UNILAG VC Ogunsola Threatens N1bn Suit Over N22bn Audit Report

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Folasade Ogunsola, has threatened legal action against online news platform NaijaOnPoint over a report on alleged financial irregularities at the institution. The report followed a federal government investigation of the university’s 2024 financial year.

According to the NaijaOnPoint report, the investigation found N22,145,701,052.88 in irregularities across twenty-five separate findings. The report described this as the largest sum uncovered at any institution in the entire federal cycle for the year.

The report said the most serious finding was that N7,828,737,226.27 in contracts were never uploaded into the Nigeria Open Contracting Portal, the federal government’s public procurement transparency platform. It stated that a contract that never reaches the portal cannot be scrutinised by Nigerians, who would have no way of knowing its value, vendor or scope.

It also alleged a revenue failure of similar scale. N3,290,139,031.25 in internally generated revenue was said to have never been remitted to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, while a further N398,301,002.00 in a separate category of independent revenue was also said to have stayed out of the Treasury. Combined, the report put the unremitted income at close to N3.69 billion.

The publication further claimed that federal investigators, in books seen by SecretsReporters, recorded a denial of access to the university’s financial records, with no figure attached because the investigators were not allowed to see what was behind the request.

The report noted that Prof. Ogunsola has served as UNILAG’s 13th Vice-Chancellor since November 2022, covering the whole of the 2024 financial year, and is in a five-year term running through November 2027. It stated that, as chief executive and accounting officer, responsibility for the university’s financial environment rests with her administration. It also said the alleged conduct breached the Public Procurement Act 2007, the Financial Regulations 2009 and Section 85(2) of the 1999 Constitution.

Reacting, Prof. Ogunsola, through her solicitors, Bayo Osipitan & Co., issued a cease-and-desist letter to the platform’s Publisher/Editor-in-Chief. The letter accused NaijaOnPoint of publishing false and defamatory allegations, including claims that university staff received N397 million in irregular payments and that N434 million in cash advances remained unretired.

The lawyers argued that the publication created the impression that their client is a dishonest university administrator who presides over an institution populated by criminals. They maintained that she had no involvement in any criminal activity or financial impropriety and that she neither authorised, participated in, nor knowingly facilitated such conduct.

“Our Client categorically denies allegations or insinuations of having been engaged in, authorised, participated in, or knowingly facilitated criminal conduct and/or financial impropriety,” the lawyers stated.

While acknowledging the importance of investigative journalism and public scrutiny of government-funded institutions, the solicitors stressed that responsible reporting must be distinguished from the publication of unverified allegations as established facts.

The Vice-Chancellor is demanding N1billion in compensation, made up of N500 million in general damages and N500 million in exemplary damages. Her lawyers also demanded that NaijaOnPoint immediately remove the publication from its website and all social media platforms under its control.

They further asked for an unequivocal retraction and a public apology with prominence and visibility comparable to the original publication. The platform was also directed to give a written undertaking not to republish the allegations and to take corrective measures to prevent their further circulation.

The solicitors warned that failure to comply within 48 hours of receiving the letter would result in legal proceedings against the company and other persons allegedly responsible for the publication.

As of the time of this publication, NaijaOnPoint has not reacted, nor has the publication been taken down.