AKWA, NIGERIA– The management of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, has suspended a speaker in the Department of Chinese Studies, Prof. Ifeanyi Sunny Odinye, for three months with half wage over declared offenses of the university’s General and Academic Regulations.
The suspension followed the submission of an interim report by a six-member Special Investigative Panel constituted by the university to examine accusations occurring from an occurrence involving the lecturer and a female student.
The occurrence, which was captured in a video that later on went viral, apparently showed suspected students attacking and stripping the speaker following accusations of sexual misconduct involving a female student.
Panel Prosecutes Lecturer Over Evaluation Misconduct
The panel, chaired by the Provost of the College of Postgraduate Studies, Prof. Emmanuel Obidimma, sent its preliminary report to the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ugochukwu Bond Stanley Anyaehie, on Friday, August 21, 2026.
According to a declaration released by the Director of Details and Public Relations, Aloysius Emeka Attah, the preliminary report resolved two of the five concerns included in the panel’s regards to recommendation.
The panel apparently discovered Prof. Odinye to have contravened Section 5.8.3 of the university’s General and Academic Regulations by failing to report an alleged examination misconduct case involving the trainee formally.
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The panel also found that the speaker returned an offending mobile phone recovered throughout the assessment to the student on the very same day, contrary to Section 5.8.1(iv) of the guidelines.
“Prof Odinye was arraigned for contravening Area 5.8.3 of the General and Academic Laws (GAR) of Nnamdi Azikiwe University by failing to not just record and send the case of examination misconduct against Chikamso Favour Okechukwu on the prescribed Examination Misbehavior Report Kind but likewise return the offending phone recovered during the evaluation to the trainee on the exact same day,” the declaration said.
Based upon the panel’s suggestion, the Vice-Chancellor authorized the lecturer’s three-month suspension with half salary in the first circumstances.
Sexual Harassment Claims Still Under Examination
However, the panel delayed consideration of the accusation of sexual harassment versus Prof. Odinye, specifying that further investigation was needed to establish the truths surrounding the claim.
The university stated 3 problems stay outstanding in the panel’s terms of recommendation.
They include determining whether sexual harassment occurred, establishing the identities of the individuals associated with the attack on the lecturer and identifying whether there was any incident of kidnapping connected to the matter.
The Vice-Chancellor has as a result extended the panel’s tenure by another 2 weeks to allow it to complete its investigation and resolve the impressive concerns.
The university said the panel is anticipated to send its last findings and recommendations to the Vice-Chancellor, after which a final decision, including possible criminal prosecution, may be thought about.
Trainee Referred to Evaluation Misbehavior Committee
The trainee involved in the event, Chikamso Favour Okechukwu, has likewise been described the university’s Evaluation Misbehavior Committee, according to the declaration.
The recommendation will allow the university to attend to the supposed examination misbehavior through its established procedures.
The university had earlier condemned the reported assault on the lecturer and stressed that accusations of misconduct should be handled through due process rather than violence or self-help.
The current advancement therefore separates the disciplinary concerns surrounding the alleged examination misconduct from the unsolved accusations of unwanted sexual advances and attack.
The Vice-Chancellor reiterated his administration’s dedication to personnel and student welfare, openness and fair hearing, while preserving the university’s position of absolutely no tolerance for dishonest practices.
The outcome of the investigation is expected to clarify the remaining allegations and identify whether more disciplinary or legal action will be taken.