Miss Alberta Omobolaji Adeogun V. University Of Ibadan & Anor (2012)

LawGlobal-Hub Lead Judgment Report – COURT OF APPEAL

STANLEY SHENKO ALAGOA, J.C.A. (Delivering the Leading Judgment)

This is an appeal against the judgment of the Federal High Court Ibadan delivered on the 20th March 2008 by Molokwu J. in suit No. FHC/IB/CS/41/2000 wherein the Plaintiff’s claims were dismissed. By an amended statement of claim dated 30th May 2003 amended pursuant to an order of Court of the same date, the Plaintiff (now Appellant) claimed as per paragraph 27 the following –

(i) Declaration that the failure or refusal of the 1st Defendant to release the 1998/99 final LL.B Degree examination result of the Plaintiff on the ground that the Plaintiff’s school certificate qualification is deficient, notwithstanding the 2nd Defendant’s confirmation of the school certificate results of the plaintiff to the contrary, is wrongful, irregular, unreasonable and unconstitutional.

(ii) An order directing the 2nd Defendant to re-confirm forthwith to the 1st Defendant the results of the plaintiff in the May/June 1992 SSCE Examination.

(iii) An order directing the 1st Defendant to release forthwith the results of the Plaintiff in the 1998/99 Final LL.B Degree Examination.

(iv) Damages

(v) INJUNCTION restraining the 1st Defendant from further refusing or failing to release the Plaintiff’s final LL.B Degree Examination Result.

(vi) DECLAMTION that the 2nd Defendant is estopped by her acts from denying that the Plaintiff passed her May/June 1992 SSCE Examination with credit in five subjects.

The 1st & 2nd Defendants the University of Ibadan and the West African Examinations Council who are now the 1st and 2nd Respondents in this appeal filed their respective pleadings and the case went on to be tried with the parties calling evidence and tendering exhibits. In its considered judgment the Court dismissed the Plaintiff’s (now Appellant’s) claims. The facts as averred by the Appellant in her amended statement of claim are that she was a student of the 1st Defendant (1st Respondent in this appeal) the University of Ibadan and wrote her final LL.B. degree examination at the end of the 1998/99 academic year. She had sometime in 1992 earlier passed her secondary school leaving certificate examination with credits in five subjects as disclosed by a review of the 2nd Defendant (2nd Respondent in this appeal) the West African Examinations Council of her papers in the examination following a protest of the Appellant’s secondary school. The Appellant was admitted into the 1st Respondent’s institution in October 1992 for a four year LL.B degree programme. In accordance with the requirement of the 1st Respondent, the 2nd Respondent confirmed the Appellant’s school certificate result direct to the 1st Respondent after the Appellant’s admission. In April 1993, the 1st Respondent issued a certification of the Appellant’s admission into full time degree programme following the confirmation of her results referred to by the 2nd Respondent.

In 1995 the 1st Respondent again confirmed the Appellant’s status as a bona fide student of the 1st Respondent as shown in the student identification form completed on the occasion. The Appellant eventually finished her course in 1998/99 session with a third class honours degree as she was told in the Dean’s office of the 1st Respondent’s Faculty of law as the result had not been officially released, On inquiry as to why her name was not included in the results officially released, the Appellant was told to see one Mr. Ajayi of the Student Affairs Division of the 1st Respondent who had earlier left a note in the Dean’s Office requesting the Appellant to see him in his office.

When she did so Mr. Ajayi informed her that her results were withheld because of the deficiency in her school certificate result as revealed in the new album of the 2nd Respondent West African Examinations Council, and when the Appellant denied this she was asked to see Mrs. Ikotun the Admissions officer who was then not in the office. When Mrs. Ikotun declined to see her, the Appellant took her case to the Vice Chancellor of the 1st Respondent institution and one Mr. Agbede an officer of the 1st Respondent was in the Vice Chancellor’s office at the time and he (Mr. Agbede) restated that from the new album obtained from the 2nd Respondent, the Appellant obtained two instead of five credits in the 1992 school certificate exam result.

Appellant then went on to explain to the Vice Chancellor of the 1st Respondent University how her Principal had requested for a review of her result and how same was done with the school later issuing a statement of her result which showed the reviewed results. Impressed by the Appellant’s explanation, the 1st Respondent’s Vice Chancellor requested the Appellant to furnish him with a copy of her school request for a review of her result and the reviewed result from the 2nd Respondent institution which she did and the Vice Chancellor minuted them to Mrs. Ikotun to take action on them which Mrs. Ikotun refused to do despite pleas from her father to provide a car and a driver to take her (Mrs. Ikotun) to the office of the 2nd Respondent in Lagos to verify the result of the Appellant’s school. The Appellant would have gone to meet the 2nd Respondent on her own but in the then prevailing circumstances, it would be better for the 1st Respondent University to do so.

The Appellant had by the conduct of the 1st Respondent’s Mrs. Ikotun missed two admissions to the Nigerian Law School and would miss a third except the 1st Respondent was compelled to release the results. The Appellant has by the conduct of the 1st Respondent suffered substantial damage.

The 1st and 2nd Respondents in their separate statements of defence denied the averments in the Appellant’s claim. The 1st Respondent for its part avered that the Appellant had while seeking admission to the 1st Respondent institution claimed that she possessed five credits in her school certificate exams results upon which she was provisionally admitted but a computer print out from the 2nd Respondent West African Examinations Council showed that she had two and not five credits which was short of the minimum entry qualifications to pursue the LL.B degree course in the 1st Respondent institution which required a minimum of five credits in the school certificate exams results. The 1st Respondent wrote to the 2nd Respondent to ascertain the authenticity of the Appellant’s claim. The 2nd Respondent wrote to the 1st Respondent to say that the purported review communicated by the 2nd Respondent and presented as statement of result by the Appellant for admission was forged. The 1st Respondent averred that the Appellant having had only two credits had not met the requirements for admission to the 1st Respondent institution and the 1st Respondent legitimately refused to release Appellant’s final results having become aware of this deficiency. The 1st Respondent also averred that its degrees were awarded to persons who had been found worthy in character and learning.