Justice Peter Lifu of a Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit instituted against the famous Loyola Jesuit College, Abuja by an admission seeking pupil, Master Aondo Terdoo Caleb. Justice Lifu, in a ruling, held that the suit filed for 2024 admission into the College had become academic exercise by effusion of time.
In the ruling, the judge said that no advantage can be conferred on the applicant even if judgement is entered in his favour because the 2024 admission period had lapsed.
Justice Lifu maintained that proceeding with such a suit would in the end amount to an exercise in futility having been taken over by time and circumstances. Specifically, he held that the period of admission being sought had been closed by operations of the School’s calendar since 2024.
Besides, the Judge held that the applicant erred in instituting the case against a non jurisdict person instead of the Registered Trustees of the College known to law and which can be legally sued. Master Aondo Terdoo Caleb had dragged the Loyola Jesuit College and the Federal Ministry of Education before the court seeking an order to compel the College to admit him as a student.
He instituted the case through his lawyer, Matthew Burkaa (SAN). His mother, Mrs Ogooluwa Terkaa Aondo had instituted the case on behalf of her son against the College and the Education Ministry for the enforcement of the right of her son to education and admission to the prestigious Loyola Jesuit College in Abuja.
He had asked the court to compel the College to grant him every right, privilege, entitlement and facility accorded to its students in Junior Secondary School 1 (JSS 1) to resume on August 20, 2024, without any limitation or restriction pending the hearing and determination of his motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
The applicant had also prayed the court to restrain the Principal and President of the College from denying him the right to education and giving out his rights of studentship to any other person pending the hearing and determination of his motion on notice for interlocutory injunction. Joined as co-defendants in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1114/2024 are the Principal of the College, Father Chikere Ugwuanyi and the President, Rev Father Peter Chidolue.
The grouse of the applicant was that he made payment for admission but that the payment was not reflected in the School’s bank account because of the electronic glitches suffered by the portal of the School. He claimed that the payment was subsequently reversed by the bank prompting the College of his choice to deny him admission.
The College on the other hand had told the court that admission had been closed at the time the applicant made the payment and also that it cannot not be held responsible for the electronic glitches to force the applicant on the School. The College held that it was not in possession or custody of any money from the applicant having been returned to his parent following the official closure of admission.