The University of Calabar has ordered 214 second year Law students to return to the departments to which they were originally admitted, after an academic audit uncovered widespread admission irregularities in the Faculty of Law.

The Vice Chancellor, Professor Offiong Offiong, disclosed this during a meeting held on Tuesday, August 5, 2026, which brought together the university management, the Faculty of Law leadership, affected students from the LLB II class and executives of the Law Students Association of Nigeria, UNICAL Chapter, LAWSAN UCC.

According to a statement issued by the Executive Council of LAWSAN UCC, the Vice Chancellor revealed that out of 435 students currently in the LLB II class, only 221 were officially admitted into the Faculty of Law by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, while the remaining students had transferred in from other departments without formal authorisation.

“Those students who entered the faculty through other departments will not be eligible to proceed to the Nigerian Law School if they continued in the Faculty of Law under their current admission status,” LAWSAN UCC stated.

The association explained that the university had acted to protect the accreditation of the Faculty of Law, since retaining students who bypassed official admission channels could attract sanctions from the Council of Legal Education.

As an immediate measure, the university locked the academic portals of the 214 affected students to compel their transfer back to their original departments.

To cushion the effect of the decision, the management announced two relief measures. The statement noted, “The management announced two relief measures to cushion the effect of the decision on the affected students: Full refund of school fees paid for the 2025/2026 academic session and Free tuition for the 2026/2027 academic session in their original departments, to be borne by the University.”

LAWSAN UCC said the statement was released to keep members of the faculty properly informed of the decisions reached at the meeting.

The association acknowledged the emotional toll of the development, urging students to remain calm, supportive and respectful as the transfer process unfolds, and promised further official updates would be communicated to those affected.