On April 1st 2024, President DeWayne Frazier unveiled the lady of justice statue which is located in front of the school of law building, American University of Nigeria (AUN). The ceremony attended by dignitaries, faculty, students, and members of the community, commenced with an air of anticipation as the veil was lifted from the newly erected statue. Standing tall and proud, Lady Justice Hold’s scales to represent the impartiality and equality before the law.
According to the president of the AUN Law Student Society, Efezino Onyeka, the Project was carried out by the School of Law Students Executive and sponsored by Barr. Moses Ideho, Barr.Edoka Onyeke, Barr. Stephen Ighomuaye, Epsilon Development Labs, Mrs Yvonne Okoro, Barr. Ahmed Akanbi and SAN. Wole Agunbiade, on its campus in Yola, Adamawa State.
President Frazier emphasized the statue's significance in fostering justice and the law among students and the wider community. "The Lady of Justice serves as a constant reminder of our commitment to upholding the principles of fairness and equality in all aspects of life," he affirmed. AUN is undoubtedly one of the top in Sub-Saharan Africa, and it is evident in the performance of its second set of Law graduates, who just finished their Bar examinations in the Nigeria Law Schools (NLS).
President Frazier proudly lauds the achievements of AUN Law graduates, who have recorded an impressive over 83% first-time bar exam pass rate. This rate is slightly higher than the 79.18% of U.S. Law School graduates who took the bar exam for the first time in 2023. He further highlights that the AUN School of Law is designed to prepare students for academic productivity, professional integrity, and responsible global citizenship.
The President attributes the outstanding performances of AUN Law graduates to the quality of Law Professors and the state-of-the-art facilities available to them. These facilities include the new magnificent law building, which houses a fully stocked modern law library, a moot court for illustrative and more efficient learning, and a law clinic for administrative learning and pro bono litigations. The President's pride in these facilities is evident as he highlights their role in pushing students above mediocrity.
Impressed by AUN SoL State-of-the-Art facilities, the Council for Legal Education (CLE), during a recent accreditation visit led by the Ag. Secretary and Director of Administration, A.O. Osho, commended AUN for its consistent compliance with its allotted quota and the tremendous improvement in facilities since the program's inception in 2016. The council has approved a new quota of one hundred and ten (110) from the inaugural fifty (50).
The Dean of SoL, Prof. Mohammad Yusuf Yusuf, revealed that the law program at AUN is modeled on the American Liberal arts tradition of broad education and critical thinking. The AUN law curriculum embraces humanitarian studies, alternative dispute resolution, environmental law, HIV and the law, Gender and development, Energy and Natural Resources Law, and technology and the law, thereby creating an interconnection between law, Society, and Development.
Even as undergraduates, AUN Law students are actively engaged and taking roles under various social, leadership, and academic capacities. Their participation in the Honor Society, which reflects academic competence and depicts engagement in extracurricular activities, reaffirms the school's reputation for producing front-tier legal talent and a remarkable display of their academic excellence. In 2023, 85% of the members of the AUN Honor Society were from the School of Law and, ultimately, the class of 2023 Valedictorian. The achievement underscores the outstanding caliber of legal education at AUN.
Reported by Pwagreno Blessing Moris