UNIBEN LAWSA Press: February 2016

Monday 15 February 2016

Law's First Semester Exam Time-table For 2015/2016

Barr. Iyamu-Ojo Speaks On "Advocatus Superior"

Barrister (Mrs) Elizabeth Iyamu-Ojo is a lecturer in the department of Public Law, University of Benin.

Barr. Iyamu-Ojo.

Following her role as the Chief Judge at the Mock trial stage in the recently concluded Advocatus Superior competition between 400 level and 500 level constituencies, in a privileged interview, she spoke to ULP about the competition itself and other Faculty issues.

Excerpts:

How would you describe the performance of the students?

Students play out what they have been learning and try to put themselves in the real world. The counsels, the witnesses themselves, it was quite creative, I must say.

Based on what you said, that these students were able to put what they were learning into practice, what would you say? Considering the fact that the 400level constituency actually won against their senior colleagues.

Well, the deal is, Law has nothing to do with your level. There are some persons that are born Lawyers. Even from the 100level they can critically analyse issues. While there are some that are made Lawyers, they only imbibe what they have read.
One thing I did notice from the competition is that it seems like majority of the students have not been to view court proceedings properly. I would actually say the 500level, they did not give me the feeling that they had been to court at all. For example when they were introducing themselves with [terms like] 'Hallowed Temple of Justice' and all that, it tells me that it is just the students trying to be legal, [probably] because you hear that Lawyers speak big English and all that. If you go to court in practice you will not find Lawyers that introduce themselves to court like that.
So I intended to tell you guys that it is not a bad thing if while you are on holidays, you get up in the morning, dress up and then go to court. No court will drive you out, courts are open sessions. I particularly started going to court from 200level, I attached myself with a chamber, although it was because of strike, and I went with them consistently to court. So I think that will enure in your favour if you do that.
I think one of the reasons why the 400level beat the 500level was composure too. The 400level counsels were quite calm, in looks and other areas, but 500level, I think they felt they were the senior so they were bound to win, and then arguing [needlessly] consistently, the demeanour was not quite proper.

From the competition, can you tell us who was the best counsel?

Actually, the defence counsels were both very good, but the only thing that would have made us decide who the best counsel is, they did not do it.
In asking questions, examination and cross examination, the first counsel [Adefowale Mark] was good, he did more of examinations and cross examinations. While the other counsel, [Okonkwo Vincent] did not do as much, but he did beautifully. But we would have been able to put them on the same level and compared them if they had shared the address, but they did not share the address so the second counsel did all of the address. But they were both very co-ordinated, even at that stage we [the Judges] were stuck because we had not put them on equal footing. But we liked their calmness. The first counsel asked really insightful questions, so he was better at examination and cross examination, but the second counsel made up for it in his address.
Prosecuting counsels, they just blubbered along, they were not organised, [lacked] composure, they were not calm, that is why they lost.

One of the reasons why LAWBA decided to come up with a Mock competition has to do with the same thing you are talking about. They participated in a mock competition in Anambra state [in which they did not do so well] and they realised that the association in UNIBEN did not have a lot of knowledge as regards the general court proceedings, we are used to the whole moot thing, and it sort of contributed to what led to the organisation of this particular one. Ma'am, the question here is seeing the Mock competition, which do you subscribe to? The Moot or The Mock.

Truth be told I have never attended a Moot. So even when you talk about Moot and Mock, I really do not know what the difference is because I have not attended it. I think the only trial so to say by students I have attended is the one that is done in Law school, so I cannot really distinguish for you. I think the person that would be able to do that is Miss Alero, because she goes on those competitions with you and all that.
In Law school one of the standard that they assess and give prizes, aside from being an academic student, you also have to engage in extra-curricular activities. It could be participation in Moot/Mock, playing football for your school, and so on. Maybe I was too much of a straight back in the days.

Your opinion on the witnesses.

