The Imo State University (IMSU) in Owerri

Owerri

Owerri is the capital of Imo State in Nigeria, set in the heart of the Igboland. Owerri consists of three Local Govern Areas including Owerri Municipal, Owerri North and Owerri West, it has an estimated population of about 400,000 as of 2006...

, Imo State

Imo State

Imo State is one of the 36 states of Nigeria and lies to the south of Nigeria with Owerri as its capital and largest city.-History:Imo State came into existence in 1976 along with other new states created under the leadership of the late military ruler of Nigeria, Murtala Muhammad, having been...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

 was established in 1981 through law No. 4 passed by the Imo State House of Assembly.
The university admitted the first intake of 392 pioneer students on October 23, 1981.
After the creation of Abia State

Abia State

Abia State is a state in southeastern Nigeria. The capital is Umuahia, although the major commercial city is Aba, formerly a British colonial government outpost. The state was created in 1991 from part of Imo State and its citizens are predominantly Igbo people...

 in 1991, the Uturu

Uturu

Uturu is a town in Abia State, Nigeria mainly known as a location for several educational institutions and the Marist Brothers community.Schools in Uturu include Abia State University, Marist Brothers' Juniorate, Uturu, and Marist Comprehensive Academy, Uturu....

 campus of the university became the Abia State University

Abia State University

Abia State University is one of the state owned universities in Nigeria. These state academic institutions were created to expand admissions and bring professional skills, expertise and modern research facilities close to the city and rural dwellers; and have helped talented students to obtain...

.
Imo State University is a fully functional University. Most of the programmes of the University have obtained full accreditation from National Universities Commission

National Universities Commission

The National Universities Commission of Nigeria is a government commission promoting quality higher education in Nigeria. It is located in the capital city of Abuja. The Commission was established in 1962 as an advisory agency. It is currently part of the Federal Ministry of Education.-External...

of Nigeria.
The result of the 1999/2000 accreditation exercise of the National Universities Commission confirmed that high rate and acceptance of the University by the Nigerian public. The University was ranked 1st among all State Universities in Nigeria and the 10th overall among both State and Federal Universities. The University scored 100% in 2006 and 2007 accreditation visit, with all programmes visited getting accreditation.

Five years after being formally commissioned, by 2009 the Imo State University Teaching Hospital had failed to produce reasonable services of moderately acceptable standards.
A report in February 2009 said that decaying infrastructure, endless workers strike and admission scandals were threatening to kill the University, once rated among the best ten in Nigeria.
The vice chancellor and the university bursar had been suspended by the Imo State government, embarrassed by the extent of the admission scam.