The Faculty of Law was created in 1981 although it was in fact one of the Faculties the University statute of 1971 empowered the University to establish. Formal training in the Faculty of Law commenced in October 1981 with a student enrolment of 215 in the full-time 4-year preliminary and 3-year direct entry programme. This was just 3% of the total University student size of 7,149.

The initial staff strength in 1981 was equally small. Training commenced with a total of academic staff size of five – Professor Itse Sagay, with a team of one senior lecturer, two lecturers and one assistant lecturer. The student enrolment increased rapidly to 608 in the 1990/91 session and is now well over 1,200 students. A new Faculty building was commissioned in November 1991 and remains one of the most modern Law Faculty buildings in the whole country.

With a Diploma, Bachelors, Masters and Doctorate programmes in place, the Faculty of Law today ranks among the very best Law Faculties in Nigeria. In the most recent National Universities Commission ranking, it is ranked 7th out of the almost 30 Law Faculties in the country. In 1984 the eminent Nigerian Lawyer, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, SAN instituted in the Faculty an annual lecture series in memory of the former Justice of the Supreme Court, Hon. Justice Chukwunweike Idigbe. Six eminent lawyers and judges have delivered lectures in the series. The Idigbe Memorial Lecture series has become one of the most prominent events in the legal calendar in Nigeria. Remarkably, the 7th Lecture is billed to be delivered this year by the first Dean and founder of this Faculty, Professor Itesejuwa Sagay, S.A.N.

Faculty Structure And Staff

The Faculty is made up of Dean’s office and four academic departments, each under a Head of Department.  The departments are:

1. Department of Business Law
2. Department of Jurisprudence & International Law
3. Department of Private and Property Law
4. Department of Public Law.