A third-year law student of the University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Chidi Kingsley Akabogu, has lost a fundamental rights suit he filed against the Faculty of Law Examination Malpractice Committee.
Delivering judgement on Thursday, 21 August 2025, Vacation Judge Justice Kenneth Okpe dismissed the case as premature and ordered the student to pay N300,000 in legal costs to the Faculty of Law.
Akabogu had argued that the committee had prejudged him guilty of examination malpractice before he was given a chance to appear before it. He told the court that he only became aware of the committee’s July 29 sitting through a WhatsApp message forwarded by another student, which listed him among eleven students invited and warned that failure to attend could delay graduation.
The plaintiff maintained that the unsigned notice violated his right to fair hearing under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, accusing the committee of deliberately withholding details of the allegations against him.
However, 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 since no hearing had been conducted.
In his ruling, Justice Okpe held that the applicant’s right to fair hearing had not been violated. He noted that the WhatsApp notice applied to multiple students and did not suggest that Akabogu’s fate had been sealed. The judge also stressed that the university has the legal authority to discipline erring students without infringing on their fundamental rights.
“All reliefs sought by the applicant are refused, and the suit dismissed with a cost of N300,000 against him in favour of the respondents,” the judge declared.
Akabogu was represented in court by Chidiebere Lucky Obodo, while the respondents were represented by D. A. Aneke.