Over 4,000 NOUN Law Graduates Petition AGF Over Exclusion From Nigerian Law School

Over 4,000 law graduates from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) have petitioned the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Olasunkanmi Fagbemi SAN, seeking urgent intervention over their exclusion from the 2025/2026 Nigerian Law School Bar Part II vocational training admission exercise.

In a petition signed by the group’s President, Mr. Adefowora Adedeji, and Secretary-General, Mr. Samuel Udofia, the graduates decried what they described as “discrimination” against over 4,150 qualified NOUN law graduates, who have been denied the opportunity to apply for the programme, despite being recognized under the National Open University of Nigeria (Amendment) Act, 2018.

The petitioners recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari signed the amendment into law, paving the way for NOUN graduates to be admitted into the Nigerian Law School for the first time. They argued that the current exclusion violates Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution, which guarantees freedom from discrimination and equal rights for all citizens.

According to the graduates, many have been waiting more than five years to proceed to Bar Part II, with some already advanced in age, while others have passed away without fulfilling their aspirations. They stressed that denying them admission, while graduates of other Nigerian universities are accommodated, amounts to “a national crisis.”

As a practical solution, the petitioners proposed that at least 600 NOUN law graduates be distributed across the seven campuses of the Nigerian Law School. They also noted that earlier sets of NOUN graduates admitted into the Law School had performed commendably, demonstrating their competence and readiness for professional legal training.

The graduates urged the Attorney General to impress upon the Council for Legal Education and the Nigerian Law School the urgent need to resolve the matter in the interest of fairness, justice, and national development.

The petition stated, in part:

“We bring to your attention that our rights to equal legal education have been jeopardised in the just-released Nigerian Law School 2025/2026 Bar Part II admission exercise, which excluded NOUN law graduates. Law graduates from other Nigerian universities are given the right of admission, while we are excluded. This is against constitutional principles of equality, fairness, and justice.”

The petition further emphasized that direct admission into Bar Part II is supported by the law, including the NOUN (Amendment) Act 2018 and the Legal Education (Consolidated) Act, which allows all Nigerian university law graduates to seek admission.

“The commendable performance of the first NOUN law graduates admitted into the Nigerian Law School—who have distinguished themselves academically and in character—stands as clear evidence of our readiness and capacity,” the statement added.

The group is now awaiting a response from the Attorney General and the Nigerian Law School, hoping for an immediate action plan to accommodate the backlog of NOUN law graduates.