Hundreds of university students in Nigeria have faced long delays in completing their professional training due to accreditation issues affecting several academic programmes in different institutions. The situation has raised serious concerns about the management of academic standards and the welfare of students pursuing professional careers.
One of the most notable cases involved 160 medical students of Ambrose Alli University located in Ekpoma in Edo State. The students reportedly spent close to ten years completing a course that normally requires six years. After finishing their final examinations in August 2024 they were unable to proceed with their professional induction because the programme had unresolved accreditation issues with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.
The situation left the students stranded until early 2025 when the Governor of Edo State Monday Okpebholo intervened to resolve the dispute. His intervention eventually led to the induction of 128 of the affected medical graduates later that year. Nursing students from the same institution had previously faced a similar delay before being inducted by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.
Another controversy emerged at the University of Calabar in Cross River State where engineering students challenged the university in court. In 2021 more than 200 students were moved from their third and fourth year levels back to the second year because the programme had not secured accreditation from the National Universities Commission.
Eight students led by Idiong Ekpedeme Godwin filed a lawsuit against the university and its former Vice Chancellor Florence Obi accusing the institution of admitting students into a programme without proper approval.
In a landmark ruling the court presided over by Justice R O Dugbo Oghoghorie ordered the university to pay 50 million naira in general damages and more than 5 million naira in special damages to the affected students for psychological distress and academic delays.
Reacting to the judgment the National President of the Congress of University Academics Niyi Sunmonu described the situation as shameful and damaging to academic integrity. He said universities should never admit students into programmes that have not received proper accreditation.
Education experts warn that such incidents undermine confidence in the higher education system and highlight the need for stronger oversight and transparency in Nigerian universities.
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