Ex-VC Defends 58 First Class UI Law Graduates, Hails First Doctor of Pharmacy Cohort

Remi Ladigbolu/

The former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Idowu Olayinka, has come to the defence of 58 law graduates who earned First Class honours at the end of the 2024/2025 academic session, lauding their hard work and the high standards upheld by the Faculty of Law.

Olayinka also congratulated the university’s inaugural set of Doctor of Pharmacy graduates.

In a detailed post on social media on Tuesday, the ex-VC addressed criticisms that have trailed the announcement, stressing that the exceptional results are consistent with the calibre of students admitted to the Faculty of Law.

“It has been factually reported that 58 out of the 146 students which graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ibadan earned a First Class. Happily, I attended the Senate meeting that approved the results yesterday,” he wrote.

Responding to the online criticism, Olayinka said, “At times people comment on topics that they have little information about. And so what if about 40% of the UI 2026 Law Graduating Class finished in the First Class category? You cannot build something on nothing and expect it to stand.”

He emphasised that the students admitted to the Faculty of Law were already academically exceptional, noting that “nearly all of them scored a weighted average mark of almost 70% in the UTME and Post UTME when they were offered admission. One hastens to add that this has been the pattern for at least the past 20 years.”

For context, Professor Olayinka compared merit cut-off marks across faculties: “The Merit Cut-Off Mark for the 2025/2026 intakes for Law at the University of Ibadan is 70.875. For the records, the comparative cut-off marks for Medicine and Surgery in 2025/2026 is 78.875% and for Nursing Science 71.375%.”

He praised the University Senate for maintaining stringent academic standards and underlined the importance of fitness for professional practice.

“What is important is that the UI Law Graduates are fit for purpose. They have always excelled in their Final Bar Examinations at the Nigerian Law School,” he noted.

Olayinka urged critics to recognise the efforts of the academic staff. “Rather than any unsubstantiated criticisms, the Dean and all members of Staff in the Law Faculty at UI are to be commended for bringing out the best in their students. Please keep up the very high standards,” he said.

He concluded with warm congratulations for all final-year students whose results were approved by the Senate, including the first cohort of Doctor of Pharmacy graduates.

“Now that your hard work and critical reasoning have paid off handsomely, you can go out boldly and positively impact the world. The rest of the world should be rest assured of one thing: IF IT IS FROM IBADAN, IT MUST BE OF OUTSTANDING QUALITY.”

Olayinka’s defence of the First Class graduates and celebration of the Doctor of Pharmacy programme has been widely shared across social media.