COOU Vice Chancellorship Dispute Takes New Turn as Court Fails to Deliver Judgment

By Our Reporter

Expectations were left hanging on Thursday as the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), Awka, failed to deliver judgment in the legal battle over the appointment of Prof. Kate Omenugha as the substantive Vice-Chancellor of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam.

The judgment, which had been scheduled for October 15, was not delivered by Justice John Tergama as anticipated, leaving some observers who turned up at the court disappointed.

The case pits Prof. Chike Osegbue against Omenugha and five other respondents in a dispute over the process that led to her appointment as head of the Anambra State-owned university.

Although the parties concluded oral arguments and adopted their written addresses on July 21, the court rose on Thursday without delivering its decision.

The matter was also absent from the cause list for the day’s proceedings.

Osegbue Challenges Appointment, Demands Recognition as VC

At the centre of the dispute is suit No. NICN/ARJ/275/2025, through which Osegbue is challenging Omenugha’s appointment on August 6, 2025.

Osegbue is asking the court to nullify the appointment and declare him the substantive Vice-Chancellor, insisting that he finished first in the selection process and was recommended by the university’s Governing Council to the governor for appointment.

He maintains that the appointment violated the university’s governing law and due process, as exercised by the selection committee under the then Pro-Chancellor, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu.

The case has drawn attention to the selection procedure and the respective roles of the university’s governing structures and the state government in appointing its substantive Vice-Chancellor.

Omenugha Urges Court to Throw Out Suit

Omenugha has urged the court to dismiss Osegbue’s suit and the reliefs he is seeking.

She argues that the selection process was not fully compliant with the university’s governing law, putting the legality of the process at the heart of the dispute.

Other respondents are Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the Anambra State Attorney-General, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, the university’s Governing Council and COOU.

Lawyer Explains Why Judgment May Be Delayed

A legal practitioner who spoke to journalists at the court said the failure to deliver judgment on the scheduled date was not necessarily unusual, provided the court acted within the constitutionally stipulated period.

The court did not deliver the anticipated ruling on Thursday, and no new judgment date was provided in the information available for this report.

The legal battle therefore remains unresolved, with both parties awaiting the court’s decision on the contested appointment.

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