The University of Ghana (UG) has said the judge presiding over a current case involving it and some students of the Commonwealth Hall which is before the commercial division of the High Court in Accra, Justice Francis Obiri, was actively involved in vandalism during his undergraduate studies at the university.

The university, therefore, wants Justice Obiri removed, as his “relationship” with the Commonwealth Hall and “his conduct of the case, so far, suggests a real likelihood of bias.”

A motion for certiorari filed by Kwabena-Adusei on Friday, 31 March 2023, indicated that Justice Obiri “was officially attached to Akuafo Hall as a resident during his undergraduate studies. 

“This notwithstanding, he stayed in Commonwealth Hall throughout his undergraduate studies and was actively involved in vandalism and its ideologies.”

The university’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor, Prof Gordon Awandare, in a supporting affidavit, revealed he had reliable information that the judge during his days at the University of Ghana “was officially attached to Akuafo Hall but was at all material times during his studentship in the University of Ghana, resident at Commonwealth.”

He was “the lead assistant of the then Chief Vandal, a very revered office of Vandals, by the alias Chief Korea.”

The university, therefore, wants the judge restrained from presiding over the case.

He further cited an instance from the hearing on 9 February 2023. 

“The decision not to consider the Application for leave to cross-examine Lawrence Edinam Egleh, the deponent of the Affidavit in Support of the Application for Injunction before considering and granting the application on the basis of the impugned affidavit,” the document read.  

Eight residents of the Commonwealth Hall filed an application for interlocutory injunction on 16 January 2023, to prevent authorities of the hall from implementing their policy to allow only level 100 students of the university to be residents of the hall.

The Commonwealth Hall of the University of Ghana was thus to maintain its residential status until the final determination of a case before the court.

This was according to an order from the Commercial Division of the High Court in Accra.

“The status quo of the residential status of all continuing students of Commonwealth Hall, University of Ghana, should be maintained as it used to be before the 26th October 2022 decision was taken,” the order from the High Court stated.

“This Order is to last until the final determination of the case. I order accordingly,” it added.

Members of the Old Vandals Association in Parliament had called on the University of Ghana to abide by the laws of the country and reinstate continuing students into the hall.

But the Commonwealth hall is yet to implement the order from the court.

Commenting on the matter on the floor of Parliament, Wednesday, 29 April 2023, the Ranking Member of the Education Committee of Parliament, Dr Clement Apaak said: “Our statement is a call on the University of Ghana to respect and abide by the law and reinstate continuing students of our legendary hall also known as Vandal city.” 

The Old Vandals Association in Parliament described the refusal of the university to enforce the order as “unacceptable.”

 “The continuous refusal of the management of the University of Ghana to reinstate the affected students as ordered by the court is unacceptable, unlawful and must not be countenanced,” Dr Apaak stressed.

They, therefore, called on the Speaker and all well-meaning Ghanaians to “impress upon the University of Ghana to do the needful by respecting the laws of the land.”  

Responding to the Old Vandals in Parliament however, the university said the allocation of freshmen to the Commonwealth Hall ceased as soon as it received the notice of injunction from the court.

The university said it had sighted some irregularities in the statement by the Old Vandals Association in Parliament, which “sought to create the impression that the university is flouting a court order and, therefore, disrespecting the Judiciary, the Constitution, and the mandate of the good people of Ghana.”

In order to “set the records straight,” the university, therefore, sought to provide the facts in a statement issued on Thursday, 30 March 2023.

According to the university, following the order from the High Court asking it to halt the implementation of the new policy, it “stopped further assignments to Commonwealth Hall.

“By that time, new students assigned were already in residence. Contrary to the allegations and impression created on the floor of Parliament, the University has not violated any court order.”

It further noted that as a university, it had “exercised its legal rights by appealing against the court order as well as requesting for a Stay of Execution of the Order of Injunction.”

It stressed that the “implementation of the new residential policy had been done before the court issued the order of injunction,” as the reporting date for fresh men and women was January 4 which “preceded receipt of the order of injunction.”