Admiralty University accused of wrongful graduation deferment after resit directive

By Johnson Arua

Parents of final‑year students at Admiralty University of Nigeria, Ibusa, have accused the institution’s management of planning to wrongfully defer the graduation of several students by ordering them to re‑register and re‑sit courses they say the students already took and passed.

The allegation was made publicly by Archbishop Yimam Orkwar, General Overseer of All Nations Evangelism Ministry (ANEM) and President of the Christian Association of Clergies in Nigeria (CAC‑Nig), who spoke in Makurdi.

Archbishop Orkwar said his daughter a final‑year International Relations student scheduled to graduate on November 29 received a university letter claiming she had yet to pass 10 courses carried over from 100 level and must register the outstanding units before the registration window closes.

"I was really taken aback," Archbishop Orkwar told reporters. "All those courses are already on her 2021/2022 examination record. The result was approved and uploaded to the university portal years ago."

According to the parent, the 2021/2022 results had been approved by the university Senate, posted on the portal and archived long before the current management took office.

He said he gathered that the Senate of the university had previously sat on the students’ final results and that his daughter held a 4.72 GPA, which would classify her as a first‑class graduate.

Archbishop Orkwar alleged the new Vice‑Chancellor later established a three‑man committee reportedly comprising one full‑time staff member and two academics on sabbatical from other universities, to re‑screen the already approved results. He said the committee’s actions have created confusion and distress among students and staff.

"If the university will not allow my child to graduate on the 29th, I will sue the school," he warned, adding that his lawyers had already been contacted.

Parents and some lecturers interviewed said attempts to reach senior academic officers were frustrated by unresponsive phone lines and changes in staff.

Some lecturers who spoke on condition of anonymity confirmed that they taught and marked the courses in question and were surprised by the management’s directive.

A copy of the letter sent to the student and a screenshot of the archived 2021/2022 examination results were shown to this reporter. The letter advised the student to "register all your outstanding courses before the time for registration of courses elapses." The parent described the directive as "the height of impunity and a total disregard for academic excellence."

University records and archived portal entries cited by the parent indicate that the courses named in the instruction were included in the earlier result upload. The parent called on the institution to exercise due diligence before issuing notices that he said have traumatized students.

When contacted for comment, a university official did not respond to calls to the numbers provided by the institution. This reporter also attempted to reach the office of the Vice‑Chancellor and the Dean of Faculty but had not received a formal response at the time of publication.

The parents are demanding an urgent clarification from the university, immediate verification of archived records and reinstatement of the students on the graduation list where appropriate. They have threatened legal action should the institution fail to resolve the matter before the scheduled convocation.