Former Governing Council Chairman alleges Anambra authorities sidestepped an ongoing National Industrial Court case by securing a High Court judgment in a controversial legal battle over the university’s leadership.
Former Chairman of the Governing Council of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Prof. Chidi Anselm Odinkalu, has accused the Anambra State Government and the university’s management of orchestrating a legal manoeuvre to undermine an ongoing court challenge over the appointment of the institution’s Vice-Chancellor.
Odinkalu, a former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, made the allegations in a strongly worded statement posted on his verified social media account, escalating the controversy surrounding the leadership tussle at the state-owned university.
The renowned legal scholar said comments recently made by the Anambra State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Law Mefor, concerning his tenure as Chairman of the university’s Governing Council relate to issues that are already the subject of litigation before the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN).
According to Odinkalu, he is a defendant in the suit alongside Governor Chukwuma Soludo, the Anambra State Attorney-General, COOU and the university’s Governing Council.
He alleged that after all parties had entered appearance in the matter before the National Industrial Court, the state government and university authorities turned to an Anambra State High Court in Otuocha to obtain a judgment in proceedings he claims were designed to sidestep the pending federal case.
Odinkalu further contended that the claimant in the Otuocha suit was not an applicant for the Vice-Chancellor position and therefore lacked any direct interest in the appointment process.
“The State High Court knows the matter is not one over which it has jurisdiction,” he asserted, questioning both the legal competence of the proceedings and the speed with which the case was concluded.
He claimed the suit was instituted on September 15, 2025, with judgment delivered just 11 days later on September 26, describing the timeline as extraordinary for a matter of such significance.
“The judgment could not have been more favourable if it was written by a party to the proceedings,” Odinkalu alleged.
While expressing concern over what he characterised as an uneven legal contest, the former Governing Council chairman said he would refrain from discussing the substantive issues in greater detail out of respect for the ongoing judicial process.
He also contrasted his position with that of public officials who have commented openly on the dispute, insisting that he would reserve a fuller response until the conclusion of the court proceedings.
“At the appropriate time, I will address comprehensively the actions of those behind this controversy,” he indicated.
The latest claims add another layer to the protracted dispute over the appointment of COOU’s Vice-Chancellor—a process that has sparked litigation, political exchanges and heightened public scrutiny over governance at the institution.
As of the time of filing this report, neither the Anambra State Government nor the management of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University had publicly responded to Odinkalu’s allegations.
