…Award 300,000 Fine As No Bias Was Found
The High Court of Enugu State, presided over by Hon. Justice K. I. Okpe has dismissed a suit filed by a university of Nigeria law student, Chidi Kingsley Akabogu for lacking in merit.
Mr. Akabogu, a law student, filed a suit for enforcement of his fundamental rights alleging bias and denial of fair hearing by the Faculty of Law Examination Malpractice Committee.
The committee was investigating allegations of exam malpractice against Mr. Akabogu.
The suit (No: E/1007/2025) was between Mr. Chidi Kingsley Akabogu (Applicant) and Dr. Clara Obi-Ochiabutor & Prof. Festus O. Ukwueze (Respondents).
The applicant sought enforcement of his fundamental rights regarding allegations of exam malpractice in the Faculty of Law, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus.
Reliefs Sought:
Mr. Akabogu sought declarations and an injunction to stop the committee from proceeding.
The applicant said that he was entitled to rights under Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution and that he wanted the respondents disqualified from sitting on the exam malpractice panel due to likelihood of bias.
The applicant also sought an injunction to stop the respondents from proceeding with the panel.
Grounds for Reliefs:
The applicant received a WhatsApp message about appearing before the Faculty of Law Examination Malpractice Committee.
Since the message was unsigned, the applicant argued this compromised fairness. Thereafter, the applicant wrote to the 2nd Respondent seeking confirmation but received no response.
Respondents’ Objections:
The respondents filed a preliminary objection challenging the suit’s competence.
They argued the suit was not initiated by an originating process as required.
The respondents claimed jurisdiction lies with the Federal High Court due to being federal agents.
Court’s Ruling on Preliminary Objection:
Justice Okpe dismissed the preliminary objection, citing jurisdiction for fundamental rights cases in both State and Federal High Courts.
Substantive Suit Ruling:
Evidence suggested a prima facie case of exam malpractice against Mr. Akabogu.
The court examined the substantive suit regarding denial of fair hearing claims and found no evidence of bias or denial of fair hearing by respondents and therefore dismissed the suit with costs of N300,000 against the applicant.
