Parents of Law students at Atiba University, Oyo State, have appealed to the Federal Government to intervene in a dispute over the accreditation of the institution’s Law programme and facilitate the transfer of affected students to accredited universities.
The parents, represented by their lawyer, Victor Opatola, made the appeal in Abuja, urging the National Universities Commission (NUC), the Minister of Education and the Council of Legal Education (CLE) to resolve the matter before the start of the next academic session.
The dispute centres on the accreditation status of Atiba University’s Law programme and the implications for students who have progressed to the higher levels of the course, including those in 400 and 500 Level.
Opatola said some students had spent as many as five years studying Law, while their parents had made significant financial commitments towards their education.
He alleged that the students subsequently discovered that the programme was not accredited by the CLE, whose approval is required for Law graduates seeking admission to the Nigerian Law School.
“Atiba University admitted students over the years, running to five, six years and knowing full well that it is not accredited by the Council of Legal Education,” Opatola said.
He said the CLE had imposed a 10-year moratorium on the university’s Law programme, preventing further admissions and leaving existing students uncertain about their progression to the Nigerian Law School.
According to him, the parents had petitioned the NUC and other relevant authorities but had yet to receive what they considered a satisfactory response.
“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.
Opatola said the immediate concern was to ensure that students did not lose the years they had already spent studying or the financial investment made by their families.
He called for the affected students to be transferred to accredited Law faculties without being required to restart their studies.
“On a minimum, we are appealing on behalf of these students that their five years should not go to waste, so that these students can feasibly be put into other universities,” he said.
The parents are also seeking the release of students’ academic records, suspension of further fee demands and assistance with transfers to accredited Law programmes.
In a legal notice dated 30 June 2026, their lawyers demanded the release of academic transcripts and other records without charge. They also requested that the university facilitate and fund the transfer of affected students and refund tuition and levies paid by them.
The lawyers argued that the students had been admitted, paid fees, attended lectures, sat examinations and progressed through the programme in the expectation that it had the necessary regulatory approval.
The parents subsequently petitioned the NUC on 10 July 2026, asking the commission to investigate the matter and intervene.
According to the petition, Atiba University was not listed among the Law faculties accredited by the CLE as of June 2026. The parents said students from 100 Level through 500 Level were affected, including some who had completed their final year but were unable to proceed to the Nigerian Law School.
Opatola also appealed to the CLE to take the students’ years of study into account and work with the NUC to facilitate their transfer before the next academic session.
He further called on the consumer protection authorities to intervene, arguing that the matter had implications for students and their families as consumers of educational services.
The parents also alleged that students had been asked to pay N75,000 to obtain transcripts required for transfer to other universities.
Responding to the allegations, the Vice-Chancellor of Atiba University, Professor S.O. Okeniyi, said the university had obtained NUC accreditation to run the degree programme and had been seeking accreditation from the CLE.
Okeniyi said the university had repeatedly requested assessment by the CLE following its NUC accreditation and denied that the institution had deliberately refused to seek the council’s approval.
“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,” he said.
He added that the CLE had raised concerns about the environment in which students were being trained and had rejected an architectural plan submitted by the university for a new Law faculty.
The vice-chancellor said the university had appealed the CLE’s decision and was hopeful that the moratorium would be reconsidered.
“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,” he said.
Okeniyi also said the university had identified at least two institutions that could receive affected students and had approached other universities over possible transfers.
“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.
On the alleged N75,000 transcript charge, Okeniyi said Law students seeking transfers would be exempted from the payment.
“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,” he said.
He explained that the fee displayed on the university’s website related to general transcript requests, adding that some Law students whose parents had approached the institution had already received their records.
The vice-chancellor said the university was prepared to process transfer requests and was planning further discussions with the parents.
He added that the university had already met with the affected students and was aware that the next academic session was due to begin in September.
“If they come to request for that, we are ready to give it to them,” he said.
