Parents of law students at Atiba University, Oyo, have appealed to the Federal Government and relevant regulatory bodies to urgently intervene in the academic crisis arising from the university’s unaccredited law programme.
The parents made the appeal at a news conference in Abuja, where they expressed concern over the impact of the Council of Legal Education’s, CLE, recent decision to impose a 10-year moratorium on the university’s law programme.
Speaking through their lawyer, Mr. Victor Opatola, the parents alleged that Atiba university admitted students into the law programme despite knowing that it had not secured the required CLE approval.
Opatola said the development had left affected students facing uncertainty over their academic and professional futures, with some having spent up to four years pursuing their law degrees.
He added that the parents had also invested millions of naira in tuition, accommodation and other educational expenses, which could be jeopardized if a solution was not found.
According to the lawyer, the students and their families only recently became fully aware of the implications of the programme’s lack of CLE accreditation.
“The issue is that Atiba University admitted law students over the years, running to five, six years knowing fully well that it is not accredited by CLE,” he said.
Opatola explained that students graduating from a law programme without the required CLE approval would face difficulties progressing to the Nigerian Law School, which is necessary for those seeking to qualify as legal practitioners in Nigeria.
He said the situation had caused considerable psychological distress among the affected students, who now feared that years of academic work could be lost.
The lawyer said the parents’ immediate priority was not confrontation but finding a practical and lawful solution that would protect the students’ interests.
“Our aim right now is to ensure that the years these students have put into academic work do not go to waste, neither the investment of their parents,” he said.
He proposed that the affected students be transferred to accredited law faculties in other universities willing to accept them, allowing them to complete their studies and proceed to the Nigerian Law School.
“What we are focused on now is the best interest of the students, and the best interest now is that they be distributed to accredited law faculties in other universities,” Opatola added.
He disclosed that his legal team had written several letters to the National Universities Commission, NUC, concerning the matter but claimed that their requests had been delayed by bureaucratic processes.
He therefore called on the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the NUC and the CLE to intervene swiftly before the students suffer further academic setbacks.
Opatola stressed that the students should not bear the consequences of regulatory failures or the circumstances surrounding the university’s approval process.
“All what the parents want is for their children to be placed in other universities which are willing to accept them,” he said.
Also Read: Council bans law program at Atiba University
He added that such an arrangement would enable the students to complete their law degrees and proceed to the Nigerian Law School, particularly those intending to practice as lawyers.
Another lawyer representing the parents, Mr. Edim Justus, urged the NUC to become more proactive in addressing accreditation-related complaints involving students.
Justus described the situation as disheartening, stressing that students should not have their academic and professional futures placed at risk through circumstances beyond their control.
One of the parents, Mr. Adetona Tajudeen, whose daughter is a 400-level law student, said she gained admission to the university through a scholarship from the Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN.
Tajudeen said he and several other parents were initially unaware that NUC recognition of a university and CLE approval of a law programme were separate requirements.
“Initially when we got admission for our children in that school all we were told was that the law programme is accredited by NUC,” he said.
He explained that he later discovered the distinction after seeing a CLE list of approved institutions for law programmes and asked his daughter to establish whether the university had obtained the council’s approval.
According to him, the university subsequently assured parents and students that the necessary accreditation was being processed.
Tajudeen said he personally visited the institution and was told that the required approval would be obtained, but subsequent assurances did not materialize.
He said parents continued to receive assurances from the university even after concerns over the law programme’s accreditation had emerged.
The parent said the situation became more troubling after the CLE released another list of approved law programmes that did not include Atiba University.
He also criticized the university for what he described as a lack of adequate explanation to parents regarding the status of the programme. “If we had known earlier, we would have taken our children to other schools,” Tajudeen said.
He added that many parents relied on information contained in the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, brochure when making decisions about their children’s admission.
The parents are now calling on the Minister of Education, NUC and CLE to convene an urgent meeting with the university and other relevant stakeholders to develop a lawful and humane solution.
Asked whether the parents would consider legal action, Opatola said they would make a decision on the matter eventually.
Atiba University, Oyo, is a private university established in 2017 and recognized by the NUC. The institution offers various undergraduate programmes, including Law.
The CLE recently imposed a 10-year moratorium on the university’s law programme, citing deficiencies in facilities and issues relating to the programme’s regulatory approval.
The decision means the university cannot continue admitting students into the affected law programme under the terms of the moratorium, further raising concerns about students already enrolled.
The development has intensified calls for regulatory authorities and the university management to find a solution for students who have already spent several years studying law.
The situation has also reportedly triggered protests by students, with the university currently shut down amid the growing concerns over the future of the law programme.
NAN
