The Council of Legal Education (CLE) has enforced a five-year ban on admitting law students to Baze University’s Faculty of Law in Abuja with immediate effect. This penalty was imposed due to the faculty’s “flagrant” violation of its approved admission quota of 50 students per session, as specified by the CLE.
This information was conveyed through a statement signed by the acting Secretary and Director of Administration, Ms. Aderonke Osho, and released by the Council of Legal Education (CLE) regarding the accreditation status of the faculty.
The statement articulates:“At its Quarterly Meeting held on November 23, 2023, the Council of Legal Education (CLE) presided over by its Chairman, Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN, OFR considered the report of the Accreditation panel to the Faculty of Law, Baze University, Abuja.”
The Panel, headed by the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Prof Isa Hayatu Chiroma, SAN, revealed from its findings that:
(1) Baze University consistently and most flagrantly had contravened its admission quota of 50 students per session as approved by the Council of Legal Education with the result that the Faculty is currently having a backlog of over 347 law students waiting to be admitted into the Nigerian Law School.
(2) Since 2017 the Council of Legal Education had grappled with the excesses of Baze University by admitting over 750 law students which ordinarily would have taken about 15 years of admission based on the quota allotted to the University.
3) Baze University runs a three (3)-year LL.B programme for some UTME candidates without the approval of National Universities Commission (NUC), Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB and Council of Legal Education. Under the NUC Minimum Benchmark Academic Standard (BMAS) for law degree programme in Nigerian Universities, Law is a five (5)-year programme for UTME candidates and four (4)-years for Direct Entry students.
The Council of Legal Education after thorough consideration of these infractions resolved as follows:
(i) The imposition of a moratorium on admission of law students to the Faculty of Law, Baze University Abuja with immediate effect;
(ii) The moratorium will last in the first instance for a period of 5 years and may be renewed if no satisfactory action is taken to remedy the situation.
(iii) The Council in the interest of the innocent students, parents and guardians will use the five-year period to find ways to deal with the backlog of law students admitted by Baze University in excess of its admission quota.
(iv) Follow-up visits will be paid to the University to ascertain the extent of the measures it has taken to remedy the anomalies observed during the accreditation visit.
(v) The National Universities Commission (NUC), Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Parents, guardians, prospective applicants and members of the public are hereby put on notice on the status of Baze University Abuja and its faculty of Law”.
See photos from the meeting below:
