Court To Hear NOUN Law Graduates Suit Today

Justice Hillary Oshomah of the Federal High Court in Port
Harcourt will on July 5 hear the contentions of the parties in the
lingering admission crisis between the law graduates of the
National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and the first defendant,
Council of Legal Education (CLE).

The other three defendants in the suit are the National
Universities Commission (NUC), the university, NOUN, and the
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

The judge on June 14 readopted the court processes earlier filed
before the former judge, Justice Babatunde Quadri. The plaintiffs
through their counsel, Professor Abiodun Amuda-Kannike (SAN) are
challenging the refusal of CLE to admit them into the Nigerian Law
School since 2013 despite any known legal impediments against
them.

It will be recalled that the case had earlier been heard by
Justice Quadri on December 07, 2016 and scheduled for judgment on
January 27 but inexplicably failed to hold despite numerous
adjournments from the time it was filed in 2015.

Since then, the NOUN Law Graduates’ Forum had written to
virtually all the relevant authorities for intervention without
result until the recent correspondence to the Chief Judge of the
Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, after four months of the
botched judgment.

After the action, the matter was however, enlisted for fresh
hearing before the present judge.

Justice Hillary Oshomah of the Federal High Court in Port
Harcourt will on July 5 hear the contentions of the parties in the
lingering admission crisis between the law graduates of the
National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and the first defendant,
Council of Legal Education (CLE).

The other three defendants in the suit are the National
Universities Commission (NUC), the university, NOUN, and the
Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice.

The judge on June 14 readopted the court processes earlier filed
before the former judge, Justice Babatunde Quadri. The plaintiffs
through their counsel, Professor Abiodun Amuda-Kannike (SAN) are
challenging the refusal of CLE to admit them into the Nigerian Law
School since 2013 despite any known legal impediments against
them.

It will be recalled that the case had earlier been heard by
Justice Quadri on December 07, 2016 and scheduled for judgment on
January 27 but inexplicably failed to hold despite numerous
adjournments from the time it was filed in 2015.

Since then, the NOUN Law Graduates’ Forum had written to
virtually all the relevant authorities for intervention without
result until the recent correspondence to the Chief Judge of the
Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, after four months of the
botched judgment.

After the action, the matter was however, enlisted for fresh
hearing before the present judge.