The Industrial Court sitting in Yenagoa, on Monday ordered the Federal University, Otuoke, in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa, to pay each of four of its lecturers the sum of N5 million for defamation and N200,000 each for cost of litigation.
In 2018, the institution downgraded Steve Nwabuzor from the rank of Professor to Lecturer I and Dr Felina Nwadike, from Associate Professor to Senior Lecturer.
Others are Dr Sepribo Lawson-Jack, an Associate Professor demoted to Lecturer I, and Dr Evans Eze from Associate Professor to Lecturer II.
Delivering a ruling, Justice Bashiru Alkali, ordered that the claimants should be reinstated to their full status, privileges and entitlements by the institution.
All the litigants were lecturing in foreign universities but returned home to serve in the university at Otuoke.
