The ASUCI Judicial Board ruled in favor of the ASUCI Senate on June 4, removing 2024-25 Student Advocate General (SAG) Victory Ogbonnaya from her current elected position as 2025-26 internal vice president and barring her from holding ASUCI office for 18 months.
In the ruling released by the board, it states that the Senate reacted at an “evidentiary and procedural speed” by formally impeaching Ogbonnaya on May 1. Ogbonnaya resigned from her SAG position before the impeachment. The board previously discussed the claims against Ogbonnaya at a preliminary hearing on May 20, after a formal petition for the hearing was filed by the Senate on May 6.
Ogbonnaya provided a written statement to New University. The board’s quorum is defined as a majority of the seated seven justices, of which four justices voted, three abstained, and two of the voting justices abstained in part. All four justices voted in favor of removal from office and the 18-month bar from ASUCI office.
“I still believe I was wrongfully impeached, removed and barred as the Judicial Board refused to look at all the facts I presented to them and even admitted to doing so in their response email,” Ogbonnaya said in a written statement to New University. “In addition the Judicial Board violated our Constitution by issuing such an order without meeting the 2/3 votes needed to pass it and I will continually be pursuing this case within and outside of ASUCI.”
The board confirms that Ogbonnaya engaged in “retaliatory behavior” against Elections Commissioner Jun Jang while serving in the office of Student Advocate General during the 2025-26 elections campaign season. The board also substantiated misconduct on Ogbonnaya’s behalf, citing a specific example when she requested sanctions on an individual without approval or authority from the chief accountability officer or joint committee chair. The board did not formally consider previously presented charges of budget mismanagement discussed in the May 20 hearing.
Because of these offenses, the board ruled that “in order to ensure the integrity and accountability” of ASUCI, Ogbonnaya will be barred from holding ASUCI office for 18 months.
“The board has determined that the time period of 18 months [is based on] the severity of [Ogbonnaya’s] actions, both in themself and in the context of infractions previously committed with Associated Students, and in the interest of accountability, which we deem necessary for this process to uphold,” the ruling stated.
The Senate previously requested that the board uphold its impeachment decision and bar Ogbonnaya from holding ASUCI office for two academic years.
The May 20 hearing took place over Zoom and was moderated by members of the Judicial Board. The hearing included testimonies from Nicole Lang, Senate president pro tempore and public health senator, and Ogbonnaya. Lang represented the ASUCI Senate during the hearing.
“I just hope that [the Judicial Board remembers] that they are supposed to be a neutral body of ASUCI, and if they made the decision to not bar the social science senator … because of no combative conduct in other offices, then that ruling should stay the same in my case as well,” Ogbonnaya said at the hearing, citing the board’s previous ruling in Senate v. Sosa-Hernández this March.
The board ultimately ruled not to disbar Emily Sosa-Hernández from her position as head of staff in the Office of the External Vice President after she was impeached as social science senator.
During her testimony, Lang stated that Ogbonnaya had repeatedly violated the ASUCI Constitution from October 2024 to April 2025, alleging a reallocation of funds, mismanagement of resources, procedural violations and retaliatory behavior.
Lang later explained the details of these violations, such as Ogbonnaya allowing deputies within her office to attend meetings without Senate confirmation. Lang also claimed that the Senate noted irregularities in the budget due to Ogbonnaya confirming reallocation of funds despite being unauthorized, and the Executive Cabinet disapproved of these actions.
“The timeline we have presented … reveals escalating misconduct that undermined student governance and ultimately necessitated impeachment actions,” Lang said in her opening statement. “We ask that the board uphold the Senate’s impeachment decisions and follow with any necessary procedures to protect the integrity of our student government.”
Ogbonnaya stated in her testimony that the ASUCI Senate did not have the authority to impeach her since she resigned from her SAG position before the impeachment hearing. She cited that, while the ASUCI Constitution makes it clear the Senate can impeach officials, it does not explicitly state that the same can be done for former officials.
Ogbonnaya then alleged that the Senate would be abusing its power by removing her from the IVP position, as she was elected into that position by UCI students.
Lang rebutted this argument, explaining that the impeachment will hold officials accountable for their actions and set a precedent for future ASUCI officials.
Ogbonnaya denied that she resigned from her SAG position because of the allegations against her. She claimed instead that she resigned due to conflicts within her office and her confidence in winning the race for IVP.
“If I know that I am already going to be in ASUCI next year, [joining] an office with someone new, with someone who actually does want to work with me, why am I staying in an office with someone who doesn’t?” Ogbonnaya said.
Lang stated that it is more common for senators to not complete their elected requirements, leading to impeachment, when asked to comment on the Senate v. Sosa-Hernández case.
“As we have stated in this case, Victory has had repeated violations on broader issues and has shown a general more unfitness for office,” Lang said.
Grace Hefner is a News Staff Writer. She can be reached at ghefner@uci.edu.
Edited by Jaheem Conley.