The House of Representative has directed the National University Commission, NUC, to end the lingering legal action between the Madonna University, Nigeria and her two former students towards a win-win resolution.
It also urged the expelled students and petitioners to its committee on Public Petition to withdraw their suit in court against the privately-owned university.
This development followed an adopted petition by the lower chamber by two former undergraduates of the university namely: Stanley Okoye and Anderford Lyord but assigned to its committee on Public Petition chaired by Hon. Uzoma-Nkem Abonta.
It would be recalled that the duo wrote to the green chamber seeking a restoration of their alleged infringement of fundamental human rights by the university authority.
When grilled, chairman of the committee said the committee was worried by a situation where the rights of students of higher institutions were not protected.
He said, “The two students however shocked the committee when they revealed that they were yet to complete their academic works to enable them obtain the institution’s certificates.
“It was therefore suggested that the school might consider providing the students with their transcripts to enable them to conclude their schooling somewhere else.
“We want to prevent future occurrence, we want to keep standard and anybody that can’t cope will be shown the way out.
“The University was directed to produce the absconded lecturer of computer science and the chief security officer on Tuesday.
“The committee had queried the management of the university for allegedly refusing to issue transcript to the former students after they applied for their transcript.
“The committee, however, has directed the NUC to settle the matter in a win-win resolution.”
However, the University vice chancellor, Prof Chuks Ezedum has assured the committee members of his commitment to resolving the matter.
But Okoye, who was in the Department of Civil Engineering, was reportedly found culpable of vices such as examination malpractices, drug abuse and distribution, including academic failures which led to rustication, and loss of an academic year.
He was, therefore, said to have been rusticated on August 2, 2013 for examination malpractice in CVE 412: Hydraulics Engineering vide a letter, Ref. MAU/CR/D.3.
Again, Okoye was suspended on December 9, 2013 for one academic session for unlawful association and other vices vide a letter Ref. MAU/CR/S.1.
The totality of all these, it was reported led to the loss of one academic year. He later withdrew from the school and in the process abandoned a five-year course at the 400-level.
Also, Ga-Lim Aondofa Lord was said to be a spillover Engineering undergraduate due to academic failures and eventually suspected to be a leader of a cult group.
Apparently dissatisfied by the treatment meted out to them by the University authority, the duo dragged the institution to court in Suit No. FHC/ENKS/50/2015; Ifeanyi Okoye & 2 Ors V. Governing Council, Madonna University but however lost the case and never appealed against the judgment till date.
Later, they petitioned the Executive Secretary, National Human Rights Commission, Abuja; the President, National Association of Nigerian Students, among others but the agencies and organisations petitioned, recognized the competency of the courts and conceded that the matter before the courts be exhausted.
It was also revealed that none of the students involved in the matter had fulfilled the academic requirements for the award of a first degree.
While Okoye dropped out of the University in the first semester, 400 level of his 5-year programme, Ga-Lim Aondofa Lord still has a number of courses to clear before graduation.
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