Over three years of litigation was concluded last week after a Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State, awarded a total of N5.1 million against a lecturer and the management of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) as damages for victimising a student.
Georgia Davou, a student of the school’s Masters degree programme in Economics, was withdrawn from the university in a controversial manner in 2017.
The woman, who had some ‘issues’ with her project supervisor, Thaddeus Longduut, was denied access to her result and was eventually asked to leave the school, midway into the two-year graduate programme, on account of poor grades.
Prior to the withdrawal, Mr Longduut had allegedly refused to approve her thesis and consequently, she was not allowed to write the external exam.
Although the cause of the differences between the duo could not ascertained, the woman’s lawyer, Gloria Ballason, said it was not on grounds of sexual advances.
“There are allegations but she does not think so. She is married with a kid and even herself, when asked, said the man never demanded such from her,” Mrs Ballason, who is also the elder sister of the victim, told our correspondent.
Meanwhile, last Wednesday, Justice M.H. Kurya ruled that Mr Longduut and the school management should pay Mrs Davou N5 million and N100,000 respectively in general and exemplary damages.
The judge also ordered that Mrs Davou be reinstated, adding that the school should change her supervisor and ensure the final defence of her thesis is done within reasonable time.
