Victor EzejaFOLLOWING investigations into allegation of academic fraud involving two professors of law, Academic Fraud Investigation Committee (AFIC), University of Calabar (UNICAL) has recommended demotion of one of them, Rev. Prof. Uhuka to Graduate Assistant, while the other, Prof Worugji has refused to tender his certificates for disciplinary action.
Professors Worugji and Rev. Uhuka working in Faculty of Law, UNICAL were said to have been involved in academic fraud such as false claim and forgery of certificates tendered for employment and promotion in the institution.
A statement from the Academic Fraud Investigation Committee (AFIC) disclosed that while Uhuka absconded for fear of being handed over to Police or ICPC for further investigation, Worugji was yet to cooperate with the investigation committee, warranting the university to issue stringent warning to him to do so.
AFIC said “Worugji who refused to submit the Original of his certificates including his Ph.D degree in Law certificate to the committee is going from one committee member to the other begging as usual to be salvaged from the shame.”
Worugji holds a Ph.D from the Institute of African studies in the Faculty of Arts, University of Ibadan with specialization in African Law which reads “Doctor of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts.” He was said to have been informed by the then Registrar of UNICAL that he was not eligible for promotion to rank of a Professor of Law because he had not obtained a Ph.D in Law. But he later maneuvered his way and got promoted to the rank of an Associate Professor without a Ph.D in Law in 2006.
While facing the onslaught from AFIC, Worugji was said to have written to University of Ibadan where he got his PhD for correction of certificate which was obtained in May 2010.
“Nine years after being told that he had not obtained a Ph.D degree in Law, Prof. Worugji has started the process of having his Ph.D certificate corrected to read his area of specialization ‘African Law’.
“It is worthy to note that African Law is not a program of study, but an area of Specialization in the academic program of Core African studies, while A postgraduate programme in law (LLM, MPhil & Ph.D) under the NUC minimum standard for PG programme in Nigerian universities is required to be domiciled in the Faculty of Law.
“One begins to wonder if a person who obtained a Ph.D in African Studies and specialized in Traditional African Medicine and belief systems from the Institute of African studies, University of Ibadan can become a professor of medicine in the university of Calabar ? The answer obviously is No.
“Why Prof Worugji chooses to do African Studies goes to show that Prof. Worugji lacks the basic requirements to do a postgraduate degree in law.”
AFIC added that the institution, Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU), where Worugji claimed to have gotten his bachelor degree in Law do not offer such programme. The committee added that it wondered how Worugji got admission to the Nigerian Law School without a qualifying Law degree.
On the demotion of Uhuka to Graduate Assistant, the committee said it was based on its discovery that he has questionable Bachelor and Master degrees of Law certificates, was not called to the Nigerian Bar or any other Bar around the globe, has no Ph.D degree but records show he is a doctoral candidate, has zero University teaching experience and no evidence of Publication amongst others discoveries by the AFIC.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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