They did beautifully. The forensic pathologist, her evidence was kind of consistent so we accepted it because at the end of the day the court will decide whether or not the person is considered to be an expert. But she did not lay enough foundation to be an expert, they ought to have taken her through her credentials more.
Also, defence counsels asked questions on cross examination and they let go. Prosecution counsels would ask and be-labour the court, but they were making one mistake. Sometimes there are certain things you just leave, you do not argue them in court. If a witness did not lay proper foundation, like give his credentials, let the witness go. He has said he is an expert. At address stage you then hammer on it, bring authorities to say "this person does not qualify as an expert", "he did not give the proper qualifications to show he is an expert", "on what basis do we say he is an expert?". There are questions too that prosecution would ask or do, it is not everything you need to cross examine on. You do not need for the witness to accept or deny the way you want it be, that is where they [prosecution] were mostly getting it wrong. If they say something and they leave it hanging, it is not the duty of counsel to ask the question and get the correct answer; because for instance when you press on for instance the qualification of a forensic scientist, you will end up helping the forensic expert do the needful; when they are still pressing on qualification the forensic expert will end up on cross examination, giving the qualifications that he had hitherto not produced.
That is one of the things we wanted to let you guys know. You do not need to ask all questions, that is why you have provisions for no case submissions. If they have not been able to make a prima facie case against you, your client goes free. That is if they have not established a case, you say you are making a 'no case submission' because there is nothing that actually ties your client to the charge.
Still on Prosecuting counsels; I do not know, maybe it is the difference between Moot and Mock, I do not understand yet, but now that I have been called to serve, I will also investigate it myself to fit out what the difference actually is; you cannot force things on witnesses. Even if the Judge thinks that is the scenario, the Judge may have a preconceived notion as regarding the scenario. But it is only facts that come from the witnesses the Court can work with. Even if you have facts on paper, if you are not able to make the witnesses admit such facts either by omission or by commission, then you cannot say that is the fact. Because you are a counsel. You cannot be telling the court "this is the fact". It is from the evidence before the court that will determine what the fact. So that was one area prosecution kept harming themselves. You are trying to force the witness to say this, the witness does not want to, you cannot insist the witness say it exactly; because you can even have a witness who is lying even under oath.

Somehow, we were eager and excited when we heard that we were going to be privileged to have the likes of You, Mrs Aigbe and Mrs Juliet to be Judges. We were also hoping that because of your presence, we would get access to the Jural Court as it has been long since we used Jural Court, but somehow surprisingly, it was not used.

The deal is, the trial occurred during the accreditation, that made the whole scenario tense. Reaching the Dean on a good day is not so easy, but within the accreditation period it would have [even been more] difficult for us to go distract him. However after the trial he [Prof Richard Idubor] did call the 3 of us, and said when he came into the hall [during the competition] he did not notice we were there. He thought it was all students. He commended us for assisting you guys and keeping you busy, and said something about the venue being new and he did not know we were using it, [sincerely] I was under the impression that someone in authority knew. Well I explained to him the difficulty of approaching him because of the accreditation and he told us not to worry, that next time he would make it available. So I have reason to believe that next time if you are going to have another one, and you speak to me or Mrs Aigbe or Mrs Aimienrovbiye, we will be able reach the Dean and get the key for you.

Thank you very much Ma'am. The whole Faculty was tense in January, everybody was very cautious because of the 'Accreditation' thing. The truth is majority of the students do not know, all we have are assumptions about what accreditation is about, but generally we do not know. And also, we heard rumour about some schools that did not get accreditation or some schools that got partial accreditation; do we [UNIBEN Law Faculty] know our verdict?

I am not in a position to say what the verdict is.

Okay. But Ma'am, what is the process about and what are the implications of not being accredited?

Accreditation is a very wide area. To be accredited you need to have facilities on ground, they need to see the students' population to at least see that they are really being trained and they are comported as Law students.
It also has to do with the academic constitution. Do we have enough Lecturers on ground? Even the Lecturers that we have enough Professors to take care of the size of students?
And at the end of the day, the accreditation, partial or non-accreditation affect the populace of the school. In the sense that if we lose accreditation, that means we do not have the capacity to admit students or even actually lecture you. So it might mean that we do not graduate people until we get accreditation. Also it will determine the number of Law school forms we get, we are able to assess, and so on.
But at the moment I cannot categorically say whether or not it has been approved or it has not been approved, more so as the panel just left. Normally the panel makes suggestions to the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) and then they eventually decide.

So Accreditation is from NUC and not the Council of Legal Education?

I think they work together but they are two parts of it. There is the NUC part and there is the Council of Legal Education part.

Interview by gafar, Daniel Odigwe, Joshua Ogbeide and Franklin Ikechukwu.

Saturday 13 February 2016

Special Valentine Law Love Story! - "In Law&In Love!"

