A Team of Legal luminary from the Nigeria Council of Legal Education has visited the new Faculty of Law at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai for facility verification.

The team which was led by the Director – General of the Council, Professor Isa Hayyatu Chiroma (SAN) was to verify the University’s facilities in both the old and newly constructed Law Faculty buildings.

During the inspection, Professor Chiroma described the new Faculty building as “massive and one of the largest in the country” he had seen, even though it was still under construction.

He noted that, although the building had over 100 offices, lecture halls, a law clinic, a moot court, and an auditorium, which when well furnished will provide excellent learning environment for the take-off of law programme at the University.

He stressed that proper furnishing of staff offices, classrooms, moot courts, and the law library were necessary for the final approval of the Faculty’s law programme by the Nigeria Council of Legal Education.

For the library holdings, the Director – General commended the effort by the University but noted that more hardcopies and e-copies of books were required, especially in core subject areas. He also recommended that the University subscribes to additional legal research databases beyond the existing LexisNexis, emphasizing the urgent need to provide a utility vehicle and a bus for outreach programmes under the Law clinic.

“We are not here to witch-hunt the University, but to help improve facilities and ensure compliance with national legal education standards,” he emphasized.

In his response, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Mohammed Hadi Sulaiman, expressed gratitude to the visiting team and assured that the University was fully committed to addressing all issues raised.

He disclosed that furnishing contracts for the new Faculty of Law building had already been awarded, but the furnishing could only commence once the main contractor complete work on the physical structure,
confirming that the University had made arrangements to resolve all outstanding issues in no distant future.

Professor Sulaiman also disclosed that the University had secured TETFund intervention for the procurement of more law books and that subscriptions to electronic legal resources, including the Weekly Law Reports, would be made available within a few days.

Regarding transportation, the Vice Chancellor assured that efforts are being made to secure buses for both Law and Medical students.

“We are in contact with His Excellency, the Visitor to the University, and the Niger State Transport Authority for the provision of buses. We are optimistic that they will arrive by July,” the Vice-Chancellor stated.

Professor Sulaiman further explained that four additional offices had been allocated to the Faculty of Law in a provisional block and at professorial complex, pending the Faculty’s full relocation to the new Faculty of Law building by December this year.

On the moot court, the Vice Chancellor disclosed that recent rainstorms had damaged some ceiling work, but repairs were being effected. “We are replacing the suspended ceiling with POP or concrete for durability. All furniture for the moot court has been paid for and will be installed immediately after repairs are completed,” he said.

Professor Sulaiman thanked the team from the Nigeria Council of Legal Education for its objective assessment and pledged continued collaboration to meet all accreditation requirements.

Commenting, the Dean, Faculty of Law, Professor Abdulmunini Baba Ahmed acknowledged the Council’s commendation of the University’s efforts so far and assured that more efforts would be made to ensure that world class facilities are provided for the Faculty of Law to facilitate the take-off of the programme.

In a vote of thanks, the Registrar, Alhaji Idris Saleh Kusherki, represented by the Deputy Registrar Establishment, Mr. Sunday Gana, expressed sincere appreciation to the Director-General of the Nigeria Council of Legal Education and his delegation for the facility verification visit.

He assured the team that the University is fully committed to ensuring the successful commencement of the Law programme and will make every necessary effort to meet all required standards and provisions for a smooth take-off.

Receives Representative on Energy Audit in the Institution

The Vice-Chancellor, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Professor Mohammed Hadi Sulaiman, has appealed to the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) and its collaborator, the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), to consider extending the proposed solar mini-grid project beyond the main campus in Lapai to the University’s satellite locations.

Professor Sulaiman made the appeal while receiving the technical team from the REA, who were on campus to carry out an energy audit as part of the first phase of the solar power intervention project. He emphasized that this move would not only serve as a corporate social responsibility gesture to the Lapai community but also enhance access to clean and sustainable energy across the University’s outreach centers.

“It is no longer news that most universities in Nigeria, including IBBUL, are burdened by exorbitant electricity bills, which consume a significant portion of our limited resources,” the Vice-Chancellor lamented.

“We would be immensely grateful if the federal government, through TETfund and REA, could support us by providing alternative power solutions such as solar energy to ease this financial strain.”

He further noted that adopting solar energy would not only reduce operational costs but also promote environmental sustainability through reduced carbon emissions.

“This initiative is not just about cost-saving. It’s about embracing green energy that is cleaner and easier to maintain, and more reliable. Currently, we spend heavily on maintenance replacing broken poles, dealing with faults, and purchasing diesel. With a solar mini-grid, we can redirect those funds to other critical areas of need within the University,” he said

The Vice-Chancellor also highlighted a recent incident where prolonged power outages disrupted student examinations between late March and April. Due to limited supply from the distribution company, stressing that students endured extreme heat conditions during the exams, an experience that the University Management is determined to prevent in future.

Professor Sulaiman reaffirmed the institution’s readiness to support the REA technical team throughout the auditing process and reiterated his appeal for the extension of the project to all University satellite campuses as part of a broader strategy to ensure inclusive and equitable access to renewable energy solutions.

In his remarks, the REA representative, Engineer Richard Yaro, explained the purpose of the visit and assured the University community of the Agency’s commitment to delivering a sustainable energy solution.

“We are here today in collaboration with the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) to conduct a comprehensive energy audit across the entire University,” he stated.

“The purpose of this audit is to assess the Institution’s current energy consumption and determine its total load demand. This is a crucial step in our plan to deploy a solar mini-grid system that will serve the entire University community by understanding its energy needs.

The National Universities Commission (NUC) has granted full accreditation to three academic programmes at Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai.

This was officially conveyed in a letter signed by the Acting Director of Accreditation, Engr. Abraham Chundusu.

The accredited programmes include Mass Communication, Computer Science, and Biology. According to the letter, the accreditation followed a rigorous assessment conducted by the Commission during its visit to the University in October and November 2024.

Engr. Chundusu explained that the exercise was carried out in accordance with Section 10 (1) of the Education (National Minimum Standards and Establishment of Institutions) Act, CAP E3, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004. This section empowers the Commission to set minimum academic standards and accredit all academic programmes offered by Nigerian universities in line with the law.

The results of the recent accreditation exercise revealed that Mass Communication (under Communication and Media Studies) received full accreditation, Computer Science (under Computing) received full accreditation while Biology (under Sciences) also received full accreditation.

By implication, each of these programmes has been granted full accreditation status for a period of five years. Furthermore, the University is now eligible to mount postgraduate programmes in these disciplines, in accordance with NUC guidelines.

This achievement reflects IBBUL’s commitment to academic excellence and its continuous efforts to meet national and international standards in tertiary education.

Reacting, the Vice Chancellor, Professor Mohammed Hadi Sulaiman expressed delight with the achievement and thanked the Visitor, Farmer Mohammed Umaru Bago for the support to the Institution.

He assured that IBB University, Lapai would continue to do the needful to achieve academic excellence.

The Vice Chancellor appreciated staff and students for remaining steadfast in academic pursuits.