By Frank Ulom
CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – The Federal High Court sitting in Calabar has declared that the University of Calabar acted fraudulently and recklessly by admitting students into its Faculty of Engineering without due accreditation from relevant statutory bodies.
Delivering judgment on Wednesday, 4 March 2026, Justice R. O. Dugbo-Oghoghorie ruled in favour of eight students, popularly known as the “UNICAL 8”, who instituted the suit in 2021 after years of academic uncertainty.
The plaintiffs — Idiong Ekpedeme Godwin, Abasi Ekong Stephen Peter, Agbontaem Victor Osaretin and five others — sued the university, its former Vice-Chancellor, Professor Florence Obi, and four others in suit number FHC/CA/CS/117/21. They filed the action for themselves and on behalf of other affected students of the Faculty of Engineering.
Five-Year Legal Battle
The students told the court that they were admitted into engineering programmes which, at the time, lacked accreditation from the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN).
Counsel to the plaintiffs, Barrister Ozinko Ozinko, argued that the university made false public representations that the newly established Faculty of Engineering was duly accredited. He said the students relied on these representations by paying school fees, sitting examinations and fulfilling academic requirements, only to later discover that the programmes were not approved.
According to him, some of the students were in 300 and 400 levels when officials from the NUC conducted a resource verification visit and directed that they step down to 200 level because the university had not secured proper authorisation before commencing the programmes.
He told the court that some departments were eventually scrapped, leaving students stranded. “The plaintiffs would not have left their chosen courses or sought admission if they were aware that the programmes were not accredited,” he submitted.
Ozinko described the university’s conduct as deceitful, adding that the institution owed the students a duty of care to disclose material facts concerning accreditation status.
University’s Defence
Counsel to the university, Barrister Jonas Abuo, denied wrongdoing. He maintained that accreditation is a process involving multiple stages and not a single event.
He argued that the students voluntarily transferred from their original courses to engineering after the university senate approved the establishment of the faculty and initiated the NUC resource verification process.
Abuo stated that the university notified the NUC and requested verification, adding that external factors such as strike actions and the COVID-19 pandemic delayed full accreditation.
He further contended that COREN and the Nigeria Society of Engineers regulate engineering practice rather than academic accreditation, which, he said, falls under the NUC’s mandate.
The defence insisted that the students were properly taught and that the knowledge imparted remained valid despite accreditation delays.
Court’s Findings
In her judgment, Justice Dugbo-Oghoghorie identified key issues for determination, including whether the university obtained accreditation at the material time and whether it lawfully allowed students to enrol in programmes still at the resource verification stage.
The judge held that no institution should run an academic programme without first obtaining senate approval and requisite accreditation from statutory regulators.
She noted that documentary evidence showed full NUC accreditation was granted on June 6, 2024, while COREN accreditation followed on April 5, 2025 — several years after the affected students commenced their studies in 2016.
“It is the finding of this court that the only proof of accreditation tendered by the defendants were applications to the NUC, which did not mature into approval until 2024–2025,” she ruled.
The court held that the university acted negligently by allowing students to progress to 400 level without informing them that accreditation had not been secured.
Justice Dugbo-Oghoghorie ruled that the defendants’ conduct amounted to negligence and deceit, stating that the university owed the students a duty of care to disclose material facts.
“The plaintiffs have proved their case on the balance of probability as required by law,” she declared.
Damages Awarded
The court awarded N50 million in general damages and N5.247 million in special damages to the plaintiffs.
However, the judge declined to grant an order directing the university to absorb the affected students at no cost, stating that the request had been overtaken by events since the faculty has now secured accreditation.
She also refused to halt the operation of the Faculty of Engineering, noting that the programmes have since been duly accredited.
Reactions
Counsel to the university thanked the court and declined further comment.
Barrister Ozinko described the judgment as a victory for civil litigation and due process. “Justice may be slow, but it will finally get to its destination,” he said.
He urged institutions to disclose accreditation status to prospective students, particularly where departments have been scrapped.
One of the plaintiffs, Ekpedeme, said the judgment marked the end of a difficult five-year journey. “We suffered a lot of challenges, but we did not relent,” he said, adding that he pursued the matter after feeling dissatisfied with the university’s response at the time.
