By Muhammad Muntazar & Michelle Tungkat Niyang, Abuja
A public interest lawsuit has been filed at the Federal High Court challenging the controversial appointment of the University of Benin’s Vice-Chancellor, with allegations of procedural irregularities and double salary payments spanning a decade.
The Incorporated Trustees of the Association of Legislative Drafters and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP) is seeking judicial intervention to nullify the VC’s appointment through an originating motion marked FHC/ABJ/CS/…/2025. The suit names as defendants the President (as Visitor to UNIBEN), the Education Minister, and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).
The plaintiffs present a damning seven-count indictment against the appointment process. First and foremost, they seek a mandamus order to force the Education Minister to immediately remove the incumbent VC and install the rightful top-scoring candidate from the selection examinations. Court documents reveal the shocking claim that the current officeholder allegedly did not achieve the highest score in the rigorous assessment process designed to identify the most qualified candidate.
Beyond questions of merit, the suit makes serious allegations of regulatory violations. It demands judicial declaration that the VC’s appointment is legally void due to his purported overstay of official leave during a decade-long secondment (2014-2024) to the National Institute for Legislative Studies. This extended absence, the plaintiffs contend, automatically disqualified him under UNIBEN’s own governance regulations.
Perhaps most seriously, the application accuses the VC of violating Section 19 of the ICPC Act by allegedly collecting dual salaries from both UNIBEN and NILDS simultaneously throughout his secondment period – a practice strictly prohibited under Nigeria’s anti-corruption laws. The suit pointedly asks the court to compel ICPC to investigate and potentially prosecute these claims.
ALDRAP’s legal team, led by prominent Abuja-based attorney Timothy Tersugh Ahua, has carefully constructed their case using multiple legal instruments. The originating motion invokes Order 34 of the Federal High Court Rules, constitutional provisions guaranteeing judicial oversight (Sections 6(6)(b) and 36), and the court’s inherent jurisdiction to correct administrative abuses.
The case is scheduled for hearing soon before the Federal High Court in Abuja.
Legal analysts suggest this could become a watershed moment for university governance, potentially establishing stricter precedents for merit-based selection processes in federal universities, enforcement of anti-corruption provisions in academic appointments and judicial oversight of ministerial decisions in tertiary education.
This lawsuit emerges against a backdrop of growing national concern about irregularities in university leadership appointments. Education stakeholders including the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU,) have increasingly raised alarms about politicization of VC selections, disregard for institutional regulations, and weak enforcement of anti-corruption measures in academia.
ALDRAP, as a public interest organization focused on legislative compliance and good governance, asserts its legal standing based on its mandate to promote transparency in public institutions. The case outcome could influence ongoing reforms in Nigeria’s tertiary education sector and set important precedents for accountability in academic leadership appointments.
Neither UNIBEN management nor the Federal Ministry of Education had issued official responses to the allegations as at press time. The ICPC similarly declined comment, citing policy against discussing matters under potential investigation.