The world over, February 14th has become a day that love is celebrated, while the method of celebration varies and the never ending controversy on who and how it should be celebrated, val's day undoubtedly stands out as a notable date in our annual circle.
It is in light of this, that ULP sought out and spoke with some of Law's most "popular" couple and engaged them on a couple of issues concerning their relationship.

We sat down with Freeman&Odiri (500level and 400level respectively)

Freeman and Odiri.

and also David&Victoria (Winners of the "best couple" award for 100level).

David and Victoria.

We had a great time talking to them and we hope you enjoy.

ULP - How did you guys meet?

Freeman - I met her when she was in 100level, I was in 200level then, I met her through the current Lawsa President (Garrick Nosa), I met her at a popular spot in law then, called "owine shop" though it has been renovated into a professor's lodge by our current dean. I met her few days before her birthday and that was in November 2012 to be precise, and on her birthday again I ran into her and I got her a perfect gift - "a bottle of coke" for her birthday and from there we started talking.

David - We were primary school classmates, we attended different secondary schools but kept in touch and then we got admission at the same time.

ULP - how long have you guys been dating?

Freeman - It's been three years and two months for us, including February.

ULP - how have you guys managed to stay together for this long, I mean three years is a lot of time?

Freeman - There has been various issues, we've had various issues but she has this unique way of mitigating those issues, I'm somebody that is very weak when it comes to issues, she on the other hand, her body structure regardless, happens to be very strong when it comes to handling issues, and I believe that has kept us this far.

ULP - how would you define love?

David - I believe love is indescribable, it's that feeling that you get when you meet the one for you, the one you want, that feeling you get when you are with that person.

Victoria - it's basically like he said, but for me, I believe it's a gradual process most times, it grows from "like" to "love", or "likeness" if you may, to something stronger.

*Cuts in* - have you ever heard about love at first sight?

Victoria - I have! And I believe in it sha.......

ULP - Both of you won the award for "best couple " at your induction dinner, how did that make you feel?

David - We were elated, we were grateful that are our classmates recognized our strong friendship.

ULP - There is actually a lot of confusion about your relationship status, some are of the opinion that you guys are dating, others believe you guys are just cousins?

Victoria - We are not related! The reason why people think so is majorly because we bear a very close resemblance, at least according to them.

David - For the other part of the question, we are very good friends, we like each other a lot, she understands me as I do her.

*cuts in* - But you guys are not dating yet?

David - Not officially!

ULP - So if either of you were to fall in love with someone else tomorrow, what would happen?

David - I'll leave it for both of them to sort out the issue, if the guy is comfortable with our relationship, fine.

Victoria - It'll be normal. First up I'll tell him if the girl is right or not. And then if she is not comfortable with our relationship and he agrees with her, and doesn't want to keep in contact with me, then I'll chill.

ULP - Is there a special way you guys plan to celebrate valentine?

Odiri - No, not really. We'll take it as we see it.

*cuts in* - So you guys did not get each other gifts or anything of the sort?

Odiri - Well, even if I did, if I told him now, it'll just defeat the whole purpose, because gifts of these sort are supposed to be something of a surprise.

ULP - how do you guys plan to celebrate valentine?

David - We'll see how it goes. We'll probably just hang out her place though.

ULP - Is this your first valentine together?

David - Probably!

ULP - Does valentine hold any special meeting for both of you or its just another normal day?

Freeman - Not really, we are catholics and if truly anybody knows the real reason behind the whole valentine thing, I don't think it's something we young adults should be celebrating, probably the whole rationale behind valentine has been misplaced but it's still actually a solemnity and it's actually a day to celebrate but I just think, probably only for "married couples".

ULP - What don't you like about him?

Victoria - he's never punctual.

David - her complacency! There are somethings that are meant to be taken seriously and she doesn't.

Odiri - his mood swings.

Freeman - I don't think there is anything I don't like about Odiri.

ULP - What do you like about him?

Victoria - They're are too many, I mean he's my friend and I actually like everything about him, but the truth is he's always there for me, he's somebody I can always complain to and he'll give me that listening ear plus the fact that he's very generous too.

David - I like the fact that she's a great conversationalist.

Freeman - She is a companion. She is somebody i'll call a "to be" wife!

Odiri - I like freeman, I just like him as a person.

ULP - What would you say attracted you to him?

Odiri - I don't know again sef ooo!

*Laughs*

ULP - how can you not know?

Odiri - Don't mind him though, his story of how we met is a little different from my own, probably because that's the one he remembered. But the one I remembered is the one where we were arguing, we were always arguing. So maybe what attracted me was the fact that he was always countering my arguments.

