NOUN law graduates write Osinbajo on Law School case

The Law Graduates Forum (LGF) of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) has written to Acting President Yemi Osinbajo on alleged failure to deliver judgment in their case against the Council of Legal Education (CLE).

They sought his intervention in the case challenging their non-admittance to the Law School.
Their letter, dated February 20, was signed by the forum’s chairman, Carl Umegboro, secretary Samuel Adeola, public relations officer Prince Daniel and Victor Mpamugo.

LGF is in court following CLE’s refusal to extend admission quotas to NOUN in the Law School despite the open university’s accreditation by the National Universities Commission (NUC).
They sued at the Federal High Court in Port Hourcourt. Three years later, judgment was fixed, but the judge was transferred .
The law graduates alleged the case spent three years in court due to “unjustifiable delays and politically-motivated technicalities”, which it said were adopted to frustrate them.
They said the case was argued on December 7, after which Justice B.O. Quadiri fixed January 27 for judgment.
“As scheduled, on our arrival from all geographical zones as delegated to the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, the ugly news was broken that the judgment we travelled far distances to witness would not be delivered as the judge has been transferred to Abuja Division after fixing the judgment but without directives on the matter,” they said.
The forum fears that the matter already fixed for judgment may begin afresh, which it believes would amount to “aberration, intimidation and tyranny”.
“We reject such vindictiveness and undue influences, and request that you (Osinbajo) use your good offices to see that the needful is timely done.
“We also solemnly call upon all well-meaning Nigerians and civil society groups to stand against tyranny and acts capable of thwarting the rule of law before it is too late,” the group said.
LGR said its members had gone through “agonising intimidations and frustrations by the CLE in conjunction with the judiciary as a whole over our rightful admission and training in the Law School, a facility solely-owned by the Federal Government.”
Copies of the letter were addressed to the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), the NOUN vice-chancellor, activist-lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), among others.