Furore: University Law Students Petition NUC, CLE Over Otaru’s Academic Claim
Edo AT, Otaru
By Reporter
A group of ‘Concerned Law Students’ of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti has urged the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Council of Legal Education in Nigeria to probe the professorial title awarded to the Edo State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Roland Otaru (SAN).
The petition dated December 7, 2025, and signed by Comrade K. Akanbi, alleged that Otaru may have improperly influenced the university to secure a purely academic position— describing the conferment as “a great academic fraud” that undermines the credibility of Nigerian legal education.
The petitioners also claimed that Otaru allegedly earned his PhD only two years ago from a private university in Ogun State and has never taught or examined postgraduate law students in any Nigerian institution.
“Mr. Otaru has no record of teaching or postgraduate supervision to justify appointment as Associate Professor, let alone Professor of Law,” the petition reads.
“We request an investigation into the circumstances surrounding this conferment and that those responsible be held accountable,” the petition stated.
The students are accusing the Federal University Oyo-Ekiti of “lowering its academic standards” and have threatened a week-long protest in January 2026 if the matter is ignored. “Our lecturers know the truth but are afraid of shaking tables,” the group stressed.
While absorbing himself from the ‘academic fraud’, Otaru was quoted by a source to have suggested a political witch hunt saying that, it was an attempt to undermine his rising profile, while insisting that, his professorial was legitimately approved by the university’s Senate.
“It is very funny…the Senate conferred the title on me, and I have the letter to that effect. I was not the only one honoured—there were about four of us. I delivered the lecture on December 9, 2024.
“What are they talking about? Someone may have engineered this because of my rising profile,” he said, denying any form of inducement.
On the heels of the allegations leveled against Otaru, the Attorney General of Edo State, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has called for “transparent probe”, by the state.
In a statement, Publicity Secretary Dan Osa-Ogbegie, Esq., described the allegations as “…disturbing” and explained that professorship “is not an ornament of political prestige.”
In their statement, PDP opined that, “…professorship is a hard-earned academic rank achieved through transparent scholarly progression, verifiable teaching records, postgraduate supervision, and recognised intellectual contributions.”
PDP has also urged the Edi State House of Assembly to establish a credible investigative committee to unravel the true position of Otaru’s professorial claim.
