The Council of Legal Education has imposed a 10-year moratorium on Atiba University, Oyo State, barring the institution from offering Law over alleged deficiencies in its facilities and violations of regulations governing legal education in Nigeria.
The decision was contained in resolutions adopted at the Council’s Third Quarter Hybrid Meeting held at the headquarters of the Nigerian Law School in Bwari, Abuja.
The Council, in a statement signed by its Secretary and Director of Administration, Aderonke Osho, on Monday said the sanction followed findings that the university’s facilities were “inappropriate and inadequate” for the establishment and operation of a Faculty of Law.
The regulatory body also found that the university had admitted and graduated Law students without obtaining the requisite approval.
The Council said the 10-year moratorium was imposed as a regulatory measure to ensure compliance with prescribed standards and strengthen adherence to the framework governing legal education in the country.
It added that the decision was aimed at protecting the quality, integrity and standards of legal education in Nigeria.
The development came as the Council approved five universities to commence Law programmes from the 2026/2027 academic session.
The approved institutions are Amadeus University, Amazi, Abia State; Akwa Ibom State University; European University of Nigeria, Abuja; Oduduwa University, Ipetu-Modu, Osun State; and Peaceland University, Enugu.
Each of the five universities was approved to admit an initial quota of 50 students into its 100-level Law programme.
However, the Council declined to approve Maranatha University, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, to commence a Law programme, citing numerous deficiencies identified during its verification exercise.
The Council also approved increased admission quotas for some universities, including Bowen University, Ajayi Crowther University and Topfaith University, whose quotas were raised from 50 to 100 students for the 2026/2027 academic session.
North-Eastern University’s quota was increased from 50 to 75, while Elizade University’s was raised from 70 to 120 students. Chrisland University also received an increase from 50 to 70 students.
The Council said the decisions followed reports from its Facilities Verification and Accreditation Panel after inspection visits to the affected universities.