The management of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) has directed 214 students in its LLB II programme to immediately return to their original departments after discovering they were not officially admitted into the Faculty of Law.
The decision, which affects more than half of the current LLB II class, followed a meeting involving the university management, Faculty of Law leadership, affected students, and executives of the Law Students’ Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN), UNICAL Chapter.
According to a statement issued by LAWSAN-UCC, Vice-Chancellor Professor Offiong Offiong disclosed during the meeting that only 221 out of the 435 students currently in the LLB II class were officially admitted into the Faculty of Law.
The remaining 214 students, the university said, gained entry into the class after transferring from other departments, a process that could prevent them from qualifying for admission into the Nigerian Law School under their existing admission records. The university explained that allowing such students to continue in the programme could jeopardise their legal education and future professional qualification.
As part of the implementation of the decision, the university has temporarily locked the portals of the affected students to facilitate their transfer back to their original departments. To reduce the impact of the development, the institution announced two support measures for the affected students: full refund of school fees paid for the 2025/2026 academic session, free tuition for the 2026/2027 academic session in their original departments, with the cost to be covered by the university.
The UNICAL law students association said the announcement was issued to keep members of the faculty informed of the university’s decision and the steps being taken.
While acknowledging the emotional impact of the development, LAWSAN-UCC appealed to students to remain calm, support one another and allow the transition process to proceed peacefully. The association added that further official updates regarding the implementation of the decision would be communicated to all affected students as they become available.
