The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has demanded clarification from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) over the inability of some of its law graduates to proceed to the Nigerian Law School.
The committee questioned NOUN’s representative, Professor Shio Usman Ademo, on the regulatory history of the university’s law programme and the circumstances surrounding the directive that stopped fresh admissions into the programme.
The affected graduates had petitioned the committee after their names were rejected for mobilisation to the Nigerian Law School.
Appearing before the committee, Ademo said the Council for Legal Education in 2019 approved 1,888 NOUN law students to proceed to the Nigerian Law School before directing the university to stop admitting new students into its law programme.
He said more than 5,000 law students were already enrolled when the directive was issued.
The committee also sought clarification on the performance of NOUN’s previous law students at the Nigerian Law School.
Ademo confirmed that some of the university’s students had completed their studies at the Law School, passed the required examinations and were subsequently called to the Nigerian Bar.
The committee directed NOUN to submit a soft copy of the list of students affected by the directive for further examination.
The lawmakers said the submission would assist them in their continued consideration of the petition by the graduates.
The affected students were present during the committee’s proceedings as lawmakers sought responses from NOUN on the issues raised in their petition.
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