Metro

Victory At Last: Nigerian Lecturer Victimised For 24 Years Secures Final Victory

Published

1 year ago

December 8, 2024

A lecturer, Inih Ebong, unjustly sacked by the University of Uyo (Uniuyo) over 22 years ago, has won a final victory against the university at the Court of Appeal, Calabar, Cross River State.

The appellate court, on Tuesday, dismissed an appeal filed by the University of Uyo for a stay of the execution of a 2020 judgement of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, which ordered the university to reinstate Mr Ebong and pay him all his entitlements and damages.

“It’s all over. It’s all over. Everything is over,” said Mr Ebong’s lawyer, Nse William, who confirmed the development to PREMIUM TIMES Tuesday afternoon.

“We give glory to God,” he added.

“You know, wherever there’s a wrong, there’s always a remedy,” Mr William said, adding that he was happy that the lecturer was alive to witness the victory.

‘It has been so long’

An elated Mr Ebong spoke with our reporter on Tuesday about his legal victory.

“I feel very happy,” he said.

“The road is now as clear as the apian way for me to enforce that judgment (of the industrial court). Whether the vice-chancellor likes it or not, he must pay that money. It is his karma.”

The lecturer thanked Nigerians who stood by him throughout his travail.

He thanked the Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola, who sponsored his medical treatment, and a human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, for travelling from Lagos to Uyo to visit him and for speaking out against the injustice meted out to him.

Mr Ebong’s wife, Uduak, expressed her happiness about the court victory.

“It has been so long,” she said.

“The whole thing started when I gave birth to my first daughter. All my three children were born into the struggle. Today, my first daughter is 21 years old and is in the university.

“Our kids have been our great supporters.”

Uduak narrated how, on Sunday, they were thinking about where to get money for the lawyer’s transport fare to Calabar for the Appeal Court judgment. Then, out of the blue, Mr Ebong’s former schoolmate at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, credited her husband’s account with N20,000.

“We have been so blessed to receive support from kind Nigerians,” she said.

False accusations
Mr Ebong was an associate professor at the theatre arts department when Uniuyo unjustly sacked him in 2002 over a false accusation that he abandoned his duty.

The lecturer was reputed for his resistance to and criticism of maladministration, mismanagement and corruption in the university.

Akpan Ekpo, a recently retired professor of economics, was the vice-chancellor of the university when authorities moved unjustly against the lecturer. A certain Peter Effiong was the registrar during the period.

PREMIUM TIMES, in October, published an investigative report on how Uniuyo ruined Mr Ebong’s career with unproven sexual assault allegations.

The 73-year-old lecturer had been diagnosed with cardiac failure in October 2020 and was dying before Mr Otedola, stepped in to take care of his medical treatment, following a PREMIUM TIMES report.

Being out of a job for several years, Mr Ebong could hardly feed himself and his family, let alone take care of his medical treatment.

Shortly after his sacking in 2002, Uniuyo published a disclaimer on Mr Ebong in Punch newspaper, apparently to get other potential employers to avoid him.

Industrial court judgment
Since 2002, when his appointment was terminated, Mr Ebong has won several court cases against the University of Uyo.

The outstanding victory was the January 2020 judgment of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, which ordered the university to reinstate the lecturer and pay him compensation.

“The stoppage of the Claimant’s salary, the indefinite suspension of him from duties, and the purported termination of his appointment by the Defendants without due process were malicious, ultra vires, and unlawful, and therefore null, void and of no effect whatsoever,” Justice M. A. Namtari declared in his judgment in the case instituted by Mr Ebong in 2017.

The court ordered Uniuyo to withdraw the termination letter, reinstate Mr Ebong, and pay all his salaries, allowances, and entitlements that would have accrued to him since 1 August 2001, when his salary was stopped, and from 28 March 2002, when his appointment was wrongfully and unlawfully terminated.

The court also ordered the university to pay Mr Ebong the equivalent of his full annual salaries and allowances for the 2001/2002, 2007/2008, and 2014/2015 academic years he should have gone on sabbatical leave in accordance with the terms and conditions of his employment if his appointment had not been unlawfully suspended and later terminated.

The university, in addition, was ordered to pay Mr Ebong N10 million as damages.

Uniuyo had filed three separate applications at the Court of Appeal against Mr Ebong’s victory at the industrial court. The appellate court struck out two of them, remaining the last one, which the court has dismissed.

Since all cases from the Industrial Court end at the Court of Appeal, the management of the University of Uyo is now expected to implement the judgement of the Industrial Court.

When contacted on Tuesday, Fidelis Iteshi, Uniuyo’s lawyer, declined comment on the matter.

“I can’t say anything until I get a copy of the judgment,” he said.
PREMIUM TIMES

Metro

Edo Assembly Declares Okpebholo’s Projects Unprecedented

Published

5 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

The Edo State House of Assembly has described projects embarked upon by Governor Monday Okpebholo as unprecedented in the history of Edo State.

Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Atu Osamwonyi, made the assertion when he led members of the legislature on a comprehensive oversight inspection of several ongoing infrastructural projects.

Other lawmakers on the oversight team included Hon. Addeh Isibor, Hon. Yekini Idaiye, and Hon. Ugabi Kingsley.

Hon. Osamwonyi, who spoke during an assessment tour of the Sapele Road Flyover, said the lawmakers were in the field to verify the progress of work and ensure that funds appropriated by the Assembly were being judiciously utilised.

According to him, the flyover represents a milestone for Benin City and reflects the governor’s commitment to infrastructural renewal.

He emphasised that unlike past administrations where funds were approved with no tangible results, the Okpebholo-led government had demonstrated transparency and visible delivery.

