20 years after he was wrongfully dismissed, a Nigerian lecturer, Inih Ebong, finally gotten justice.
According to reports, Ebong was an associate professor in the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Uyo, when he was sacked in 2002
However, the Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar, the Cross River state capital, delivered the judgement in Ebong’s
Before his sack, Ebong had a running battle with Akpan Ekpo, the then vice-chancellor and Peter Effiong, registrar.
It was gathered that Ebong was hated for always speaking up against alleged maladministration and corruption in the school. In what appeared to be a deliberate attempt to render Ebong jobless and discourage potential employers from engaging, University of Uyo (UNIUYO) published a disclaimer on him in some national dailies shortly after his sack in 2002.
Being out of a job for several years, the lecturer could hardly feed himself and his family, let alone take care of his medical treatment.
The 73-year-old lecturer was diagnosed with cardiac failure in October 2020 and was dying before a Nigerian billionaire, Femi Otedola, stepped in to take care of his medical treatment.
As reported by the newspaper, a court document showed that the Court of Appeal, Calabar, on 21 July 2023, dismissed an appeal filed by UNIUYO against the National Industrial Court’s judgement which ordered the university to reinstate Ebong and pay him N10 million damages. The court also ordered the university to pay Ebong his accumulated salaries and allowances. Ebong appreciates Otedola after sponsored medical treatment
Earlier, in a video shared on Instagram by Dele Momodu, a frail Ebong walking without assistance thanked Otedola for coming to his rescue.
According to the medical report, Ebong was brought to the hospital with congestive cardiac failure.
At the time of filing this report, ni official response from the University authority.