ULP - What is the best gift, he has ever gotten you?

Victoria - A sweater!

David - There was a book (Zoey) I was searching for a long time, I couldn't find it anywhere, I couldn't find it online too, I don't know how she got it but she it for me somehow.

Odiri - himself!

Freeman - There has been so many. About material gifts, she is very very generous but really for me, there was something she did that I consider the best sacrifice ever.
There was particularly time, I was really in need, I was not really buoyant then, she came in to save the day, I don't really know how she did it exactly but she solved my problem and since then, I owe her a great debt. She is a lifesaver!

ULP - how did you celebrate your last valentine?

Odiri - Nothing special really, we were just strolling round and then finally we ended up in law.

ULP - What sacrifices have you had to make just to make your relationship work?

Victoria - I've had to tolerate him. That's like the biggest.

David - I've made lots of sacrifices, I've sacrificed my time, most of the others are between us but really the biggest would be my time.

ULP - Do you guys see yourselves celebrating valentine together next year?

Freeman - We'll still be together next year, by the grace of God but the thing is that next year by his grace too, I'll be in law school and then by the look of things, valentine would probably fall on a monday or tuesday next year, so because of the academic commitments I don't really know how it's going to be like but if the context of the question is whether or not we'll still be dating next year?
This is a girl I plan on getting married to, I don't plan on breaking up with her.

David - If God wills.

Victoria - Maybe.

ULP - Do you see yourself getting married to him?

Victoria - No!
There's nothing really wrong with getting married to him but I don't really see myself getting married to him, mainly because we are two very different people.

David - No! Definitely not!
What makes us good friends we'll not work in a marriage situation, it'll just cause serious problems.

ULP - In the course of your relationship we assume that you guys have had to deal with jealousy and other emotions inherent or common to those that are dating, how have you guys been able to cope with these emotions?

Odiri - (in a sorrowful voice) We are coping oooh!
I believe everybody knows that freeman is a "ladiesman", but it's just about getting use to the fact that this is who he is and accepting that it's always going to be like that.

Freeman - I'm somebody that's very jealous but not obviously jealous, I don't know how but somehow she manages to know when I am and she has a way of telling me that nothing is going on, and then all its good.

ULP - What would you say is your greatest strength as a couple?

Freeman - Family! My family likes her, her family likes me, her aunt even called me today, so family.

David - Understanding! We understand each other perfectly.

ULP - Your most annoying / embarrassing moment together?

Freeman - It started in law and it was about my ex, she said some annoying things, not about me or about odiri, but I heard, and I didn't say anything.
When I got home, odiri was waiting for me at home, because though she was not around, but her friends had called her and narrated how I kept quiet, but long and short, the house was on fire, that was the first time that she raised her voice at me in three years and so it really stood out for me, plus the fact that some people were around all. It's probably a day I can never forget.

Odiri - It's not really a particular day thing, I just hate it when I'm with him and his brothers and they'll just start speaking their language, I'll be like - "GOD!!!" and then the next thing, they'll probably just say one thing about me in the sentence and I'll be like "issorite". But really those are like the most annoying times ever.

ULP - Quite a few people are of the school of thought that it's too young for anybody to be dating in 100level, what do you think?

Victoria - You should not be dating in 100level. I believe you are too young, the age is a big factor plus also you need to be focus on what you are here for.

ULP - Is it too young for them to be dating in 100level especially since you guys met in 100level and you guys are still waxing strong, marriage is even on the horizon?

Freeman - I believe it's too young to be dating in 100level, Odiri's case is a little different, seeing that she was in English and literature department before she came to law, so she was matured to an extent, and could handle issues but if you notice 100level of nowadays, most of us are too young, majorly because we skip classes a lot unlike those days, so while I would not say it's totally wrong, I believe it's something that should not be encouraged, for 100level is a crucial year especially in relation to your "GP" and other relevant issues.

Odiri - I agree with him, I believe it's good to get your stand first, relationship comes with a lot of issues and 100level is too weak for you to start having issues, but everything depends on how ready and matured you are, I remember a talk we had in "NFCS" (Nigeria Federation of Catholic Students), the speaker said that, while he's not against dating in school but everything depends on what you are ready for, if you are ready for it and you are sure it's not going to affect academics or anything, good, my relationship with freeman for example, does not affect my academics, it actually helps it, seeing that he's a year ahead of me, so that when he's reading, there are some kind of things that he'll say that will stick to my head and when it gets to my turn to do that particular course, it's there.

