Court grants reprieve to 214 students ejected from UNICAL’s Law faculty

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the University of Calabar (UNICAL) to grant 214 students ejected from the institution’s Law faculty access to lectures, academic portals and other academic facilities pending the determination of the students’ suit.

According to a statement by the students’ lawyer shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Monday, Judge Joyce Abdulmalik issued an interlocutory injunction directing the university authorities to grant the affected students “unrestricted access” to lectures, their students’ portal and academic amenities pending the determination of the substantive suit.

The judge issued the interim order after listening to the arguments of lawyers representing the students and the university on Monday.

Jonas Abuo, lawyer to the university and the other defendants, had told the court that although the defendants had been served with all necessary filings regarding the suit, they were unable to file their response because the university’s vice chancellor and registrar had travelled out of the country.

Mr Abuo explained that he had only filed a conditional memorandum of appearance and asked the court to adjourn the case to enable the defendants to respond to the suit.

But Bernard Okpi, lawyer to the students, opposed the application.

Mr Okpi argued that the defendants were served on 24 August and had exhausted the statutory 30-day period within which to file their response.

He urged the court to proceed with the hearing or, if it was inclined to grant the defendants an adjournment, award N2 million in costs and allow the students to move their motion for an interlocutory injunction.

After listening to the lawyers, Judge Abdulmalik granted the interlocutory injunction sought by the students, ordering the parties to maintain the “status quo”. She adjourned the case to November 25 for hearing.

At Monday’s proceedings, Mr Okpi appeared with Confidence Mbang, Bennedict Otu, Udoh Ekananem and Kenneth Ibobo for the students.

The university and the other defendants were represented by Mr Abuo and Akiba Eyo Veronica.

The suit

The students filed the suit after UNICAL announced in August that 214 of its 435 second year LL.B students would be removed from the Faculty of Law and returned to the departments where they were originally admitted.

The university said only 221 of the 435 second year students were officially admitted into the Law programme, while the remaining 214 had entered the faculty from other departments.

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It also said the affected students would not be eligible for admission to the Nigerian Law School if they remained in Law under their existing admission status.

The students, however, argued that the university had admitted them into Law, accepted their fees, registered them for Law courses and allowed them to sit examinations and progress through the programme.

They also said the university later instructed them to undergo JAMB regularisation, which they completed after paying the required fees.

They subsequently sued UNICAL, Vice Chancellor Offiong Offiong, the registrar, and President Bola Tinubu, seeking N5 billion in damages and asking the court to protect their continued studies in the Law programme.