The National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, has issued a notice of mass actions over the protracted crisis between the Council of Legal Education, CLE, and National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN, on the denial of admission of NOUN graduates to Law School.
The union said it will commence the action in the Federal Capital Territory from August 27, 2018, to August 31, 2018, by shutting down the Federal capital of Abuja.
“We have decided that enough is enough and shall inevitably shut down the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, against any public activities taking place in the period”, said National Vice President (External affairs) of the association, Mr Taiwo Bamigbade.
NANS said the crisis had hindered the law graduates of the university from admission into the Nigerian Law School for over five years.
Bamigbade said the protest would begin on August 27, 2018, and would be in two phases.
He said that the association had earlier written a letter to notify President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday, August 20, 2018, over the crisis.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, recalls that the student body had issued a three month ultimatum to the Federal Government on May 23, 2018, to admit the Law graduates from NOUN into the Nigerian Law school.
The union said “it amounts to fraud, deceit, discrimination and mischief against the Nigerian students and inhumanity to vulnerable citizens, especially the youths to formally admit, graduate and issue them deficient certificates after several years of study despite financial implication”.
Bamigbade, the vice president of NANS, stated that the phase-1 protest which would be a 5-day mass action will take place in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, while phase 2 will take place on October 1, 2018.
NANS recalled the judgment of Justice Hilary Oshomah of the Federal High Court, Port-Harcourt, Rivers, on October 4 , 2017, which asked the National Universities Commission, NUC, Council of Legal Education, CLE, and the Federal Ministry of Education to resolve the crisis.
However, the decision of the court did not go down well with the NOUN, Law Graduates Forum, which stated that the court unconsciously renounced its jurisdiction on all academic and students’ matters.
