Parents of students enrolled in the Law programme at Atiba University, Oyo State, have appealed to the Federal Government to urgently intervene in the controversy surrounding the programme’s accreditation status, warning that several years of academic work and substantial financial investments could be lost if a solution is not found.
The parents are seeking the intervention of the National Universities Commission (NUC), the Minister of Education and the Council of Legal Education (CLE) to facilitate the transfer of affected students to accredited universities where they can continue their studies without being forced to start afresh.
The appeal was made in Abuja through their legal representative, Victor Opatola, who said the situation had created serious uncertainty for students who had already advanced to the higher levels of the five-year Law programme.
According to Opatola, some of the affected students have spent between four and five years studying Law at the institution, with their parents committing significant financial resources toward their education.
He expressed concern that the students only discovered the implications of the programme’s accreditation status after progressing substantially in their academic journey.
The controversy centres on the accreditation of Atiba University’s Law programme by the Council of Legal Education, the body responsible for regulating admission into the Nigerian Law School.
While universities may receive approval from the NUC to operate degree programmes, graduates of Law programmes must also satisfy the requirements of the CLE before they can proceed to the Nigerian Law School and pursue professional legal training.
Opatola alleged that the CLE had imposed a 10-year moratorium on the university’s Law programme, meaning that the institution would be unable to admit new students into the programme during the period.
The development, he said, had left existing students, including those at 400-Level and 500-Level, in a difficult position.
He said the parents had approached the relevant regulatory authorities in an attempt to secure an urgent solution but expressed disappointment over what he described as delays and bureaucratic processes.
“We have written to the Nigerian University Commission. It is sad that we have written to NUC for almost two months, and our letter and series of follow-up has been embroiled in the bureaucracy of NUC,” he said.
The lawyer stressed that the immediate concern was not simply determining responsibility for the accreditation dispute but ensuring that students who had already invested years in their education were protected.
“Our aim right now is to ensure that the years of this student do not go to waste as well as the investment of the parent on the students. So, the important thing right now is the resolution of this matter,” he said.
The parents are particularly requesting that affected students be transferred to accredited Law faculties in other universities and allowed to continue from appropriate academic levels rather than starting their studies again.
They also want the university to release students’ academic transcripts and other relevant records to facilitate the transfer process.
In a formal notice dated June 30, 2026, the parents’ lawyers demanded the release of the students’ academic documents without additional charges.
They further requested that Atiba University facilitate and fund the transfer of affected students to accredited Law programmes and refund tuition fees and other levies paid by the affected students.
The lawyers argued that the students had enrolled in the programme, paid their fees, attended lectures, sat for examinations and progressed through several academic levels on the reasonable assumption that the programme met the necessary regulatory requirements.
The parents subsequently petitioned the NUC on July 10, 2026, seeking an investigation into the matter and immediate intervention.
According to the petition, the CLE’s list of accredited Law faculties published as of June 2026 did not include Atiba University.
The parents said the situation affected students across various levels, from 100-Level to 500-Level, with some students having completed their university studies but unable to proceed to the Nigerian Law School.
Opatola appealed to the CLE to take the students’ circumstances into consideration, arguing that whatever regulatory action was deemed appropriate against the university should not result in the destruction of students’ academic futures.
“We also call upon the Council of Legal Education. We fully understand that the necessary punishment has been meted out on the university, but we particularly urge the Council of Legal Education to give special consideration to the years that the students have spent and not allow it to go to waste,” he said.
He also called on the relevant consumer protection authorities to intervene, arguing that the controversy had financial and consumer-protection implications for parents who paid for an educational service they believed met the required regulatory standards.
Another major issue raised by the parents was an alleged N75,000 fee demanded from students seeking their academic transcripts.
The parents said some students were allegedly informed that they would have to pay the amount before their transcripts could be released for transfer to other institutions.
“They told the children they could come and take their transcript for transfer with payment of N75,000. They are charging N75,000 for transcript to get transferred to another school. They are shifting all the blame to the parents and students now, trying to exonerate themselves,” the parents alleged.
However, the university has disputed aspects of the allegations and maintained that it has been making efforts to resolve the accreditation challenge.
The Vice Chancellor of Atiba University, Professor S.O. Okeniyi, told Sunday PUNCH that the institution obtained accreditation from the NUC to operate the degree programme and had subsequently been pursuing accreditation from the Council of Legal Education.
According to him, the university did not deliberately disregard the CLE’s requirements.
“The National Universities Commission is the only regulatory body in Nigeria that allows degrees to be run in Nigerian universities. Now, we have the accreditation of the National Universities Commission.
“Unfortunately, we have been calling for Council of Legal Education since we had the accreditation of the NUC. There was permission to run the programme. We have been calling on the CLE until lately when they came,” he explained.
Okeniyi said the CLE raised concerns regarding the environment in which the students were being trained and also rejected an architectural plan submitted by the university for a new Law faculty.
He disclosed that the university had appealed the CLE’s decision and remained hopeful that the council would reconsider its position.
“So, what I want to tell the parents is that we are working. We are going to appeal. The university is going to appeal. It’s already appealing the decision of the CLE,” the vice chancellor said.
On the issue of transferring students, Okeniyi said the university had already identified at least two institutions that could receive affected students and was also contacting other universities.
“We have also secured two schools that you can transfer. Even more schools because I’ve written to different schools because of our relationship as VCs and as a university,” he said.
He also rejected the allegation that Law students would be required to pay N75,000 before obtaining their transcripts.
“If you want the transcripts, you don’t need to pay N75,000 for transcripts. But that is an exception for only the law students. What they are complaining about is what is on the school site for collection of transcript,” he explained.
The vice chancellor said some students whose parents had already approached the university had received their transcripts, while the institution was prepared to process further requests from students who wished to transfer.
He added that the university had met with the affected students and was planning a meeting with their parents to discuss the situation and possible solutions.
With the new academic session expected to commence in September, the parents are pressing the regulatory authorities to act quickly, arguing that further delays could worsen the predicament of students who have already spent years pursuing their professional ambitions.
The dispute has therefore placed the NUC, CLE, Atiba University and other relevant authorities under pressure to find a solution that balances regulatory requirements with the need to protect students who may have acted in good faith when enrolling in the programme.
For the affected students and their families, the immediate priority remains clear: securing a pathway that will enable them to complete their legal education and pursue admission to the Nigerian Law School without losing years of study or the substantial financial resources already committed to their education.
