Graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria have renewed their demand for admission into the Nigerian Law School, accusing the Council of Legal Education of denying more than 4,000 qualified law graduates access to mandatory professional legal training since 2020.
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The graduates, under the aegis of the Backlog of NOUN Law Graduates, staged a protest at the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation in Abuja on Wednesday, calling on the Federal Government to intervene in what they described as years of injustice and career stagnation.
The protest came two days after the group held a similar demonstration at the National Assembly over the same issue.
Speaking on behalf of the affected graduates, the National President of the association, Adefowora Adedeji, said the prolonged refusal to admit eligible NOUN law graduates into the Nigerian Law School had caused financial hardship, emotional distress and uncertainty for thousands of graduates.
According to him, the National Universities Commission accredited NOUN’s law programme, while earlier sets of graduates from the institution were admitted into the Nigerian Law School through a special arrangement.
He, however, said more than 4,000 graduates from subsequent sets had remained excluded from the professional training required to qualify as lawyers in Nigeria.
Adedeji argued that the continued exclusion of the graduates violates constitutional guarantees of human dignity, fair hearing and freedom from discrimination.
He maintained that the 2018 amendment to the National Open University Act resolved earlier legal concerns surrounding the institution’s law programme, insisting that there was no legal basis for the continued refusal to admit qualified graduates.
The protesters called on the Council of Legal Education, the management of the Nigerian Law School, the Federal Ministry of Education, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, and President Bola Tinubu to ensure that all backlog graduates are admitted into the 2026/2027 Nigerian Law School session.
According to Adedeji, the affected graduates do not want to be left behind again as another academic session approaches.
“We are calling on the relevant authorities to ensure that the 2026/2027 academic session does not leave us and the remaining backlog of qualified NOUN law graduates behind,” he said.
The appeal comes as successful candidates who completed the Nigerian Law School programme are being called to the Nigerian Bar during the ongoing 2026 Call to Bar ceremonies in Abuja.
Adedeji said the association had submitted nearly 50 petitions to the National Assembly, the Federal Ministry of Education, the NUC, the Nigerian Bar Association, the Body of Benchers and other relevant government institutions, but had yet to secure a final resolution.
“We have exhausted dialogue and administrative processes. What we want now is a definite timeline for resolving this issue,” he said.
He warned that the group would intensify its protests across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory if the authorities failed to take urgent steps to resolve the matter.
Adedeji said the prolonged impasse was caused by disagreements between NOUN and the Council of Legal Education, while the graduates continued to suffer the consequences.
According to him, the affected graduates are not being excluded because their certificates are defective, but because of unresolved institutional disputes among government bodies.
He described the graduates as victims of conflicts between government institutions.
Adedeji also accused the Chairman of the Council of Legal Education, Emeka Nweze, SAN, of refusing to admit more than 4,000 qualified NOUN law graduates from the 2019 to 2024 sets into the Nigerian Law School.
He said the prolonged uncertainty had taken a severe toll on the affected graduates, adding that some had reportedly developed health complications as a result of the situation.
He further claimed that the association’s treasurer died after developing hypertension, which he linked to the unresolved admission crisis.
The graduates urged the Federal Government to treat the matter as urgent, saying the continued exclusion of NOUN law graduates from the Nigerian Law School was unfair, discriminatory and damaging to their professional future.
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