By Our Correspondent
A former lecturer at the Federal University Dutse (FUD) in Jigawa State, Dr. Ramla Muhammad Kamal, has filed a lawsuit challenging her dismissal and accusing the university of defaming her.
In the suit filed against the university and its Registrar, Dr. Ramla is asking the court to declare that her dismissal was unlawful. day
She stated that she was not given the opportunity to defend herself before the decision to terminate her appointment was taken.
Dr. Ramla also alleged that the university published her name as a lecturer who absconded from duty before she even received her dismissal letter, an action she said damaged her reputation.
Because of this, she is asking the court to order the university to remove her name from the publication and to issue her a public apology.
The embattled lecturer is also demanding payment of N100 million and N20 million as damages, stated that her total claims amount to about N320 million.
Dr. Ramla explained that the university granted her permission to pursue a postgraduate degree at Universiti Putra Malaysia and continued to pay her salary during the period.
She said she completed her studies in 2023, and that she and her family paid for her tuition, accommodation, flight tickets, and other educational expenses.
According to her, after completing her studies, her husband got a job in the United States. “Because of this, i requested a leave of absence to undertake further training and asked that the bond to resume work be suspended until i returns to Nigeria.
“The university did not approve her request and stopped my salary from May 2024, commenced disciplinary proceedings, and later the university offered a dismissal letter in June 2026 without giving me a fair opportunity to defend herself.”
Ramla further alleged that before the dismissal letter was issued to her, news of her dismissal was already being circulated with claims that the university had sponsored her studies but she refused to return to work.
The development she complained about damaged her reputation.
Contacted on the issue, the university authority and its Registrar, however, denied all the allegations.
The university stated that Dr. Ramla’s employment was governed by its rules and by the study leave agreement she signed before traveling abroad.
According to the university, it continued to pay Dr. Ramla her salary and allowances, but it had no obligation to pay for her tuition, accommodation, travel, or other educational expenses.
The university also said Dr. Ramla breached the study leave agreement because she did not return to Nigeria after completing her studies and instead continued to stay in the United States without permission.
In addition to defending itself, the university filed a counterclaim asking the court to order Dr. Ramla to refund N16.4 million, which it said was salary and allowances paid to her during her study leave.
The university also denied the allegation of defamation, stating that publishing Dr. Ramla’s name was in line with the directive of the Federal Ministry of Education regarding staff who fail to resume duty after completing their study leave.
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