The Court of Appeal sitting in Ibadan has declared the Law programme of the Lead City University, Ibadan, invalid, pending the time the National University Commission will accredit the course.
A Law graduate from the university, Segun Alli, had dragged the NUC before the court for invalidating the Law programme of the school and denying the students the opportunity to proceed to the Nigeria Law School.
Justice Chidi Uwa and two other judges of the appellate court, on Wednesday in a unanimous judgment, set aside the judgment of the lower court, which ruled against the invalidation of the Law degree of the university by the NUC.
The judge, in a three-hour judgement, said the Law programme of the university had not been accredited by the NUC, as earlier claimed, and thereby declared the operation of Law degree at the university without accreditation as an illegality.
Uwa said, “The students had no locus standi to drag the NUC to court as the matter under contention was between the NUC and the Lead City University over compliance with directives on setting up of a valid Law Faculty.”
She said the appeal of the NUC was upheld due to the failure of the university to obtain and meet the requirements of the NUC and the National Council of Legal Education before graduating students for the same course.
She said LCU admitted students to study Law in the university on May 22, 2005, whereas the University got a license to operate on June 9, 2005.
Uwa added that Alli acted as a “busy body” in a matter that was between the university and the regulatory body, explaining that the approval of a course was not the same as accreditation.
She said following the approval, the university should meet up with the NUC guidelines.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel for the university, Ola Oni, said the university would ensure that things were done the right way.