“In my entire life in Edo State, this flyover project is the first of its kind. We are here physically, and work is ongoing,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker added that the Assembly had earlier inspected the Ramat Park Flyover on Monday, noting similar levels of progress.

“This is the fifth site we have visited since yesterday. We are impressed with what we have seen so far, and as a House, we will stand by the governor to ensure he finishes strong,” he said.

At Ogheghe, Old Sapele Road and Ekae Road—where a 14-kilometre road and concrete drainage network is underway—Hon. Osamwonyi described the construction efforts as unprecedented, expressing astonishment at the level of work done within a short period.

He insisted that the legislature does not play politics with accountability and would speak the truth at all times.

“If Governor Okpebholo was not doing well, we would say it. But I stand here today to affirm that the funds appropriated are being used judiciously for the benefit of the people.l”, he noted.

He further remarked that despite limited financial resources, the governor had delivered projects many believed were impossible.

The Deputy Speaker recalled that several communities, particularly in Ogheghe, previously suffered from severe road degradation that made access impossible, even for motorcycles.

“But today we are standing here with joy. The governor has brought democracy to Edo in a way the people can feel,” he said.

According to him, contractors handling the projects confirmed that although the initial timeline was two years, work would likely be completed within one year and six months due to the speed of implementation.

“That tells you that Governor Okpebholo is not eating Edo people’s money,” he added.

Hon. Osamwonyi stressed that the Assembly would resist any attempt to derail the governor’s momentum.

“This is the continuity we want in Edo State. Anybody who wants to thwart the governor’s efforts, we will not agree,” he said.

The oversight team also visited the 5.86-kilometre road project linking Amagba and Obagie-N’Ebvuosa, where the engineer handling the project reported that 4.3 kilometres of drainage had already been completed.

Metro

Edo Final-year Student Dies In Sign-out Motorcade Crash

Published

11 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

A yet-to-be-identified final-year student of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State, has lost his life in a road crash after he and some other students embarked on a motorcade parade to celebrate the completion of their final examinations.

It was learnt on Tuesday from a Facebook user, Inside Edo, that the accident occurred on Monday shortly after the students finished their final examination.

Inside Edo disclosed that the vehicle had attempted to overtake another before losing control and ramming into a truck.

The post read, “A tragic accident has occurred at Ujoelen, close to the primary school, resulting in the death of a newly graduated student of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma.

“According to eyewitnesses, the crash happened during an attempted overtaking by one of the vehicles involved.

“The risky manoeuvre reportedly led to a loss of control, causing the fatal incident. Residents who were nearby rushed to the scene, but the victim could not be saved.”

Similarly, the News Agency of Nigeria reported that the students were said to have been driving recklessly before crashing into a stationary truck.

The deceased was said to be part of a convoy made up of fresh graduates of the university.

NAN reported, “He was reportedly part of a convoy of fresh graduates who took to the highway on Monday shortly after their signing-out activities.

“Witnesses said the group drove recklessly and failed to observe basic safety rules during the celebrations.

“The tragedy occurred when the deceased attempted to overtake a moving truck but collided with a stationary vehicle parked along the road.”

Efforts to get the reaction of the Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Cyril Mathew, proved abortive, as the official number available on the FRSC directory was not reachable at the time of filing this report.

Meanwhile, NAN reported that Mathew later confirmed the incident, adding that one person died while five others were injured in the crash.

“The students, after writing their last paper, took to the road in a convoy.

“In the process, one of them overtook another vehicle and rammed into a stationary truck,” NAN quoted Mathew as saying.

Metro

One Dies In Oyo Fire, Two Rescued

Published

11 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

One person lost her life in a fire incident at Agbaakin Street, behind Testing Ground, Iwo Road, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, on Monday.

This was contained in a statement by the Chairman of the State Fire Service, Maroof Akinwande, in Ibadan, on Tuesday.

He said the fire resulted from a lighted charcoal cooking pot left unattended, which ignited nearby combustible materials.

Akinwande added that the firefighting operation was successfully carried out with the support of officers of the Federal Fire Service.

“The fire emergency was received at exactly 20:18 hours on Monday, December 8, 2025.

“On getting there, it was two rooms on the upper floor of a private residential building of 12 rooms engulfed by fire.

“One person (female) was recovered, while two persons (males) were rescued alive. The fire also affected only two rooms, and the whole building and other properties worth millions of naira were saved by the officers of the agency.

“The fire incident was a result of a lighted charcoal cooking pot left unattended, which ignited nearby combustible materials. The operation was jointly carried out with the Federal Fire Service, Ibadan Command,” he explained.

In a related development, a fire incident on Tuesday engulfed the Agric Business Development Agency at Total Garden in Ibadan.

A statement by the State Fire Service Chairman, Akinwande, said the agency received a telephone call through Mr Akinyinka reporting that fire had ravaged the place.

“The incident was reported at exactly 09:20hrs on Tuesday, December 9, 2025, through a telephone call by Mr Akinyinka (the General Manager, Oyo State Fire Services Agency) to the office, reporting a fire at the above-stated address.

“The officers, led by ACFS Oyeniyi Taofeek, swiftly mobilised and deployed to the scene. Upon arrival, it was discovered that electrical sparks from a solar inverter control board on the upper floor of the building resulted in the fire.

“The swift response and professional intervention of our officers prevented the situation from escalating into a fire disaster. The use of portable fire extinguishers was employed during the firefighting operation.

“No casualty was recorded, and properties worth millions of naira were saved by the fire service. The fire incident was a result of electrical sparks from the inverter system,” the statement read.

The chairman, therefore, advised the public to always use correct cables and other electrical materials for their installations.