Lecturer Unjustly Sacked for 24 Years Confirmed Dead, He Struggled to Afford Medical Treatment
- Former UniUyo associate professor Inih Ebong has passed away, 24 years after his unjust dismissal for criticising alleged corruption within the university
- Despite winning multiple court battles, the institution failed to reinstate him or pay his entitlements, leaving him unable to afford medical care
- His death has reignited concerns over academic freedom and the treatment of outspoken scholars in Nigeria
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Inih Ebong, an associate professor of theatre arts unjustly dismissed 24 years ago by the University of Uyo (UniUyo), Akwa Ibom State, has died.
He passed away in the early hours of Wednesday, 16 April, at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital.
Source: Facebook
His wife, Uduak, confirmed his death, stating that he had been talking continuously from his sickbed the night before.
Legal battles and struggles for justice
Mr Ebong was dismissed in 2002 for persistently criticising alleged corruption and maladministration within UniUyo.
According to Premium Times, the university issued a disclaimer against him, discouraging other institutions from hiring him.
Despite multiple court victories, including a Court of Appeal ruling in December last year confirming the illegality of his termination, successive vice-chancellors failed to reinstate him or pay his entitlements.
The prolonged unemployment left him unable to afford basic needs, including medical treatment.
Health challenges and philanthropic aid
Diagnosed with cardiac failure in 2020, doctors gave him little chance of survival. However, Nigerian billionaire and philanthropist Femi Otedola funded his treatment, enabling his recovery.
Despite initial signs of improvement, his health deteriorated again in February, leading to his admission to the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital in March.
His condition worsened, and he expressed his desire to leave the hospital just days before his passing.
Calls for justice
Human rights lawyer Inibehe Effiong previously criticised UniUyo for its handling of Ebong’s case, stating that the institution’s failure to reinstate him before his death was unjust.
His passing has reignited concerns over academic freedom and the treatment of outspoken scholars in Nigeria.
“It would be a shame, the blood of Dr Inih Ebong will be on the management, will be on the Senate and the Governing Council of the University of Uyo if Dr Inih Ebong dies, without getting justice,” a human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, said in 2020.
Source: Facebook
FUT Minna lecturer found dead
Legit.ng earlier reported that a lecturer at the Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna in Niger State, Dr. (Mrs) Adefolalu Funmilola Sherifat has been found dead in her residence in the Gbaiko Area of the town.
The institution’s chairperson of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Gbolahan Bolarin said Adefolalu’s body was discovered on Sunday morning by her church members, Channels TV reported. They traced her home after she was not seen during service and forced the door to her house open.
According to residents, the lecturer at the Department of Biochemistry, School of Life Sciences was found in her pool of blood, knives found beside her. The residents said until her death, she was staying with a female house help but laid off the girl on Friday, October 27.
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Source: Legit.ng
