4,000 Lawyers in Waiting: NOUN Graduates March on NASS, Threaten Nationwide Protest over Law School Lockout

4,000 lawyers in waiting: NOUN graduates march on NASS, threaten nationwide protest over law school lockout

qualified law graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria took their frustration to the streets of Abuja, marching to the National Assembly with one demand: let us into the Nigerian Law School.

They are calling it a national injustice.

“We are lawyers without a calling,” said Adefowora Adedeji, National President of the Backlog of NOUN Law Graduates, while addressing journalists during the peaceful procession.

He declared: “This prolonged denial has subjected hundreds of qualified Nigerian graduates to uncertainty, hardship, emotional distress and economic loss. Many have been unable to complete their professional legal education despite satisfying the prescribed academic requirements.”

—“We are not second-class graduates”—

The protest comes at a painful time. From July 7 to July 10, thousands of new lawyers are being called to the Nigerian Bar at the Body of Benchers Complex in Abuja. They passed the December 2025 Bar Finals and completed Law School.

The NOUN graduates say they did everything right too.

Their programme, they insist, is accredited by the National Universities Commission. Earlier sets of NOUN graduates were admitted, trained, and called to Bar. The National Open University Act was amended in 2018 to remove any legal doubt.

“So why are we being left behind?” Adedeji asked. “Our position is firmly anchored on the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Sections 34, 36 and 42 guarantee dignity, fair hearing and freedom from discrimination. This is a violation.”

—“Government is fighting, we are the victims”—

According to the group, the stalemate is not about qualifications. It is about a cold war between NOUN and the Council of Legal Education.

“It’s not because our certificate is having a defect,” Adedeji said. “But because the National University and the Council of Legal Education are having conflicts. Government agencies fighting, and we are the victims.”

He named the Council Chairman, Emeka Ngige, accusing him of refusing admission to backlog students from the 2019 set through to 2024. The graduates are spread across all 36 states and the FCT.

The human cost, he said, is already mounting. “We have record many casualties, deaths as a result of this denial. Our treasurer died, developed blood pressure as a result.”

—50 petitions, zero answers—

The graduates say they have knocked on every door. Petitions to the National Assembly, Federal Ministry of Education, NUC, Nigerian Bar Association, Body of Benchers — nearly 50 in total.

“We have exhausted dialogue and administrative processes,” Adedeji said. “What we want now is a definite timeline for resolving this issue.”

Their demand is clear: admission for the 2026/2027 academic session.

Those being targeted for intervention include the Council of Legal Education, Nigerian Law School management, the Federal Ministry of Education, Attorney General Lateef Fagbemi, and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“We therefore earnestly urge the relevant authorities to ensure that the 2026 to 2027 academic session of Nigeria does not leave us and the remaining backlog of the qualified NALOG graduates behind,” he pleaded.

—The threat—

If nothing changes, the march to NASS is just the beginning.

Adedeji warned that members will “intensify peaceful demonstrations” across all 36 states and the FCT.

The dispute has lingered for nearly a decade. In 2016, the House of Representatives ordered an investigation into the Council’s exclusion policy. The Council later approved a special remedial programme for one earlier batch, but thousands remain locked out.

For now, 4,000 Nigerians with law degrees remain in limbo — qualified on paper, barred in practice, and running out of patience.