The Federal High Court in Osogbo has ordered Obafemi Awolowo University to reinstate Shekoni Jemima Oluwagbemisola’s “Pass with Credit” degree and pay her N5.8 million for unlawfully downgrading her result.
Justice Adefunmilola Demi-Ajayi held that OAU breached the physiotherapy graduate’s fundamental rights by changing her classification from “Pass with Credit” to “Pass” without justification.
The court awarded N5 million in exemplary damages and N800,000 in costs against the university in Suit No. FHC/OS/CS/107/2025.
Oluwagbemisola, who earned a Bachelor of Medical Rehabilitation (B.MR) in 2023, said OAU first confirmed her “Pass with Credit” status in a Statement of Result dated November 23, 2023.
The same classification appeared in the official brochure for the university’s 47th Convocation in December 2023.
The problem surfaced when she applied for her original certificate and found the grade had been revised to “Pass.”
After internal efforts failed, she approached the court through counsel Princewill Okoroafor of P.O. Okoroafor & Co.
Justice Demi-Ajayi described OAU’s action as “arbitrary and reckless” and said the institution failed to follow due process and best practice.
“The university breached, violated and infringed on the fundamental rights of the applicant by unlawfully and illegally changing her grade,” the judge ruled.
“The illegal and unlawful action must have caused the applicant great inconvenience and hardship.”
The court faulted OAU for not publishing her final-year results and for altering the grade without a proper investigation.
The judge noted the change disrupted Oluwagbemisola’s academic and professional plans, as she had already used the “Pass with Credit” result for postgraduate applications.
“A reasonable person would conclude that the plaintiff suffered emotional and psychological stress as a result of the university’s actions,” Justice Demi-Ajayi said, citing the appellate decision in Okafor & Anor v AIG Police Zone II Onikan & Ors (2019) to justify damages.
The court ordered OAU to issue a corrected certificate reflecting “Pass with Credit,” consistent with the Senate’s approval of her result on November 20, 2023.
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