AKSU’s law faculty: A journey of regulatory milestones
Few academic programmes in Nigeria are subject to as many distinct statutory approvals as the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree. Unlike most university programmes, a law degree does not become fully operational through a single regulatory approval. Rather, it passes through separate processes handled by different regulatory bodies, each exercising specific statutory responsibilities.
That distinction is important in understanding the recent approval granted to Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) by the Council of Legal Education (CLE) to commence its Bachelor of Laws programme, as well as the contributions of Governor Umo Eno and the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Otoabasi Akpan.
Few academic programmes in Nigeria are subject to as many distinct statutory approvals as the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree. Unlike most university programmes, a law degree does not become fully operational through a single regulatory approval. Rather, it passes through separate processes handled by different regulatory bodies, each exercising specific statutory responsibilities.
That distinction is important in understanding the recent approval granted to Akwa Ibom State University (AKSU) by the Council of Legal Education (CLE) to commence its Bachelor of Laws programme, as well as the contributions of Governor Umo Eno and the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Otoabasi Akpan.
The regulatory process ordinarily begins with the National Universities Commission (NUC), which is responsible for approving academic programmes in Nigerian universities.
Following resource verification and institutional assessment, the NUC may approve the establishment of a Faculty of Law and authorise a university to commence the LL.B. programme. The approval also provides the basis for the programme to proceed through the admission process involving the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
The Council of Legal Education has a separate but equally important statutory responsibility. It regulates legal education and determines whether institutions meet the professional requirements for training students who may subsequently proceed to the Nigerian Law School and qualify for admission to the legal profession.
Consequently, NUC approval and CLE approval are not duplicative. They represent different stages of the regulatory framework. A university can therefore receive NUC approval to establish and run an LL.B. programme before securing the CLE’s approval for professional legal education.
This was the sequence followed by AKSU.
In November 2025, the university secured NUC approval to establish its Faculty of Law after undergoing the required resource verification exercise. That approval represented a significant regulatory milestone, clearing the university to establish the academic programme.
The approval subsequently granted by the Council of Legal Education in August 2026 marked another stage in the process. It signified that the university had met the additional requirements prescribed for legal education and could join the institutions recognised by the Council for the training of prospective members of the legal profession.
The sequence also provides context for comments made by Governor Umo Eno in November 2025. His remarks followed the NUC’s approval of the Faculty of Law and should, therefore, be understood against the backdrop of that stage of the regulatory process.
The university’s subsequent inclusion on the Council of Legal Education’s approved list represents the progression of the same regulatory journey rather than a reversal or duplication of earlier approval.
Behind the achievement is the sustained effort of the Akwa Ibom State Government and the university’s management under Prof. Otoabasi Akpan. Meeting the requirements for the various stages of approval would have involved continued investment in academic infrastructure, staffing, library resources, institutional systems and compliance with regulatory standards.
Governor Umo Eno, the Vice-Chancellor and the university management therefore deserve commendation for sustaining the process through its different regulatory stages until the CLE approval was secured.
The emergence of AKSU’s Faculty of Law is best understood not as the product of a single approval, but as the outcome of sequential regulatory compliance. The NUC approved the establishment and commencement of the academic programme, while the Council of Legal Education subsequently assessed and approved the university for professional legal education.
Together, the two milestones explain AKSU’s progression from establishing a Faculty of Law to becoming an institution recognised to train students within Nigeria’s regulated legal education system.
