More than 4,000 law graduates of the **National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN)** have petitioned the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, **Lateef Fagbemi, SAN**, over their exclusion from the **2025/2026 Nigerian Law School Bar Part II vocational training programme**.
In a petition signed by the group’s president, **Mr. Adefowora Adedeji**, and secretary-general, **Mr. Samuel Udofia**, the graduates described their omission from the admission list as an act of “discrimination,” arguing that it violates the **NOUN (Amendment) Act, 2018**, which expressly grants their eligibility for admission into the Law School.
The petitioners recalled that the amendment was signed into law by former President **Muhammadu Buhari**, paving the way for the first batch of NOUN law graduates to gain admission. They further argued that the current exclusion contravenes **Section 42 of the 1999 Constitution**, which guarantees citizens’ right to freedom from discrimination.
> “We are over 4,150 NOUN law graduates still awaiting admission into Bar Part II. Many have waited for more than five years, some have grown too old to continue, while others have died without fulfilling their aspirations,” the petition stated.
The group warned that the situation amounts to a **“national crisis”**, stressing that while law graduates from other Nigerian universities continue to enjoy admission rights, NOUN graduates remain sidelined.
As a way forward, they proposed that at least **600 NOUN law graduates** be distributed across the seven campuses of the Nigerian Law School to address the backlog. They also pointed out that earlier admitted NOUN graduates performed creditably at the Law School, underscoring their competence.
> “Denying us the same opportunity granted to our seniors will amount to discrimination and an infringement on our fundamental rights under Section 42 of the Constitution,” they emphasized.
The graduates appealed to the Attorney General to intervene by directing the **Council of Legal Education** and the **Nigerian Law School** to implement an immediate admission plan. They maintained that their demand is firmly backed by law, citing both the **NOUN Amendment Act (2018)** and the **Legal Education (Consolidated, etc.) Act**, which make all graduates of accredited Nigerian universities eligible for Bar training.
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