t talk rubbish because you don’t know what your future will be,” the DVC told the students.
One of the protesters, however, urged him to concentrate on their immediate concerns.
“Sir, let’s focus on this one. Let’s focus on our present,” the student said.
The response appeared to anger the university official, who then questioned the intellectual capacity of some of the students.
“Listen, listen! Many of you are intellectually bankrupt. When I say you don’t know what your future holds and you are replying to me, I’m a successful man! If you are able to be like me in life, thank your Almighty God! What are you talking about?” he said.
The exchange came as students sought answers from the management over the status of the university’s Law programme following the Council of Legal Education’s action.
At another point in the confrontation, a student displayed a document on a mobile phone and attempted to draw the DVC’s attention to the date of the Council’s decision.
“August 19th, signed by the Secretary of Council of Legal Education, August 19th…” the student said.
The DVC responded that the date did not change the substance of what he wanted the students to understand and repeatedly urged them to listen.
“It doesn’t matter! Just listen! Just listen! Whatever… noise will not help you. I’ve been shouting it. Noise will not help you! Crisis will not help you! There are some fundamental issues that you must understand. I showed a letter to one of you the other day,” he said.
@thenigerialawyerAtiba Law Students Protest 10-Year CLE Moratorium Over Inadequate Facilities, Unapproved Admissions — DVC Calls Some “Intellectually Bankrupt”
He also suggested that the controversy surrounding the Law programme did not begin with the latest information circulating online.
“This thing is not just there online. It was there before our accreditation,” he said.
The remark prompted boos and reactions from some of the students gathered around him.
The protest followed the Council of Legal Education’s decision to impose a 10-year moratorium on Atiba University’s Law programme, following findings concerning the institution’s facilities and compliance with regulations governing legal education.
According to the Council’s position as presented in the material, facilities provided for establishing and operating the Faculty of Law were considered “inappropriate and inadequate.”
The Council also found that the university had admitted and graduated Law students without obtaining the requisite approval necessary for the programme.
The development has generated anxiety among current students and graduates, particularly over whether those already affected will be permitted to proceed to the Nigerian Law School and ultimately complete the professional training required to qualify as lawyers.
The students’ protest was therefore centred not merely on the imposition of the moratorium but on demands for clarity regarding their academic and professional future.
The controversy escalated on Tuesday after the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Akinteye Babatunde, circulated another video which he said showed the Deputy Vice-Chancellor climbing over a fence in an apparent effort to leave the university premises following the confrontation with students.
Babatunde claimed that protesting students prevented the official from leaving through the conventional route because of the manner in which he had addressed them.
“The Law Students of Atiba University make sure the DVC who spoke to them rudely and arrogantly during their protest yesterday could not leave the school, until he escaped through the fence,” he wrote.
He added that NANS stood with the affected Law students and would support efforts to obtain redress.
“This is the type of judgement that await all oppressor… We are in solidarity with the Law Students and we will join them to get justice,” he stated.
The circumstances depicted in the video and the precise reasons the DVC climbed the fence were not independently established from the material supplied.
NANS had separately issued a statement dated August 24, 2026, expressing solidarity with the protesting students and sharply criticising the management of Atiba University over the handling of the Law programme.
The student body accused the university of continuing to admit students despite the alleged absence of the necessary recognition and approval from the Council of Legal Education.
NANS said the situation had left some graduates stranded and unable to proceed to the Nigerian Law School.
“It is rather appalling that despite the affected students’ continuous agitations and the intervention of the apex student representative body, NANS, the management of Atiba University, Oyo State, has paid no heed to these genuine agitations,” the association said.
It questioned what it described as the integrity, efficiency and competence of the university’s management in the circumstances.
“Every sane individual must begin to question the integrity, efficiency, and competence of the management of Atiba University, Oyo State,” NANS said.
The association further alleged that the institution continued admitting students into its Law programme despite its inability to secure the required Council of Legal Education approval.
“We have it on record that despite the University’s inability to secure the recognition and approval of the Law programme by the Council of Legal Education, which has left graduates stranded and unable to proceed to the Nigerian Law School, the management of Atiba University, Oyo State, is still admitting students into this programme,” the statement added.
NANS subsequently called on the National Universities Commission to take drastic action against the institution, including the immediate withdrawal of Atiba University’s operating licence.
It also demanded that the university resolve the outstanding issues surrounding the Law programme and provide a clear pathway for eligible students and graduates to progress to the Nigerian Law School.
The association warned that failure by the relevant authorities and university management to respond promptly to the students’ concerns would lead to further escalation.
At the centre of the dispute is the distinction between university-level approval to run an academic Law programme and the requirements imposed by the Council of Legal Education for graduates seeking admission into the Nigerian Law School.
For the affected students, however, the immediate concern is the practical consequence of the Council’s 10-year moratorium and what arrangements, if any, will be made to safeguard those who enrolled in the programme before the regulatory action.
The DVC’s remarks have added another layer to the controversy, with attention shifting from the regulatory dispute itself to the manner in which university authorities are engaging students whose academic and professional futures have been thrown into uncertainty.
The university official maintained during the confrontation that shouting and confrontation would not resolve the underlying issues.
“Noise will not help you. Crisis will not help you. There are some fundamental issues that you must understand,” he told the students.
The protesters, however, continued to demand answers about the Council of Legal Education’s decision and its consequences for their studies, while NANS has threatened further action unless a concrete solution is provided.
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