Pat Utomi, a Nigerian political economist, has faced criticism for defending Anthony Kila despite evidence questioning the authenticity of the academic qualifications and titles the latter claims.
Mr Utomi, in a Facebook post on Saturday, said Mr Kila was a “smart and good man” and described suggestions that he had never attended school as “spectacularly stupid”.
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However, several Facebook users objected, arguing that Mr Utomi’s defence focused on Mr Kila’s intelligence and character rather than addressing the central issue of whether he obtained the qualifications and academic titles attributed to him.
Ekokoi Solomon, a law lecturer at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, said Mr Utomi was addressing an issue different from the allegations against Mr Kila.
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“Pat Utomi is saying something entirely different from the allegations against Mr Kila. The issue here is about spurious and fraudulent claims about certification,” Mr Solomon wrote in the comment section.
Babajide Brown also challenged Mr Utomi’s comparison of the controversy surrounding Mr Kila with the public scrutiny of Jason Arday, the British sociologist who became a professor at the University of Cambridge, accused of plagiarism in July 2026, and was later found dead at his home in London on 14 August 2026.
Mr Brown said the two cases involved fundamentally different allegations, noting that the controversy surrounding Mr Arday concerned dishonesty and failing to attribute intellectual work, rather than whether he possessed the academic qualifications he claimed.
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“The fact that he talked intelligently and that he is a ‘good man’ is beside the point and totally irrelevant to the discourse,” Mr Brown wrote.
Jolayemi Babajide similarly questioned the relevance of Mr Utomi’s post, asking how it answered questions about Mr Kila’s academic credentials.
Isaacs Oguntuase said the controversy concerned integrity, credibility, and accountability, especially given Mr Kila’s academic background.
He called on Mr Utomi, as a professor and respected member of the academic community, to encourage Mr Kila to present verifiable evidence of his qualifications or acknowledge any misrepresentation or error.
“If we are to preserve public confidence in our academic institutions, we must be willing to demand accountability from everyone, regardless of their eloquence, reputation, or perceived intellectual ability,” Mr Oguntuase wrote.
Kukei Umoye also criticised what he described as double standards, referencing the controversy over President Bola Tinubu’s academic certificate.
Mr Umoye said Mr Kila should provide empirical evidence of his professorial status to resolve the dispute.
PREMIUM TIMES investigations
The backlash follows PREMIUM TIMES investigations published on 3 and 10 October that questioned Mr Kila’s professorial title and the academic qualifications he claimed to have obtained from undergraduate to doctoral level.
READ ALSO: INVESTIGATION: The fake professor leading a Nigerian university
The first investigation found no evidence that a recognised academic institution had awarded Mr Kila a professorship. Mr Kila told the newspaper that the European Centre for Advanced and Professional Studies awarded him the title in 2016, but the investigation found no evidence that the institution existed.
In the second report, PREMIUM TIMES documented discrepancies in his claimed academic qualifications, with some institutions disputing or failing to verify the credentials attributed to them. The newspaper said its investigation was continuing.
Mr Kila has maintained that he is a professor and stands by his academic and professional credentials.
Mr Utomi said in his post that he learnt about the controversy late and had never asked Mr Kila about his certificates or letters of appointment. He said he could not personally vouch for those documents.
He also recounted facing questions about his professional history and academic standing, arguing that public figures can be subjected to unfair attacks.
Drawing a parallel with Mr Arday, Mr Utomi criticised what he described as online bullying and questioned the motives of those challenging Mr Kila.
However, his critics insist that the allegations require documentary verification rather than a defence based on personal acquaintance, intelligence or character.
Mr Utomi faced a similar backlash on X, with one user urging him to take down the post.
“I think you should be smarter about this issue. The man himself has said nothing about this. No rebuttals. Nothing. Why don’t you wait for him to do so before you disgrace yourself? The friend of a thief may also be a thief,” said an X user who commented under Mr Utomi’s post.
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