A MAJOR crisis is brewing at the University of Ibadan (UI) ahead of its Thursday undergraduate convocation ceremony, following a petition by a First Class Honours graduate of the Department of Psychology, Folarin Oluwale Amir, over an alleged gross academic infraction and unjust deprivation of his faculty honours.
Folarin, through his solicitors, has threatened to slam a ₦100 million lawsuit on the premier institution and seek an urgent court injunction to halt the Faculty of the Social Sciences convocation proceedings unless the university management immediately rectifies the 2026 Order of Proceedings.
The legal petition, addressed to the Vice Chancellor, Professor Kayode Adebowale, through the Registrar, revealed that despite graduating with a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 3.91 out of 4.00 across 172 credit units, Folarin’s name was systematically omitted from the list of faculty prize winners in the official convocation booklet.
Instead, the published 2026 Order of Proceedings listed another student, Adeoti Mubarak Adebare of the Department of Political Science, who graduated with a lower CGPA of 3.72, as the winner of all eight major faculty awards, scholarships, and endowments.
The disputed prizes include the prestigious Faculty Prize for the Best Final Year Student, the Professor Eno L. Inanga Prize, the Dr. Liman Ciroma Prize (awarded strictly to the graduate with the highest CGPA in the Faculty), the Peter Ajose Alli Prize, the NUPEMCO Prize, the De-United Indomie Scholarship, the Gamaliel O. Onosode Scholarship Scheme for Excellence, and the Late Pa Joseph Adesokan Osuntogun Prize.
Describing the development as a “mathematically impossible and logically absurd” administrative blunder, the petitioner’s legal team argued that awarding prizes designated for the overall top student to a graduate with a 3.72 CGPA over a 3.91 CGPA candidate constitutes gross administrative negligence and constructive academic fraud.
The petition warned that presenting uncorrected academic records on national television and before an international audience on Thursday would inflict irreparable psychological distress, reputational damage, and financial loss on their client regarding post-graduate fellowship applications.
“It is legally unsustainable to confer prizes created specifically for the student with the highest Cumulative Grade Point Average upon a student with a 3.72 CGPA, while completely ignoring Our Client, who achieved a 3.91 CGPA,” the solicitors stated.
The legal firm issued a strict ultimatum to the University Management, demanding three key corrective actions before 12:00 PM on Wednesday, November 11, 2026:
An immediate Senate Emergency Audit to formally declare Folarin Oluwale Amir as the Overall Best Graduating Student of the Faculty of the Social Sciences.
The publication of an official erratum/corrigendum and reprinting of the relevant sections of the 2026 Order of Proceedings.
The public conferment of all faculty prizes, plaques, and cash endowments on Folarin during Thursday’s ceremony.
The petition further served notice that should the institution fail to comply before the deadline, an Ex-Parte Application for an Interim Injunction will be filed at the High Court of Oyo State to restrain the university from awarding the faculty prizes or completely stay the Faculty of the Social Sciences convocation proceedings.
In addition to injunctive relief, the petitioner vowed to press for ₦100,000,000.00 (One Hundred Million Naira) in general damages for breach of administrative duty and reputational harm.
Copies of the urgent petition have been served on the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic), the Registrar, the Dean of the Faculty of the Social Sciences, the Heads of Departments of Psychology and Political Science, as well as the UI Legal Unit.
As of press time, the University Administration had yet to issue an official response regarding the petition or indicate whether an emergency Senate meeting would be convened ahead of Wednesday’s deadline.
