Federal High Court Orders UNICAL to Pay ₦55m Over Illegal Admissions

Justice R. O. Dugbo Oghoghorie of the Federal High Court in Calabar has declared the admission of students to the engineering programme at the University of Calabar without proper accreditation as illegal and misleading. The judge ruled that the institution failed in its duty of care to be transparent with prospective students regarding the programme's status.

"No institution should operate a programme without prior NUC approval; the university owes a ‘duty of care’ to disclose the accreditation status to prospective students," Justice Dugbo Oghoghorie stated.

The judgment followed a suit filed by Idiong Ekpedeme Godwin and seven others, known as the UNICAL 8, against the university and its former Vice Chancellor, Professor Florence Obi. The court found that the university ran the engineering faculty without the necessary approval from the National Universities Commission, leading to significant disruptions for the students.

Court evidence showed that the programme received full accreditation only in the 2024/2025 academic year, when the plaintiffs were due to graduate. In 2021, more than 200 engineering students were demoted to the 200 level after the accreditation deficit was discovered. The court described the university's actions as "fraudulent, reckless, and deceitful."

Consequently, the court awarded ₦50 million in general damages and ₦5.247 million in special damages to the plaintiffs for the academic stagnation and psychological trauma they endured.

Counsel to the plaintiffs, Barr. Ozinko Ozinko commended the outcome, observing that "justice may be slow, but it will finally get to its destination." He praised the students' courage for challenging the status quo despite the financial and emotional toll. One of the plaintiffs, Ekpedeme, recounted the difficulties faced during the process, noting that the university authorities initially dismissed their grievances.

Reacting to the judgment, the Public Relations Officer of the university, Mr Eyo Eyo, disclosed that there "shall be a formal response from the school".