House of Reps Investigates NOUN Graduates' Law School Exclusion

The House of Representatives has initiated an investigation into the exclusion of over 5,000 law graduates from the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) from admission into the Nigerian Law School for Bar training and examinations. This action follows a petition from the affected graduates, represented by the “Backlog of Law Graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria,” who requested the House's intervention in their inability to qualify for the Call to Bar.

The House Committee on Public Petitions invited NOUN and the Nigerian Law School, under the Council of Legal Education (CLE), to explain the situation, but neither institution appeared at the hearing on September 16, 2026. NOUN cited the absence of its Vice-Chancellor, while the Nigerian Law School requested alternative dates due to official engagements.

Chibueze Obochi, the association’s Public Relations Officer, stated that the graduates had completed their LLB programs and should not suffer due to inter-agency disagreements. He emphasized that the suspension of admissions in 2015 did not affect those already enrolled.