Tension is once again rising at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, following a legal move by a senior staff member, Mr. Rex Michael Ademu, to stop the promotion of Mr. Bernard Odoh to the rank of Professor.
Mr. Ademu has filed a suit at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Awka Division, seeking an order to halt the promotion process.
The suit, marked NICN/AWK/35/2025, was filed through his lawyer, Levi Chiefuna Esq. of Unicorn Acoms Legal Practitioners. Copies of the court documents were made available to journalists on Monday.
Listed as defendants in the case are Nnamdi Azikiwe University (first defendant), the Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof. Carol Arinze Umobi (second defendant), and Mr. Bernard Odoh (third defendant).
In the suit, Mr. Ademu is asking the court to declare that the university’s Appointments and Promotions Committee, chaired by the second defendant, is legally required to evaluate the integrity of any staff member being considered for a professorial position, in line with applicable laws, regulations, and the institution’s conditions of service.
He is also asking the court to rule that the third defendant is unqualified for promotion, citing what he described as a fraudulent claim by Mr. Odoh that he was a professor at the Federal University Gusau (FUGUS)—a claim which the institution has reportedly denied. Mr. Ademu argues that this misrepresentation calls Mr. Odoh’s integrity into question.
Furthermore, the claimant is urging the court to direct the university authorities to investigate Mr. Odoh over a range of allegations, including his alleged involvement in partisan politics while in the university’s employ and the alleged use of falsified documents related to his employment or academic rank at FUGUS. He also wants the court to compel the university to take disciplinary or criminal action where necessary.
In addition, Mr. Ademu is seeking an injunction to restrain the university and the Vice Chancellor from promoting, appointing, or recognizing Mr. Odoh as a professor or in any related academic or administrative role, pending the outcome of the requested investigations.
He argues that promoting Mr. Odoh would violate Section 5.3(a)(iii) of the university’s Conditions of Service, which stipulates that integrity is one of the three essential criteria for academic promotion.
As of the time of this report, none of the defendants had issued any public response to the legal action.
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