ULP - What would you say to couples out there?

Victoria - Love is a beautiful thing, they should have fun, they should not let this valentine pass them by just like that.

David - They should keep their love going strong, they should not allow external interference weaken them and then if for some reason, they believe that they are not in the right relationship, they should get out immediately.

Freeman - Love is an intense feeling, it's like a fire, you always keep it going, if you tend to withdraw, it keeps dying, so they should just keep the fire burning and all will be fine despite the fact that they will face challenges, they need strength from each other to actually stand up, one person alone can not make it happen.

Interview by gafar and Joshua Ogbeide.

Thursday 11 February 2016

CONGRESS ELECTS S.U.G ELECTORAL REPRESENTATIVE FOR LAW.

SUPREME LAWSA CONGRESS ELECT FACULTY OF LAW STUDENT UNION GOVERNMENT ELECTORAL COMMITTEE REPRESENTATIVE .

Congressmen representing the various constituencies of the Faculty of Law student association (LAWSA) on Monday, 8th of February elected Toritseju Aimufua Peters as the Faculty of Law Electoral Committee Representative. Toju Peters came out victorious over fellow constituency member and former SUG Parliamentarian, Yehoshua Odiase.

The sitting commenced about 5pm and after the normal congress formalities, the agenda was presented before the house and a motion was moved for its adoption. Both contenders for the position were invited to the floor of the house and in the presence of observers announced their various manifestos which they promised to implement if elected.

Yehoshua Odiase.

Toju Peters.

After being critically questioned by the Congressmen, the election took place in earnest. With the total number of congressmen in sitting being 24, Toju Peters had a clean sweep with 21 votes to Mr Odiase's 3 votes, and he being declared the winner by Mr Speaker, Hon. Nna Victor.

IMPENDING CRISIS?!

A major government crisis and clash of personalities seemed to have been averted during the election of the SUG ELECO representative by Congressmen.

It all started when after the delivering of manifestos but immediately before the election, President Garrick Nosa who was an observer in the proceedings signified that he had an observation he wanted to call the Congressmen attention to. While the Speaker was of the opinion that a sensitive matter (the Election proper) was being handled, observers should wait till it has been handled completely, yet the LAWSA President insisted.
This prompted the Speaker to make comments stating that nobody is above the authority of the House, and also that observations from observers were subject to the descretion of the presiding officer of any Congress session, and again reiterated that observations would be allowed after the election.

After the election and emergence of a winner, the President was allowed to speak and he stated that
There was no constitution or conventional backing for the actions of the congressmen (Election of ELECO representation for the Faculty). He said that he as the President was not informed whether orally or via a document of the intention of congress. President Garrick stated that it was an insult that a matter as deep as the election of ELECO representative of LAWSAns was not communicated to him and he called the actions of congressmen wrong and was fallible on all grounds.

"By convention, whatever issue that has to do with (SUG) ELECO is passed through two individuals in the Faculty of Law, a copy is sent to the LAWSA President and a copy is sent to the Dean. So whatever purpose or anything that has to do with ELECO is done via the office of the President. And any issue that has to do with election, the ELECO Body in the Faculty of Law still subsist until a new ELECO is put into place. Therefore, election for Faculty of Law matters does not reside constitutionally in the Congress body but in ELECO".
However he stated that while his purpose was just to register his distaste on the matter, for the sake of LAWSA moving forward, he would reserve action he previously decided to take and allow the election go forward.

The Speaker, Nna Victor in reply thanked the President and appreciated him for his courage displayed in his final decision. While he pointed that everything the President said could be countered, and it should be noted that the President was not present when the events leading to the elections took place. He however said there was no need to overflog the issue or join issues with Garrick. He thanked him for his decision and reiterated they were all working for the good of, and every decision taken was for the overall benefit of LAWSAns

While the President took his exit some minutes later, he was spotted with the Speaker after the sitting having a discussion.

While no one knows the nature of the discussion there surely would be lingering questions in the minds of LAWSAns as to whether or not there will be another standoff between the executive and the legislative arm in this present dispensation.

Report by Joshua Ogbeide.

Wednesday 10 February 2016

100level INDUCTION DINNER!

