The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan today ruled that the Law Course being offered at the Lead City University remains invalid until accredited by the National University Commission (NUC).The Justices set aside the judgment of the lower court which ruled against the NUC alleged invalidation of the law degree of the private university.
A graduate of law student of the university who made first class, Segun Alli had dragged NUC to court for alleged invalidation of the law degree of the school and denying him to proceed to law school after it had granted approval to the university to run a law faculty.
In her lead Judgment unanimously adopted by two other justices; Justice Chidi Nwaoma Uwa upheld the appeal of the National Universities Commission declaring the operation of law in the university without accreditation as an illegality.The judgment which lasted over three hours saw the courtroom wearing sober mood by students of the university and their parents studying law.
According to Justice Uwa, the students does not have a locus stand to have dragged the NUC to court as the matter under contention was between NUC and the lead city university over compliance with directives to set up a valid law faculty.Explaining further, Justice Uwa said the appeal of NUC was upheld due to the failure of the university to obtain and meet the requirements of the NUC and National Council of Legal Education before graduating students for the same course.
According to her, Lead City University had admitted students to study law in the university on 22nd of May 2005 whereas the University got a license to operate on 9th June, 2005.
“There was no accreditation, there was not validation, it was an invalid, invalid and so I set aside the judgment of the lower court and uphold the appeal.’
Justice Uwa who said the NUC approved the setting up of a law faculty at the university in 2008 while the University graduated their first law students in 2009 describing the exercise as totally illegal.
While blaming the lower court for blowing hot and cold in the case, Justice Uwa held Segun Alli acted as a ‘busy body’ in a matter that is between the university and regulatory body.
While saying the student cannot benefit from illegality, Justice Uwa advised parents to investigate properly the institutional accreditation status before sending their wards especially for courses like Law and Medicine. She said approval of a course is not the same as accreditation saying it amounted that the university graduated students who were supposed to undergo a 5year course in a year.
According to her, after approval the university must meet up with the NUC guidelines 1,3,14 and 15 stipulating requirements.Reacting to the judgment, Counsel to the University, S. Ola Oni thanked the justices for the judgment adding that the university will do the right thing.Justice Uwa had to stop delivering the judgment to warn and correct parents’s reactions to her judgment and advised parents to be painstaking in looking for the best for their children.
