The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, FUOYE, Prof. Abayomi Sunday Fasina, and the Nigeria Police Force, on Wednesday resolved to settle out-of-court over a suit filed by the V-C, urging a Federal High Court, Lagos division to protect his fundamental human rights against an alleged abuse by the officials of the Special Fraud Unit, SFU, who invaded the premises of FUOYE last year’s June.
The SFU officials had invaded the university with an alleged plot to arrest the V-C on a trumped up allegations without recourse to due process and the rule of law.
Following this breach, Prof. Fasina sued the Nigeria Police Force for allegedly tramping on his fundamental human rights by attempting to illegally and forcefully arrest him in his office on the premises of the university in Oye-Ekiti, Oye local government area of Ekiti State on June 17, 2021.
However, their alleged invasion of the university caused a stir as members of the university community believed bandits had attempted to abduct the V-C.
While the V-C had accused the SFU operatives of an attempt to illegally arrest and or kidnap him, the officials had denied the claim, insisting that they merely wanted to serve the university’s chief executive a letter of invitation for questioning over allegations against him.
Meanwhile, the V-C had, through his lawyer, Mr. Ebun Olu- Adegboruwa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, replied the SFU, saying the allegations of criminal acts of money laundering, double salaries and official misconduct leveled against the V-C by a group, Global Anti-Corruption Initiatives, were untrue, baseless, and unfounded and merely trumped-up to defame the character of the V-C.
At the hearing of the case on Wednesday, Adegboruwa informed Justice Aneke of the Federal High Court that his legal team and that of the police had found a common ground on which they would resolve the rift.
He said: “My Lord, we have been able to find a common ground with my learned colleagues and we plead that you will give us sometime to perfect this new agreement. We are already exploring a common ground for possible resolution. We pray that your Lordship graciously grant us time to consolidate on these efforts.”
Responding, lawyer to the SFU, Agu, said: “l can confirm that we are trying to get a common ground to resolve this matter sir.”
After hearing parties in the matter, the judge adjourned further hearing in the case to June 20, 2022 for report of settlement.
