By Victor Okorie | July 2025
The tenure of Prof. Kate Azuka Omenugha as Acting Vice-Chancellor of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU) has been riddled with controversy, allegations, and what some observers describe as an unusually prolonged stay in an acting capacity.
A Tenure Under Scrutiny
Allegations began to surface when it was reported that Prof. Omenugha, in her bid to secure confirmation as the substantive Vice Chancellor, had allegedly used her office to obstruct the university’s Governing Council from concluding the selection process for a permanent Vice Chancellor.
Since December 18, 2024, it became increasingly clear to her co-contestants and their supporters that she was not likely to allow a free and fair process for the appointment. This triggered a flurry of efforts to lawfully challenge her continued stay in office. As of today, Prof. Omenugha is said to be facing several petitions under investigation by the EFCC and other relevant agencies.
The Age Controversy
The latest and perhaps most sensitive of these issues relates to questions surrounding Prof. Omenugha’s real age. A petition submitted to the Inspector General of Police alleges that she falsified her date of birth to remain eligible for the Vice-Chancellorship.
Attached to the petition was a baptismal certificate allegedly bearing her full details, including dates of birth, baptism, confirmation, Holy Communion, and marriage. However, suspiciously, the year of birth and confirmation on the document appeared mutilated and unauthenticated — raising red flags.
Adding to the suspicion was a sworn affidavit of age filed at the Awka High Court in August 2023 by Prof. Omenugha’s younger brother. The affidavit adopted a revised year of birth to align with her eligibility requirements. Shortly after, Prof. Omenugha celebrated her 60th birthday in January 2025, widely publicizing the event to reinforce her new age narrative.
Investigation by the Police and the Church’s Role
In a follow-up to the petition, police investigators visited St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Nnokwa — her home parish in Idemili South L.G.A, on June 25, 2025. The goal was to inspect the baptismal register and verify the original entries of “Catherine Nwagwu,” her baptismal name.
Surprisingly, the Catholic Church, known globally for its meticulous record-keeping, was unable to produce the register containing her baptismal and birth records alongside others baptized during the same period.
To counter this, Prof. Omenugha allegedly produced a handwritten document said to be from Rev. Fr. Mills, the priest who baptized her in 1965. The letter was not issued on the official letterhead of the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha, although it bore a stamp. This has raised even more questions about its authenticity and legal validity.
Unanswered Questions
The unfolding drama has led to a wave of new questions:
• How did a white priest, Rev. Fr. Mills, who allegedly baptized her in 1965, manage to validate the document in 2025?
• Where is Rev. Fr. Mills now, and what is his mental and physical state?
• Why didn’t the current parish priest of St. Mary’s Catholic Church authenticate the mutilated baptismal certificate or issue an official statement on church letterhead?
• If her younger brother claimed in 2023 that her birth was never registered, how does the baptismal card still bear a birth date?
• What official document had she used for age identification from 1988 (when she was employed at UNIZIK) up until 2023?
A Strategic Rebranding of Age?
Many believe that, knowing she would be disqualified by age, Prof. Omenugha may have orchestrated the manipulation of her documents in 2023, replacing 1957 with 1965 as her year of birth. Her publicly celebrated 60th birthday in January 2025 seemed to reinforce this repositioned narrative.
If she was indeed born in 1957, that would make her 68 years old in 2025, clearly above the 65-year age limit required to assume the office of Vice Chancellor in Nigerian universities.
The Road Ahead
The matter now rests heavily on the office of the Inspector General of Police, the Catholic Archdiocese of Onitsha, and the credibility of the documents presented by Prof. Omenugha. The university community and the public await the truth to emerge from what has become a test of institutional transparency, accountability, and rule of law.
Until the dust settles, the controversy surrounding Prof. Kate Azuka Omenugha’s acting Vice-Chancellorship remains a major talking point within and beyond the gates of COOU.
Caveat: This piece is entirely that of the author, and doesn’t reflect the position of BVIChann1.com
