UI Law Graduate Drags Nigerian Law School To Court Over Denied Readmission
A University of Ibadan law graduate and activist, Kayode Bello, has dragged the Nigerian Law School before the Federal High Court in Ibadan, seeking an order compelling his readmission after what he described as an unlawful and prolonged denial of his right to complete his legal training.
The suit, marked FHC/IB/CS/93/2025 and presided over by Justice Evelyn Maha, is scheduled for hearing on January 27, 2026.
In his originating processes and sworn affidavit, Bello argued that the Nigerian Law School’s Code of Conduct for Students contains no provision permanently barring his readmission after the expiration of his expulsion in 2017.
He contended that fresh facts and documents have since emerged which, according to him, fundamentally weaken the basis of his expulsion.
Bello alleged that a former Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Oluyemisi Bamgbose, deliberately withheld a pardon letter addressed to him, a development he said played a significant role in the events that culminated in his expulsion from the Nigerian Law School.
He told the court that only a file copy, and not the original, of the pardon letter was eventually released to him during his Master’s programme at UI.
The applicant recalled that he was expelled from the Nigerian Law School in 2017 after raising complaints over poor learning facilities at the Abuja campus of the institution.
He further claimed that authorities of the Law School disobeyed a subsisting court order that permitted him to sit for his Bar final examinations in the same year.
Court documents indicate that all respondents have been served with the Motion on Notice, the order granting leave for service, and the hearing notice dated December 5, 2025.
In the suit, Bello is asking the court to compel the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Council of Legal Education, the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, Prof. Issa Ayattou, the University of Ibadan, the Vice-Chancellor of UI, Prof. Kayode Adebowale, the Dean of the Faculty of Law, and Prof. John Akintayo to respond to his August 17, 2022 request for intervention on his denied readmission.
He is also seeking an order directing the Council of Legal Education and the Director-General of the Nigerian Law School to readmit him without further delay, having served the full term of his expulsion.
Bello further urged the court to compel the Students’ Union of the University of Ibadan and its President to account for actions taken on his behalf in relation to his Law School readmission efforts since August 2022.
The applicant is also asking the court to declare that Prof. John Akintayo and Prof. Oluyemisi Bamgbose denied him fair hearing in matters relating to his travel to Switzerland for an academic programme while he was an undergraduate at UI.
According to him, the issues raised constitute fresh and material evidence connected to his expulsion from the Nigerian Law School.
Bello is claiming N100 million in general damages against all the respondents jointly for alleged denial of justice, psychological trauma, loss of time, hardship, and prolonged stress arising from what he described as deliberate delays since 2017.
Justice Maha had earlier ordered the reopening of Bello’s Master’s student portal at the University of Ibadan.
However, Bello disclosed that he has now filed Form 48, notifying the respondents of the consequences of continued disobedience of the court order, to enable him complete his registration and graduate from the institution.
Titilope Adako is a talented and intrepid journalist, dedicated to shedding light on the untold stories of Osun State and Nigeria. Through incisive reporting, she tackles a broad spectrum of topics, from politics and social justice to culture and entertainment, with a commitment to accuracy, empathy, and inspiring positive change.
