The Federal High Court sitting in Calabar has directed the University of Calabar (UNICAL) to pay a total of N55 million in damages to eight former students who were admitted into engineering programmes that lacked proper accreditation.
Delivering judgment in the case, Justice Rosemary Dugbo-Oghoghorie criticised the institution’s actions, describing them as misleading, negligent, and unacceptable.
The ruling concluded a legal battle that began in 2021 under suit number FHC/CA/CS/117/21, filed by Idiong Godwin and seven other students, popularly known as the “Unical 8.
The defendants included the University of Calabar, its former Vice-Chancellor Prof. Florence Obi, and four other officials.
The students had approached the court after discovering that the engineering programmes into which they were admitted in 2021 had not been accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
According to the plaintiffs, the university had presented the programmes in official materials and faculty documents as fully operational. They explained that they only became aware of the accreditation problem after progressing to their third and fourth years, having already paid fees and taken several examinations.
During a resource verification exercise, the NUC reportedly directed that the affected students should return to 200 level, citing the lack of accreditation for the programmes at the time they were admitted.
The students also told the court that some of the departments involved were eventually scrapped leaving them academically stranded.
In its defence, the university argued that accreditation is a gradual process and claimed the students were aware of the situation when they enrolled. It also maintained that the students had chosen the programmes voluntarily.
However, the court rejected these claims, ruling that the university failed in its responsibility to properly inform and protect the students.
Justice Dugbo-Oghoghorie stated that no tertiary institution should operate an academic programme without first securing the required approval from regulatory bodies. She also noted that the programmes only received full accreditation during the 2024/2025 academic session, several years after the students were originally expected to graduate.
As part of the judgment, the court awarded N50 million as general damages and N5.2 million as special damages, citing the emotional distress and academic disruption suffered by the students.
The court, however, declined the request to shut down programmes in the Faculty of Engineering after evidence showed that accreditation had now been obtained.
It also rejected the request to return the affected students to their former departments, noting that the situation had changed, particularly with the discontinuation of some programmes.
Reacting to the ruling, counsel to the students, Mr. Ozinko Ozinko, commended his clients for pursuing justice, though he noted that the compensation could not fully make up for the years they lost.
One of the students involved in the case, Ekpedeme Godwin, expressed relief over The judgment, saying the group had faced significant challenges before deciding to seek legal redress.
Counsel to the university, Mr. Jonas Abuo, acknowledged the court’s decision but declined to give further comment
