The Senate of Prince Abubakar Audu University (PAAU), Anyigba, Kogi State, has expelled six 100-level students for gross examination misconduct after they were found rewriting an examination at their lecturer’s private residence.
The university also referred the lecturer, Dr. Maji Okpanachi, to its Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee for allegedly facilitating the unauthorized examination, while nine other students were withdrawn for poor academic performance and failure to meet registration requirements.
The decisions were reached at the university’s 167th Regular Meeting of the Senate, held on 26 August 2026, and were announced in a statement by the institution’s Public Relations Officer, Uredo Omale.
The case came to light on 1 July, when university security operatives, acting on credible information, arrested Okpanachi and some students at his residence behind the Police Area Command Office along Idah Road, Anyigba.
According to the university, exhibits were also recovered from the residence during the operation.
Omale said the security report was subsequently forwarded to the Examination Misconduct Committee for investigation.
The committee later presented its findings to the Senate, which established that the students had returned to the lecturer’s residence several days after the original examination to rewrite BOT102, Introduction to Plant Science.
“The committee report further confirmed the security report as well as the confessional statements by the lecturer and the students involved and other available records, that some students re-wrote the examination at the lecturer’s residence, days after the examination was written,” Omale said.
She said the investigation further established that each affected student paid ₦10,000 to the lecturer to participate in the unauthorized rewrite.
The university said the six students were all from the Department of Plant Science and Biotechnology. Their expulsion followed the Senate’s consideration and adoption of the Examination Misconduct Committee’s report.
Rather than announce the lecturer’s immediate dismissal, the Senate referred Okpanachi to the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee for appropriate action in accordance with the university’s regulations.
The development means the lecturer’s case will be subjected to the institution’s disciplinary process, separate from the sanctions already imposed on the students.
In a separate decision, the Senate approved the withdrawal of nine students for poor academic performance and failure to comply with registration requirements.
Reports on the university’s decision indicate that the affected students included those who failed to register for two consecutive semesters.
The university said the measures were part of its efforts to enforce academic standards and ensure compliance with its regulations.
Reacting to the decisions, the Vice-Chancellor and Chairman of Senate, Prof. Salisu Ogbo Usman, reaffirmed the institution’s commitment to academic excellence, discipline, integrity, patriotism, and quality assurance.
He said the university would not tolerate conduct that could undermine the credibility of its examinations or other academic processes.
Usman commended the committees involved in investigating the examination case, describing their work as thorough and painstaking.
He urged staff and students to uphold academic discipline, follow examination regulations and comply with the university’s academic rules.
The expelled students have also been directed to surrender university property in their possession, including identity cards and other official items, to the appropriate authorities before leaving the institution.
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