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In a significant development at the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Justice James Omotosho has granted an ex-parte motion filed by Professor Mustapha Mukhtar against the Honourable Minister of the Federal Ministry of Education, Professor Oguejiofor T. Ujam, and Professor Simon Uchenna Ortuanya, seeking to remove Prof Ortuanya as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

The motion, moved by counsel to the plaintiff, Gregory Ukpong, sought leave to amend the originating summons and add another defendant to the suit. In his affidavit supporting the amended summons, Professor Mukhtar, a senior academic at Bayero University, Kano, detailed his qualifications and long-standing service in Nigeria’s university system.

He argued that he met all the parameters to contest for the position of Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), but was obstructed by what he described as irregularities in the appointment process.

According to the affidavit, the Federal Government dissolved UNN’s Governing Council in February 2025, appointing Professor Ujam as Acting Vice-Chancellor with a six-month mandate to oversee a transparent selection process. Mukhtar alleged that instead of facilitating the emergence of a substantive Vice-Chancellor, Ujam engaged in foreign travels, contract awards, and staff employment, while attempting to revive a “flawed, invalid and expired” selection process initiated by the dissolved council.

Mukhtar further claimed that despite his qualifications, he was deprived of the opportunity to contest, as the defendants proceeded with a process that culminated in the appointment of Professor Ortuanya as substantive Vice-Chancellor on August 11, 2025. He described this as a breach of due process and an infringement on his right to participate.

Justice Omotosho, after considering the motion, granted the plaintiff’s request to amend the summons.

Following the ruling, the matter has been adjourned to April 9, 2026, for substantive hearing.