Recently sacked Vice-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, has withdrawn the lawsuit he filed at the National Industrial Court challenging his sack by the institution’s Governing Council.
The Wale Babalakin-led Governing Council had on August 12, announced the removal of Ogundipe as UNILAG VC after a council meeting held in Abuja.
However, Ogundipe rejected his removal on the ground that it did not follow due process.
Consequently, he headed to the Industrial Court to challenge the decision of the Council.
The suit, marked NICN/LA/278/2020, had as defendants: UNILAG; the varsity’s Council; its Senate; Pro-Chancellor, Dr Wale Babalakin (SAN); Registrar, Oladejo Azeez; and Prof. Theophilus Soyombo, who was appointed acting VC in the wake of his sacking.
Ogundipe had filed an ex parte application, which was pending for hearing before the court.
READ ALSO: UNILAG: Ogundipe’s Removal Followed Due Process, No Crisis In The Institution – Babalakin
However, his lawyers, Messrs Tayo Oyetibo (SAN) and Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN) approached the court on Friday with an application to discontinue the case.
The Notice of Discontinuance, which was filed pursuant to Order 61(1)(1) of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (Civil Procedure) 2017, simply read, “Take Notice that the claimant doth hereby wholly discontinue this suit against the 1st-6th defendants.”
In a statement titled, “Court did not refuse Prof. Ogundipe’s case,” Adegboruwa explained the reason behind the VC’s decision to discontinue.
According to him, the decision followed “detailed consultation with all stakeholders and his supporters in and outside the University.”
The statement added, “Prof. Ogundipe directed his lawyers to file a notice of discontinuance of the suit and this has been done on August 21, 2020.
“This is to defer to the authority of the President as the Visitor of the University as Prof. Ogundipe has enough time to challenge his purported removal.”
