By Abasi Ita
The Federal High Court in Calabar has ordered the University of Calabar to pay more than N55 million in damages to eight students admitted into engineering programmes that lacked proper accreditation.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, March 4, Justice R. O. Dugbo Oghoghorie described the university’s actions as fraudulent, reckless, and deceitful, bringing to a close a five year legal battle filed under suit number FHC CA CS 117 21.
The case was instituted in 2021 by Idiong Ekpedeme Godwin and seven others, popularly known as the UNICAL 8, against the university, its former Vice Chancellor Prof. Florence Obi, and four additional defendants.
The plaintiffs approached the court after discovering that the engineering programmes into which they had been admitted were not accredited by the National Universities Commission and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria.
According to the students, the university presented the programmes as fully operational through faculty handbooks and other public representations. They told the court that it was only in their third and fourth years, after paying fees and completing examinations, that the National Universities Commission during a resource verification exercise directed them to revert to 200 level because the courses lacked approval. Some of the departments were eventually discontinued, leaving the affected students academically stranded.
In its defence, the university argued that accreditation is a process and maintained that the students were aware of the circumstances surrounding the programmes at the time of admission. The institution also contended that the students enrolled of their own volition.
However, Justice Dugbo Oghoghorie rejected the argument, ruling that the university failed in its duty of care. The court held that no institution should run an academic programme without prior approval from the National Universities Commission and that students must be properly informed of the accreditation status before admission.
The judge further observed that full accreditation for the programmes was only secured in the 2024 2025 academic session, long after the affected students were expected to have graduated.
Consequently, the court awarded N50 million in general damages and N5.247 million in special damages, citing the psychological trauma and academic setbacks suffered by the plaintiffs.
The request to halt operations at the Faculty of Engineering was declined, as evidence showed that accreditation has now been obtained. The plea to return the students to their former departments was also refused, given that some departments had been discontinued and events had overtaken the request.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to the students, Barrister Ozinko Ozinko, commended his clients for pursuing justice, noting that while the compensation offers some relief, it cannot fully restore the years lost.
One of the plaintiffs, Ekpedeme Godwin, expressed satisfaction with the outcome, saying the students endured significant hardship and intimidation before seeking redress in court.
Counsel to the university, Barrister Jonas Abuo, thanked the court for its decision but declined further comment.