Lecturers at Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, under the aegis of the Concerned Lecturers of UNIZIK, led by Prof. Anthony Chukwudi Okoye, have petitioned the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, urging full enforcement and implementation of a binding judgment of the National Industrial Court, which reinstated Prof. Benard Ifeanyi Odoh as the duly appointed Vice Chancellor of the institution.

The lecturers insistt flagrant disobedience to ed thacourt orders by the University’s management and Governing Council constitutes a direct assault on the rule of law, which is threatening to plunge the institution into a damaging governance crisis.

Controversy trailed Prof Odoh’s appointment as the seventh substantive Vice Chancellor on 29 October 2024, when some individuals within the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) alleged that he was not yet a Full professor at the time of his selection.

Therefore, acting solely on those allegations, the Federal Ministry of Education directed the dissolution of the Governing Council, removed Odoh from office and appointed a less than two-year PhD holder, Professor Ikechebelu, as Acting Vice Chancellor.

But, maintaining his vested legal right to the office, Prof. Odoh approached the National Industrial Court, Abuja Division, asserting that he was duly assessed and promoted to Full Professor with effect from 1 October 2015, a status properly evaluated, confirmed and approved by the Governing Council of the Federal University of Gusau.

While Odoh contended that the approval fully satisfied the statutory and procedural requirements for the office, UNIZIK proceeded in clear violation of judicial authority repudiated valid court orders expressly restraining interference to search for another Vice Chancellor.

As the matter progressed under active litigation and a subsisting consent judgment on the lawful procedure for filling such an office, and despite multiple orders of the court duly served upon the University, the management and Governing Council initiated recruitment processes to fill an office, which the aggrieved lecturers said was clearly not vacant.

The concerned Lecturers described the university’s conduct as a “conscious provocation and escalation of conflict with the rule of law.”

Last Monday, the National Industrial Court, while finally determining the matter, in a detailed ruling delivered by Hon Justice E D Subilim, held that Prof. Odoh was validly appointed, properly evaluated by a panel of three professors and lawfully promoted to the rank of full professor ten years ago.

Further, the court averred that Odoh’s appointment renders every allegation of ineligibility legally groundless and consequently ordered full restoration of his statutory rights, privileges and entitlements as Vice Chancellor, even as it directed the Federal University of Gusau to issue him a written apology to be published in a national newspaper.

The Court also awarded N5million in damages for the unlawful interference with his lawful entitlements.

Referencing the Suit Number NICN/Awk/51/2025, which challenged the unlawful advertisements of 13 and 16 September 2025 and Suit Number NICN/Awk/61/2025, which sought punitive consequences for the alleged willful disobedience of court orders, the petitioners urged the Minister to intervene.

In their petition titled “Urgent Appeal to Uphold Due Process in the Appointment of Vice Chancellor and Save Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka from Looming Crisis” the Concerned Lecturers called for immediate governmental intervention to halt what they described as a creeping institutional breakdown.

Part of the petition read:“Despite these multiple pending litigations and subsisting court orders, the University’s Governing Council proceeded to fix Tuesday 11 November 2025 for the Senate selection, interview and appointment of a substantive Vice Chancellor.

“This action, in clear defiance of judicial authority, undermines the rule of law and exposes the University to the risk of future nullification of the appointment, which would inevitably plunge the institution into a prolonged and avoidable crisis.

“Honourable Minister, the Renewed Hope Agenda of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is firmly anchored on respect for the rule of law and due process. Nnamdi Azikiwe University, as a federal institution established by statute, must exemplify these principles.

“Disregarding a judiciary process or judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction in a democratic setting like ours completely undermines the democracy which we have all laboured for. It is also unlawful and detrimental to the credibility of our governance structures and the confidence of stakeholders in the education sector.”

The lecturers urged the Honourable Minister to direct the Governing Council to halt the ongoing illegal appointment process and enforce strict obedience to the Court order reinstating Professor Odoh, stressing that in law, judgments remain binding until set aside.

Citing the foundational jurisprudence of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which holds that “Court orders are not made in vain; they are made to be obeyed,” in the case of Attorney General of Lagos State versus Attorney General of the Federation 2003, the petitioners insisted that illegality should not be condoned.

Additional judicial authorities cited by the aggrieved lecturers affirming that flouting court judgments threatens the foundations of constitutional order, include:“A nation cannot be governed in accordance with the rule of law if public institutions assume the liberty to cherry pick the judgments they obey.” (Military Governor of Lagos State versus Ojukwu); and “Disobedience to court orders strikes at the heart of justice and is an invitation to anarchy.”

While imploring Dr Alausa to wade into the matter immediately, the Concerned UNIZIK Lecturers declared that “these authoritative precedents, they argued, leave no ambiguity about the illegality of the actions taken by the University’s leadership.”

According to the petitioners, the most prudent and lawful step would be to appoint an Acting Vice Chancellor only after the expiration of the incumbent’s lawful tenure, even as they contended that any contrary action exposes the University to severe legal liability.

“These include, nullification of decisions taken under an unlawfully constituted leadership,” they stressed, adding that UNIZIK, which bears the revered name of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, must remain a bastion of justice, due process and constitutional integrity rather than a symbol of impunity or regulatory defiance.