Court Slams UNICAL Over Unaccredited Engineering Courses, Awards N55m to Students
LThe Federal High Court in Calabar has ordered the University of Calabar (UNICAL) to pay N55 million in damages to eight students over their admission into engineering programmes that lacked proper accreditation.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, March 4, Justice R. O. Dugbo-Oghoghorie described the university’s conduct as fraudulent, reckless and deceitful. The ruling brought to an end a five-year legal dispute filed under suit number FHC/CA/CS/117/21.
The case was instituted in 2021 by Idiong Ekpedeme Godwin and seven others, widely referred to as the “UNICAL 8,” against the university, its former Vice Chancellor Prof. Florence Obi, and four additional defendants.
The students approached the court after discovering that the engineering programmes into which they had been admitted were not accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
According to the plaintiffs, the university presented the programmes as fully operational through faculty handbooks and public representations. They said it was only after they had progressed to their third and fourth years, paid their fees, and completed examinations that the NUC, during a resource verification exercise, directed them to revert to 200 level because the courses lacked approval. Some departments were later discontinued entirely, leaving affected students stranded academically.
In its defence, the university argued that accreditation follows a process and claimed the students were aware of the circumstances when they enrolled. The institution also maintained that the students acted of their own choice.
However, Justice Dugbo-Oghoghorie rejected that argument, holding that the university failed in its duty of care. The court ruled that no institution should run an academic programme without prior approval from the NUC and that students ought to have been properly informed of the accreditation status before admission.
The judge further noted that full accreditation for the programmes was only obtained in the 2024/2025 academic session, long after the affected students were expected to graduate.
Consequently, the court awarded N50 million in general damages and N5.247 million in special damages, citing the psychological distress and academic setback suffered by the plaintiffs.
The request to halt operations at the Faculty of Engineering was refused, as evidence before the court showed that accreditation has now been secured. The plea to return the students to their former departments was also declined on the grounds that events had overtaken the request, particularly with the discontinuation of some departments.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to the students, Barrister Ozinko Ozinko, praised his clients for challenging the institution, noting that although 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.
On his part, counsel to the university, Barrister Jonas Abuo, expressed appreciation to the court but declined to comment further.
