Academic Activities

The academic programme/curriculum is designed to meet the minimum standards stipulated by the National Universities Commission in terms of entry requirements, programme content, organization, delivery and duration of courses. The idea is to provide students with training in independent and analytical or synthesized reasoning, resulting in the final year project, which aims at integrating the various facets of the students’ programme. The project is a report/thesis followed by an oral defence of the report/thesis by each student.

The time limit for the completion of any programme shall not be longer than 150% of the prescribed duration for the programme provided, however, that time does dot run while a student is on suspension.

Degree Programme

The Faculty offers a four or five- year Degree Programme and prepares students for the Bachelor of Laws (LLB) Degree.

The programme comprises a series of courses made up of General Study Courses, Inter-Faculty Courses and Faculty Courses. All the Inter-Faculty Courses, General Study and Faculty Courses other than Elective/Optional Faculty Courses are compulsory.

General Study Courses (GSS): Use of English, Nigerian Peoples and Culture, History and Philosophy of Science and Basic Studies in Igbo.

Inter-Faculty Courses: Computer Programming, Principles of Economics, Principles of Accounting, Introduction to Sociology, Introduction to Political Science, Introduction to Psychology, Literature in English, Introduction to Mass Communication and Application of Computer to Legal Studies. These are non-law courses.

Faculty Courses: Logic and Philosophical Thoughts, Legal Methods, Law of Contract, Law of Torts, Constitutional Law, Nigerian Legal System, Criminal Law, Commercial Law, Property/Land Law, Equity and Trust; Law of Evidence, Jurisprudence and Legal Theory, Company Law, Clinical Legal Education and Long Essay.

Elective/Optional Faculty Courses:

Law Courses:  Industrial/Labour Law, Banking and Insurance, Law of Intellectual and Industrial Property, Women and Minority Rights, Law of Energy and Natural Resources, Law of Arbitration, Administrative Law, Shipping Law, Environmental and Planning Law, Conveyancing law, Public International Law, Introduction to Advocacy, Family Law and Law of Taxation.

Academic Year

Each year is divided into two semesters of about 15 weeks each. At the end of a semester, the students take examinations in the courses they registered. A student shall not qualify to participate in the examinations if he fails to attend at least 75% of the lectures delivered in a course.

Five-Year Programme:

First Year

In the first semester, ten courses are done, while eight are done in the second semester. Only two of these are law courses. The courses in law lay the foundation for law courses for the students.

The non-law courses are University-wide and inter-faculty courses, which are geared towards the general mental development of the students and are also intended to acquaint them with the general principles of other disciplines.

In addition, the first year of the student commences with an intensive one-week Introduction to Law course in which students are given a brief introduction to some essential terms and techniques and are taught how to use a law library.

Second Year

In each semester, four compulsory law courses comprising fundamental branches of the law are studied. One non-law course is taught in the first and second semesters. In addition, students take lectures in entrepreneurial studies in the second semester although this does not count in the computation of the GPA.

Third Year

In the third year, which is also divided into two semesters, four law courses are studied: two of them are compulsory and the other two are electives. In addition, two non-law courses are studied in the first semester with one in the second semester.

Fourth Year

Each semester of the fourth year has five courses. Four of them are law courses, and one is non-law. Three of the law courses are compulsory, and one is an elective. The Faculty is currently consulting on the modalities for the introduction of public interest courses in community work, prison internships and minority and indigent protection services at this level of study.

Fifth Year

Six courses per semester are studied in the 5th year; five of them are law courses. Three of the Law courses are compulsory while the other two are electives.

In addition, the Faculty offers a four- year programme to direct entry students.

 

Admission Requirements

To be admitted to the Law Faculty, a candidate must have credit level passes in at least five subjects at either the West African School Certificate (WASC) examination or the General Certificate of Education (GCE) examination at ordinary level, or the Senior Secondary School Certificate (SSSC) examination, (or the equivalent) obtained in not more than two sittings. These subjects must include English Language, English Literature, Mathematics or a Science subject, taken from Physics, Biology, Chemistry or Agricultural Science.

In addition, the candidate must either-

Pass the University Tertiary and Matriculation Examination (UTME) or

hold a Degree, Diploma, HND, or NCE from a recognized institution or credit level passes in 3 subjects at GCE “A” level.

Candidates who qualify by alternative (a), that is via UTME, are admitted to the full five-year course. Those who qualify by alternative (b) that is holders of Degrees, HND, etc. are admitted into year two, of the programme, and run a four-year course.

Competition for places in law is intense throughout the country and possession of any of the above basic qualifications does not necessarily ensure entry. Admissions are based on merits and the National Universities’ Commission/ Council of legal Education admission quota.

 

Academic Advising

Every new student shall, upon completion of registration, be assigned to an academic adviser who shall be a lecturer in his department and who shall provide the student with assistance on academic matters as well as personal counselling.

A student may have the same academic adviser for the duration of his programme (for the sake of continuity) except in compelling circumstances where a change may be necessary and may then be made by the Dean.

Student academic advising shall be complemented with Student Counselling Services which is provided on a University-wide basis.

Graduation Requirements

In order to graduate, a student must complete ten/eight semesters of at least thirty-eight credit units and not more than forty-eight credit units in each academic year. A credit unit means one lecture hour, or one tutorial hour, or three hours of a practical class, per week throughout a semester. Every student in the final year must participate in the compulsory research project and present an original dissertation (Long Essay) on an approved topic from any of the law courses offered in the Faculty of Law.

 

Teaching Methods

In every law course studied, a student will receive instructions normally by way of weekly lectures, tutorials and clinical education.

 

Evaluation of Students’ Work

The system of continuous assessment of the student is adopted. This is carried out through seminar presentations, take-home and on-the-spot tests and examinations during the two semesters. For the final degree examinations, an external examiner is always engaged to assess the students work before final computation of the results.