Nigerian Law School mobilisation – UNN reacts to allegation of bribery, favouritism

The University of Nigeria Nsukka’s dean, Faculty of Law, Prof. Ifeoma Enemo, has responded to allegation of bribery and favoritism in the university’s mobilization of graduates for the Nigerian Law School. According to the institution, the candidates caused the delay in proceeding to the Nigerian Law School.

A source had alleged that “a crisis of confidence bordering on nepotism, favouritism and injustice is brewing at the Faculty of Law of the University of Nigeria. This is sequel to the rumoured plan by the authorities of the university to exclude a certain number of its graduates who are supposed to proceed to the Nigerian Law School towards the end of the year. Those alleging foul play are candidates, who sat for their final examinations in October/November 2022.”

However, Enemo stated that: “Early last year, the affected students were supposed to sit for their final papers and we were ready to organise that. However, the students said they should be given more time to prepare even when they were told that nobody knew what could happen. It was at the time the ASUU strike was looming. Unfortunately, the strike started.

“The strike lasted exactly eight months. In the course of the strike, the Nigerian Law School wrote to us around July last year asking for the list of our students to come for their programme. Our quota is 220 students. We had to start calling some students who were yet to go to the Law School for one reason or the other but who had got over such issues to come. It was in the midst of the strike and eventually, we only got 29 students.

“You can imagine the number of slots we could not fill. No one can blame the Law School, they have their own schedule and it is not only students from the public universities that they handle. If you are not ready, others may be ready.

“Early this month, the Law School requested our list of graduates; remember that our quota is still 220. What we did was that the faculty management held a meeting and it was resolved that two-thirds of the slots be given to the 2021/2022 session graduates who eventually finished their course last November after the strike and the rest to the current students who just concluded their programme.

“To avoid any rancour or allegation of favouritism, selection of those to go was based on their academic performance, that is, their cumulative grade point aggregate (CGPA). So the 147 selected among that group were based on their CGPA, likewise the ones picked from the current set. Anybody who has anything to contradict this should bring his facts to the open.

“Some lecturers even have their own children and wards that were not selected. In fact, the faculty management had to pet the current set who felt that they should be given the total slots to understand and bear the situation. They were saying they were not responsible for last year’s set’s travails.”

Enemo added that it would be mischievous to accuse the faculty of any wrongdoing in the matter.

“We had no control over the strike that took the most part of last year and we cannot also say the whole slots be given the previous set and totally leave out the current one.”

A source had said that the students “were supposed to have proceeded to the Nigerian Law School in January this year. Unfortunately, the authorities of the university could not get their results ready at the time the Council for Legal Education requested for the list of candidates for mobilization for the law school programme.

“It was bad enough that the candidates missed out on the Law School programme for no fault of theirs. But what appears worse now is that admission for a new set of candidates to the Law School is underway and those of them from the University of Nigeria who missed out in January this year are facing possible exclusion from the authorities of the university.

“Their hope of proceeding to the Law School is hanging in the balance as the management of the university is said to be considering excluding some of them for reasons that border on nepotism and cronyism.

“Should this happen, a good number of those who lost the opportunity to proceed to the Law School in January this year for no fault of theirs but have been hoping to join the next batch of Law School candidates would have lost out yet again. So, what becomes of them?

“What is the reason behind this? When next will they be mobilized for the Law School programme? When will this seemingly interminable process end, especially for a set of students who have had to spend extra years in the Law programme due to policy somersaults, including the disruptive strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)?

“Curiously, the same management is said to be more disposed to forwarding the names of those who just graduated last month to the Nigerian Law School, while leaving behind those who graduated last year. This development is causing outrage and anxiety among the 2022 graduates.

“They are asking why? Why would some of them be sent to Law School and others asked to stay behind when they have duly passed their examinations and have no carryovers or any issue of any sort? Why will the authorities of the university leave behind someone who graduated in 2022 and be eager to forward the name of someone who just graduated a few weeks ago? It is questions upon questions.

“The 2022 graduvates are alleging discriminatory practices bordering on favouritism and nepotism. They say it smacks of injustice and insensitivity for the university to leave them in the cold for no fault of theirs.”

It was further alleged that the response from the Faculty of Law of the university has not helped matters. The Dean of the Faculty, Prof. Ifeoma Enemo, allegedly said in a national newspaper: ‘Early last year, the affected students were supposed to sit for their final papers and we were ready to organize that. However, the students said they should be given more time to prepare even when they were told that nobody knew what could happen. It was at the time the ASUU strike was looming. Unfortunately, the strike started…In the course of the strike, the Nigerian Law School wrote to us around July last year asking for the list of our students to come for their programme…We had to start calling some students who were yet to go to Law School for one reason or the other but who have got such issues to come…and eventually we only got 29 students.’

“This was the dean’s version of the story. But the concerned candidates are saying that the story from the dean is strange and does not apply to them. They hold that the dean must be talking about another set of graduates other than their own.

“They argue that there was never a time they were asked to write examinations and they chose to postpone it. When did it become the prerogative of students to decide for university management when to sit for examinations? they queried.

“For them therefore, the dean’s story is not true of their situation.

The true position is that they commenced their examinations shortly after ASUU called off its eight months-long strike,” adding by October, 2022, they were through with their examinations and Project defence ended in November. They further said “the university had ample time between November 2022 and January 2023 when admission to the Nigerian Law School commenced to get their results ready. But for reasons that are not yet known to them, the Faculty sat on the examination results and failed to release them early enough for them to proceed to the Law School. Even by February, 2023, the Nigerian Law School was still admitting candidates. But their Faculty, they said, could not be bothered. They did not get the students’ results ready until the period of admission for Law School elapsed.” The entire set-up, they allege, “smacks of insensitivity.

“Whatever may be the case, there can be no justification whatsoever in leaving behind someone who graduated earlier in preference for a fresh graduate. No yardstick can justify that. The narrative from the Dean of Law of the university also has gaps. Students are never known anywhere in the world, including Nigeria, to be the ones dictating for the university management when to sit for examinations and when not to.

“The story sounds strange. The authorities of the university therefore need to tread cautiously. They need to do the right thing in this matter. They have a responsibility to ensure that justice and fairness are applied.

“Candidates for the Nigerian Law School must not be made to suffer undue delay for no fault of theirs. Whatever strange criterion that is behind this insidious plan should be jettisoned forthwith. Corruption in high places is one of the blights that have kept Nigeria down. The authorities of the University of Nigeria should not subscribe to this debilitating malaise.”