Abuja: Hearing in a suit instituted by the former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, against the University of Nigeria, Nsuka (UNN) and others was, on Thursday, stalled at the Federal High Court in Abuja. The case, initially scheduled for hearing before Justice Hauwa Yilwa, was adjourned to April 20 in order to allow lawyers involved in the case to regularize their legal processes.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the development followed an oral application for adjournment by Chiamaka Anagwu, representing UNN and four other parties, to enable them organize their legal strategy. The application was not opposed by Nnaji’s lawyer, Sebastian Hon, SAN, or N.H. Oba, who represented the National Universities Commission (NUC). Consequently, Justice Yilwa adjourned the case to April 20 for further hearing and ordered that a hearing notice be served to the Education Minister, who was not present in court.
Nnaji had initiated the lawsuit following allegations of certificate forgery against him. In an ex-parte motion, he sought an order to prohibit the university and its officials from tampering with his academic records. The suit, marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1909/2025, listed the Minister of Education, NUC, UNN, and Ortuanya as 1st to 4th respondents, and included the Registrar of UNN, Ujam, and the Senate of the university as 5th to 7th respondents, respectively.
Nnaji requested a prerogative writ of mandamus to compel the university to release his academic transcript and urged the Minister of Education and the NUC to use their supervisory powers to enforce this action. He also sought an interim injunction to prevent UNN and its officials from interfering with his academic records pending the outcome of the substantive suit.
However, the 3rd to 7th defendants filed a preliminary objection, urging the court to dismiss the suit due to lack of jurisdiction. They also sought an order for substantial costs in favor of the 3rd, 4th, and 6th defendants. They argued that the motion ex-parte for leave was not filed within the required three months of the occurrence of the subject matter, as stipulated by Order 34 Rule 4 (1) of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019, and Section 2 (a) of the Public Officers Protection Act 2004, rendering the proceedings incompetent.
They further contended that the motion for prerogative orders was incorrectly filed as a motion on notice instead of an originating motion, as required by the Federal High Court rules. They stated that the application was premature and speculative, given the absence of a prior request, denial of release of academic records, or evidence of interference with the applicant’s records before the commencement of the action.
The defendants also argued that the court lacked jurisdiction over issues related to student academic records, examinations, results, and transcripts, asserting that the matter did not fall under the exclusive jurisdiction outlined in Section 251 (1) of the Nigerian Constitution. They claimed that internal remedies had not been exhausted and that the applicant’s fundamental rights had not been violated. Moreover, they asserted that no reasonable cause of action was disclosed against the 3rd to 7th respondents, particularly regarding Prof. Ortuanya, who acted in his official capacity as VC of UNN.