The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has moved to intervene in the controversy surrounding the accreditation status of the Law programme at Atiba University, Oyo State, amid concerns over the fate of students who have spent years pursuing their degrees….
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has moved to intervene in the controversy surrounding the accreditation status of the Law programme at Atiba University, Oyo State, amid concerns over the fate of students who have spent years pursuing their degrees.
NANS President, Afeez Babatunde Akinteye, popularly known as Babtee, said the students should not be made to bear the consequences of errors allegedly committed by the university’s management.
Akinteye, in a statement on the matter, said the student body would take up the issue and ensure that the university is held accountable for any failures established in the case.
“The leadership of NANS will be taking over this issue. The university will be held accountable for all their errors. Students should not be made to pay for errors caused by management,” he said.
The intervention follows concerns over students admitted into the university’s Law programme who have reportedly paid fees, attended lectures, written examinations and progressed through various levels of study, only to face uncertainty over their academic and professional future.
The development has triggered questions about how students could have progressed through the programme without the alleged regulatory issues being resolved or clearly communicated to them.
Akinteye questioned what the university’s leadership knew about the status of the programme and what steps were taken to address any outstanding regulatory requirements.
He also called for answers on why students were admitted and allowed to continue with the programme if the necessary professional requirements had not been fulfilled.
The NANS president said the affected students had no role in the accreditation process and should therefore not be punished for failures beyond their control.
Other users on the X platform in response to his intervention praised him and await further developments.
The issue wit the Law students of Atiba University was first brought to the attention of users on the X platform by a user with the handle @Hey_Shindara.
She said in her earlier post which later attracted the attention of the NANS President “They are not responsible for accreditation. They are not members of the Council of Legal Education. They are not NUC officials. They are not JAMB officials. They are students,”.
She argued that students who had spent several years studying Law could not simply be told to start afresh because of institutional or regulatory failures.
The controversy also raises concerns about the financial burden on parents and guardians who have spent millions of naira on tuition and other educational expenses.
She called on the university’s management to provide documents showing that the necessary approvals were obtained and to explain whether students were informed of any limitations affecting the programme.
“If you did everything properly, show the documents. If the necessary approvals were obtained, show them,”.
She further urged the relevant authorities, lawyers, journalists, human-rights organisations and student bodies to investigate the matter and help secure a lawful solution for the affected students.
The NANS intervention is expected to put renewed pressure on the university and relevant regulatory agencies to clarify the status of the Law programme and determine what measures can be taken to protect students who may have been caught in the dispute.
For the affected students, the central demand remains straightforward: they should not lose years of academic work because of failures they did not cause.