A night of splitz and splendor, glitz and glamour, an exhibition elegance and being chic on fleek, indeed a night that will forever remain indelible in the mind of attendants, as the long anticipated induction dinner/award nite for the 100level students of the faculty of law finally took place on the 6th of February 2016.

The venue for the event was the Ubth (University of Benin teaching hospital) nursing hall, and the event was billed to start with the red carpet at 6.30pm.

The event however as is now customary with most Lawsa events did not start with the red carpet until past seven, when guests started trickling in, little by little.

The red carpet host was non other than Mc Pepelize, one of Uniben's finest mc's, as we saw some of our earlier callers grace the floor briefly.

By eight pm, the show kicked off proper, with the opening prayer followed by a welcome address by Vanessa, a 100level student and member of the dinner planning committee.

Vanessa.

Mc's for the night were - Orekidy, Pepelize and Joan Unoma, a 300level student.

The occasion was not just a dinner but it also double as an award nite and this became glaring as the first award for the night was presented and ironically so, it was the award for the "most punctual fresher".
The nominees for this award were,
Samuel.
Uyi.
Vanessa and
Olivia.
The award was presented by the public relations officer of the association, Kelvin Irikefe and the winner was Vanessa.

Next we saw an interesting and very entertaining choreography display by our pageants, after which the second award for the night was presented, the award for "most active classmate".
The nominees were -
Gabriel.
Favour Edono.
Vanessa and
Christabel.
This award was presented by the director of sports (Lawsa) Lucky obahor and the winner was Gabriel (100level class rep).

Lucky Obahor.

Even at this point, it was observed that appetizers had already started going round, as we could spot guests munching bowls of chin chin, while others were seen drinking bowls of pepper soup, in all, it was clear that the guests were having fun.

After the award, guests were entreated to a beautiful violin performance by Daniel, a violinist, it was a performance that had the guests abandoning etiquette and screaming at the top of their voice, if only they knew it was just a taste of what to come.

After the performance, the award for "most social classmate" was presented and the nominees were
Male - female
Prospero. Sylvia.
Uyi and Ini and
Gabriel. Vanessa.
The award was presented by Ugochukwu okeleke, secretary general to the association and the winners were "Prospero and Vanessa", male and female category respectively.

And then guests were thrilled by a rap performance by Ronny aka "wine spine", a 400level student, his performance also had the guests strongly excited and jumping in awe.

After which Michelle, a 100level student came presented a spoken word piece, one that also had the audience smiling profusely.

The award for "most inquisitive classmate" was presented by the speaker of the house, Nna victor, the nominees were -
Goodluck.
Isreal and
David Onyeoso.
This award was won by David Onyeoso.

Mr Speaker.

The award for the "most funniest classmate" was next, the nominees were -
Gabriel.
Einstein
Prospero and
Henry.
The award was presented by Jennifer Aliu, assistant treasurer of the association and the winner was Prospero.

Jennifer Aliyu.

Making himself and Vanessa the only two persons to go home with two awards on the night.

The pageants / contestants for "Mr&Mrs Astute", made their second outing at this point and this time in their casual wears, as we saw them spotting jean and t-shirts.
They show cased their talents, some danced, others sang before exiting the stage again.

We had been enthralled by michelle's spoken word performance, and we thought it couldn't get any better, that was until Onete came and presented "Adebisi".
It was a story about a young rich pampered girl, who was well off, that the difference between her peers was as distinct as that between "a ten naira note and a thousand naira note" and how abruptly tragedy struck, Adebisi had to find out that life was everything save a bed of roses.
It was a performance that shook the hall, for guests were in awe and at the same time estactic and amazed by not just the story but also the presentation.

The award for best couple was presented by Emmanuel owah (400level) and the nominees were -
Einstein&favour.
David&Victoria.
Gabriel&favour Edonor.
The award for "best couple" went to David and Victoria amidst loud ovation and cheering.

The award was for "best clique" was up next and the nominees were -
Pearl, Fejiro and Winifred.
Isreal, Fred and cecil.
Kendra, Deborah and Uyi.
This award was presented by Daniel Odigwe and the winners were "Isreal, Fred and cecil".

At this stage the pageants danced in, with their beautiful traditional attires, to the glee and excitement of all present. They danced around, different styles and cultures, with more than enough cheering from the audience.

Drinks and food were been served already but this did not stop the guests from enjoying the show to its fullest.

A cross second of guests enjoying the event.

We were enchanted as two 100level students came forward and presented a very artistic and yet well choreographed ballet dance, that also turned out to be one of the highlights for the night.

