UYO (CONVERSEER) – Ene-obong Bassey Okon, a renowned Human and Social Rights Activist, has secured a landmark legal victory against the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) at the Supreme Court of Nigeria, marking the conclusion of a protracted legal battle that began over a decade ago.
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, Okon revealed that the dispute began in 2012 when he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Uyo. Despite completing his studies, some senior academics and legal practitioners within the institution reportedly cast doubts on his ability to earn his law degree, with some allegedly vowing that he would never be awarded the qualification.
Challenging the alleged injustice, Okon filed a suit against the university at the Federal High Court in Uyo, where he emerged victorious. The court awarded him damages exceeding ₦5 million. Dissatisfied with the outcome, the University proceeded to the Court of Appeal, where Okon again triumphed.
“Today, I won the University of Uyo at the Supreme Court of Nigeria. In 2012, I graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University and some certain Professors and Senior Advocates said I would never obtain my law degree. I got it anyways.
“Long story cut short, I sued the University at the Federal High Court Uyo and won. Damages of over 5 million was awarded in my favor. The legal dons said it was luck and went on appeal to the Court of Appeal, I still won them,” part of the post read.
Undeterred, the institution pursued the matter to the Supreme Court. However, according to Okon, the legal team representing the university encountered difficulties in upturning the earlier decisions. He alleged that rather than continue with the legal challenge in court, his opponents turned to the police in an attempt to intimidate, harass, and arrest him.
This led to a fresh round of litigation, during which Okon filed a new case over the harassment and reportedly secured an additional judgment in his favour — this time amounting to over ₦22 million in damages. The opposing parties lodged multiple appeals against the judgments, all of which he said were unsuccessful.
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“They took the matter to the Supreme Court only to realise it would be too hard to beat me in court. They resorted to using the police to harass, intimidate and arrest me.
“That gave me a fresh course of action, and I sued them again, winning over 22 million. They filed multiple appeals and I won them in all.
“Today, their final anchor at the Supreme Court has been torn apart,” the post added, celebrating the final judgment which effectively ends the long-standing legal battle.
He attributed his resilience and success to divine strength and thanked the legal practitioners who stood by him throughout the process, including Daniel G. Daniel Esq., John James Esq., and Wisdom Chukwumere Esq.
“I showed them that intelligence is not in big names and titles,” Okon said, highlighting the significance of the victory not just for himself, but for those who fight for justice against powerful institutions.
As of press time, the University of Uyo has yet to issue an official statement in response to the Supreme Court ruling.
