Court dismisses law student’s suit against faculty in Enugu varsity

An Enugu High Court has dismissed a fundamental rights suit filed by a third-year law student of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus (UNEC) and ordered him to pay the sum of N300,000 in legal costs to the Faculty of Law.

The judgment, delivered by the Vacation Judge, Justice Kenneth Okpe, followed a motion filed by Chidi Akabogu, a student who had challenged the Faculty of Law Examination Malpractice Committee for allegedly summoning him to appear before it.

Akabogu, apparently, to put into practice the three years of study he had completed at the school, was said to have been angered by a text message from the committee, asking him to appear before it. Instead of responding to the summons, he, however, resorted to the court against the committee.

He had claimed that the committee had prejudged him guilty of examination malpractice before he had an opportunity to appear before it. He said he only learned of the committee’s July 29 sitting through a WhatsApp message forwarded by a fellow student, which listed his name among eleven students invited to appear and included the warning: “Failure to attend is further delaying your chances of graduating from the University.”

The student argued that the unsigned notice violated his constitutional right to a fair hearing under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution. “The Applicant clearly and in all its ramifications has already been adjudged ‘guilty’ of engaging in examination malpractice before he even had a chance of appearing before the Respondents,” the motion stated.

He also contended that the committee had made it difficult for him to attend and had not provided details of the allegations against him.
The respondents, led by Dr Clara Obi-Ochiabutor, Chairman of the committee, and Prof Festus O. Ukwueze, Dean of the Faculty of Law, denied the claims, describing the suit as premature.

Justice Okpe agreed with the respondents, noting that no hearing had yet taken place. “Assuming without conceding that Exhibit A was issued or published by the Respondents, it has not in any way denied the Applicant’s right to a fair hearing,” the judge said.

The court also examined the WhatsApp notice, observing that it applied to eleven students and that the phrase “failure to attend is further delaying your chances of graduating” could not reasonably be taken as referring exclusively to Akabogu.

“From whatever prism one may view it, the Applicant’s fate has not been sealed,” Justice Okpe held, adding that the suit was effectively premature because the Applicant had not yet appeared before the relevant administrative body.

Referring to legal precedent, the judge emphasised the university’s authority to discipline students.

“It must be clearly emphasised that the University has authority within its premises to discipline any erring or misbehaving student… This will not amount to infringement of the student’s fundamental rights, including the right to fair hearing,” he said.

All reliefs sought by Akabogu were refused.
“Accordingly, the reliefs in this application are hereby refused and the suit dismissed with cost of N300,000 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira) against the Applicant in favour of the Respondents”, the Judge held

Akabogu was represented by Chidiebere Lucky Obodo, while D. A. Aneke represented the respondents.