By Joseph Joy, Shedrack Eze,Onyekachi Agu, Amarachi Daniel, Ogechi Chika

The Faculty of Law, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, (ESUT) held series of activities between May and June to reposition the faculty, promote its image as well as improve on the students’ overall performance.

The activities kicked off with the participation of the Faculty of Law in Amnesty International Inter-universities competition held in Abuja and ESUT, represented by Joel Obumneme, 400 level student, came 3^rd.

This was followed by 2024 Research Seminar for final students with six speakers including Professor Festus Ukwueze of University of Nigeria, Nsukka, delivering lectures. Other speakers were Associate Professor C.J Nwabuze, Head of Business Law Department, ESUT.

Second on the line was Mock Trial held at the Faculty Moot Court on June 27, 2024. The Mock trial was presided by the Hon. Justice Cyprian Ajah of Enugu State High Court who was also a key note speaker.

The faculty also held a Colloquium on June 28 themed: “Plea Bargain under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act: A Conduit for Corruption in Justice Delivery”. His Worship, N.V. Anibeze, Magistrate Court, Agbani was the note speaker. Hon. Justice M,O. Eluke of Court of Justice, Enugu State, chaired the colloquium.  

Speaking on the essence of the activities, Law Clinic Coordinator and a member of the organizing committees for the programmes, Dr Chijioke Uzoma Agbo told ESUT Monitor.  

“Since May, we have been engaged in a number of activities. Prominent among which is the nationwide inter-university debate competition organized by Amnesty International for all public universities in Nigeria. University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, ABU and so on, were in attendance. Out of all these students, our dear student Joel Obuneme, a 400 level student represented the faculty and the university. He won second runner up which is great honour for the university.

“Secondly we have been able to bring practical aspect of Law training into the university, courtesy of our Dean. We organized what we called a mock trial for our students and had the Honourable Justice C.O. Ajah, a Judge of the High Court Of Justice in Enugu State presided over the mock trial.  It was held at our moot court on Thursday the 27th of June 2024.

It was a huge success, and the moot was filled to its capacity and the student learnt a lot we had our students and advocates, they wore their wigs and gowns and argued about issues of Law.

“As a follow up to that, we also had a colloquium, the focus on the colloquium was a “plea bargain under the administration of the criminal act of Nigeria a conduit for corruption”. The colloquium, apart from enlightening everybody and making us to know the state of the law, was also an eye-opener and it challenged the practice. Questions were as this were raised. Plea Bargain has used in other places like the United States of America and it has been working. But in Nigeria, things are abused and used in a negative way that is why we are saying that it is not right

“The colloquium took place on Friday the 28th day of June 2024 and it was also done at our moot court at law faculty. It Was presided over by the Honourable Justice Matthew Enuoge, a judge of the High Court in Enugu State .

“He chaired the event and the lead speaker is the learned chief magistrate of the Agbani division of Agbani district of the magistrate court of Enugu state and her name is His worship NV Anibueze she gave a very refulgent discourse on the topic and everybody that attended was indeed very impressed and of course at the end of it all our students were exposed more. Both the student and lectures also crossed fertilized ideas and learnt a lot,” Dr Agbo noted

Dr Agbo provided further insight on what plea bargain is all about. According to him “Plea bargain talks about the notion that someone who embezzled ₦100 billion, instead of being prosecuted and jailed, he can reach an agreement with the prosecution and pay maybe ₦10 million or ₦20 million and then he will be left off the hook. He will now go away carrying the loot and go and enjoy the money. The judge will tell him to go and sin no more. We are wondering whether it is a way of seeing that justice is served or it is a way of exploiting the people of Nigerians.”