The Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, has ordered the management of Nigeria’s first university, the University of Ibadan (UI), and nine others to enter into immediate reconciliation with a student, Kayode Bello, whose master’s degree graduation has been institutionalized into a long-standing legal battle.
The directive was contained in an official court document dated June 29, 2026, which was exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters on Tuesday evening.
The letter, with reference number CA/IB/MBA/VOL.II/63, was signed by the Deputy Chief Registrar (DCR) of the Court of Appeal, Ibadan Division, Mrs. Maryam Belgore Ahmed, and addressed to the Registrar of the University of Ibadan.
According to the document, the appellate court gave the directive during its judicial proceedings on Monday, June 29, 2026, in an appeal marked CA/IB/427/2025.
The legal battle stems from a controversial decision by the university authorities to block Mr. Bello’s access to his master’s student portal, effectively preventing him from graduating.
Bello had previously won the case at the Federal High Court in Ibadan, where the trial judge ordered UI and its officials to immediately reopen his portal and allow him to graduate.
However, the university administration and others defied the lower court’s judgement, keeping his portal blocked and refusing to let him graduate, choosing instead to approach the Court of Appeal.
When the case came up on Monday, a three-man panel of justices, led by the presiding judge, Justice Abraham George, alongside Justices Binta F. Zubairu and Fadawu Umaru, refused to let the institutional academic gridlock fester, ordering both parties to explore a mediated settlement instead.
The court mandated that representatives of the University of Ibadan, alongside Mr. Bello, must convene a face-to-face meeting with the Deputy Chief Registrar to iron out modalities for an out-of-court settlement.
The court slammed a strict 48-hour deadline on the parties, ordering the meeting to hold “on or before 1st of July, 2026.”
The correspondence was routed through the Appellants/Applicants’ legal team, led by a prominent Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chief Ladapo Ladosu (SAN) & Co., based in Ibadan.
To ensure strict compliance with the fast-approaching deadline, the mediation meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at 2:00 PM.
According to the document, the meeting will take place inside the office of the Deputy Chief Registrar at the Court of Appeal complex located at Adeoyo, off Ring Road, near the Federal High Court in Ibadan.
Mrs. Ahmed further warned the university administration to treat the directive with the absolute urgency it deserves, attaching the official copy of the court proceedings to the dispatch.
The appellate court has adjourned the matter until Friday, July 3, 2026, for a report of the settlement. The judges warned that if the reconciliation attempts fail, the court will proceed to hear the pending applications, provided the court’s schedule permits.
