Oyo varsity accreditation: Parents seek help from FG

P****arents of students of Atiba University, Oyo State, have called on the Federal Government to intervene in the crisis surrounding the institutions Law programme, asking authorities to facilitate the transfer of affected students to accredited institutions and prevent their years of academic efforts from being lost.

The parents, represented by their lawyer, Victor Opatola, made the demand in Abuja, urging the National Universities Commission, the Minister of Education and the Council of Legal Education to urgently resolve the matter before the commencement of the next academic session.

The parents’ call followed concerns over the accreditation status of the university’s Law programme and the implications of the Council of Legal Education’s decision on students who have progressed to 400-Level and 500-Level.

Opatola said some students had spent up to five years studying Law, while their parents had invested substantially in their education, only to discover that the programme was not accredited by the CLE, a requirement for graduates seeking admission to the Nigerian Law School.

He said, “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, knowing the implication that once you are not accredited by the Council of Legal Education, the students cannot go to law school.”

According to him, the CLE had placed the university on a 10-year moratorium, meaning that the institution could not admit students into the Law programme during the period, while students already enrolled face uncertainty over their progression to Law School.

He said the parents had petitioned the NUC and other relevant authorities, but were concerned about the delay in obtaining a 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 priority was to protect the students’ academic progress and ensure their years of study and their parents’ financial investments did not go to waste.

“Our aim right now is to ensure that the years of this student do not go to waste as well as the investment of the parent on the students. So, the important thing right now is the resolution of this matter,” he said.

He called for the affected students to be transferred to accredited Law faculties without restarting 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. They can actualise their dream of becoming a lawyer,” he said.

The parents also asked the authorities to direct the release of the students’ academic records, facilitate their transfer to accredited Law faculties and suspend further fee demands while the matter was being resolved.

In a formal notice dated June 30, 2026, the parents’ lawyers demanded the release of the students’ academic transcripts and other records without charge.

They also requested that the university should facilitate and fund the transfer of affected students to accredited Law programmes and refund tuition and levies paid by the students.

The lawyers said the students had been admitted, paid fees, attended lectures, written examinations and progressed through various academic levels “in the reasonable expectation that the programme was duly accredited by the Council for Legal Education, as required by law.”

The parents subsequently petitioned the NUC on July 10, 2026, seeking an investigation and urgent intervention.

According to the petition, the CLE’s published list of accredited Law faculties as of June 2026 did not include Atiba University.

The petition said students from 100-Level to 500-Level were affected, including some who had completed 500 level but could not proceed to Law School.

Opatola urged the CLE to consider the years already spent by the students and work with the NUC to ensure their transfer before the next academic session.

“We also call upon the Council of Legal Education. We fully understand that the necessary punishment has been omitted out on the university, but we particularly urge the Council of Legal Education to give special consideration to the years that the students have spent and not allow it to go to waste.”

He also urged the Consumer Protection Commission to intervene, describing the matter as a consumer protection issue.

Meanwhile, the parents, among their complaints, said that the university had demanded N75,000 from students for the release of transcripts required for transfer.

“They told the children they could come and take their transcript for transfer with payment of N75,000. They are charging N75,000 for transcript to get transferred to another school. They are shifting all the blame to the parents and students now, trying to exonerate themselves,” they said.

Responding to the allegations in a conversation with Sunday PUNCH, the Vice Chancellor of Atiba University, Prof. S.O. Okeniyi, said the university had secured NUC accreditation to run the degree programme and had been seeking CLE accreditation.

He said the university did not deliberately decide against obtaining the CLE’s approval, explaining that it had repeatedly called for the council’s assessment.

“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.

“Unfortunately, we have been calling for Council of Legal Education since we had the accreditation of the NUC. There was permission to run the programme. We have been calling on the CLE until lately when they came.”

According to Okeniyi, the CLE raised concerns about the environment in which the students were being trained and also rejected the architectural plan presented by the university for a new Law faculty.

He said the university had appealed the moratorium and was hopeful that the CLE would reconsider its decision.

“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.”

The VC also disclosed that the university had identified at least two institutions willing to receive affected students and had contacted 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.”

On the allegation concerning the N75,000 transcript fee, Okeniyi said Law students would not be required to pay the amount.

“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. What they are complaining about is what is on the school site for collection of transcript, but the parents did not ask us”.

He said some students whose parents had approached the university had already received their transcripts, while arrangements were being made to assist others seeking transfers.

Okeniyi said the university was planning a meeting with the parents and had already met with the students to discuss the matter.

He said the university was aware that the next academic session would begin in September and was prepared to process transfer requests.

“If they come to request for that, we are ready to give it to them,” he said.