The award for "scholar of the class" and "most spiritual classmate" were presented by Emmanuel Agabi clasfon's president, ably represented by Paul Afabor and James Uro respectively.
The nominees for the Scholar of the class were -
Eze great.
Sylvia Sunset Peters.
Wilson and
Adegoke.
The winner for this category was Sylvia Sunset Peters.

While the nominees for most spiritual were -
Pastor Felix.
Grace.
Pastor Victor and
Dochi.

It was at this point that the President - "Garrick Nosa" climbed on stage and enjoined all 100level to stand with their hands on their chest as they recited the induction oath after him, after which he inducted them into the faculty.

And then came the biggest and most amazing performance of the night, it was a solo performance by "Ini", she did a rendition of a Sam smith's song and literally everybody in the audience was held spell bound, and when she was done, everybody was screaming, little did we know that indeed the best was yet to come as she sang "your father" by local artiste-falz, her vocals were amazing and sonorous but the audience reached another level of euphoria when abruptly "Ronny Gizzle" broke in mid-way with a rap and then it was hectic from that point on as almost everybody stood up in amazement and appreciation.

It took a little while for the excitement to die down, because even the Mc's were grinning from cheek to cheek.

After the sensational duet, the remaining awards were handed out, they were -
"Award for Miss Endowed"

"Award for Macho Man"

"Award for social network personality"

And lastly
"Award for best dressed"

The award for "Miss Endowed" was presented by Uzor wingate and it was won by "Ini"

The award for "Macho Man" was presented by Omo Osifo and was won by Osagie.

The award for "social network personality" was presented by Efosa Okpamen, clerk of the house and it was won by Mr Ability.

While the award for best dressed was presented by Ekene (400level) coach of the 100level football team and it was won by hon.Wisdom.

Immediately after we witnessed a rap performance by "Royal", a 400level student.

At this point it was already few minutes before midnight, and at last too the final round for the pageants, as they strolled in with their dinner attires and the judges proceeded to ask them questions.

It's noteworthy to state that almost all save two of the participants couldn't get the questions correct, relatively simple questions like -

"What is the name of the speaker of parliament (lawsa)?"

"What is the name of director of socials (lawsa)?"

"What is the name of clasfon's or calsan's president? "

Amongst a few others and yet these ones struggled through.

In the end though, the judges gave their judgement but first they invited the President and Vice President, the former "Mr&Mrs astute" on stage and also too, Miss May Edobor to present the award to the winners.

Emmanuel and Abigail were the winners as they were both pronounced the new "Mr&Mrs Astute " with a lot of support and cheering from the guests who could not help but rush forward to congratulate the recipients.

Emmanuel and Abigail.

Mr&Mrs Astute.

Jandy and KB, 300level students where the last performers for the night as the dj proceeded to take over the dance floor and 100level trooped in, in myriads, dancing with joy and excitement.

Some 100level dancing at the end of the event.

ULP Interviewing 100level students.

ULP met up with some of the 100level students immediately after the event and sought their comments on the whole event and this what they had to say -

KENDRA - "Well, for me, the event was great, I was really excited, the entire performances were really entertaining, I was thrilled all through everything was perfect except the food, the food was bad still I was too excited to be hungry either ways so it's all good"

Pastor Victor - "I'm happy, I won an award, the award speaks for itself. The show was great though the food was bad but overall it was fine... not bad"

Onete - "the dinner was wonderful, I enjoyed myself, people really liked and appreciated my performance, I for one also liked most of the other performances of the night, like the ballet dance for example, the rice and the salad were bad though and the chicken were too small also but I enjoyed the drinks, there were more than enough drinks (non alcoholic) on my table, so in the end it was fine.

Report by gafar.

LAWSA DEAN'S CUP - The New Champions Of Law!

Lawsa dean's cup resumed after the weekend break with athletics on monday 1st of February at the sports complex of the university.

The games saw different levels compete in 100metres race, chess, scrabble, shot put and a few other games.

The next day however, the football competition resumed with 500level squaring up against 100level, the venue was also the education pitch.
The match was greatly contested, for this was the second time that both teams were meeting in the competition, the first encounter having ended in a 2-2 draw.
This time however, the fixture ended in favor of the final year side, as the 100level side struggled against all odds and a lot of missed chances in the dying minutes of the second half to come back from a one goal deficit, unfortunately though, it was one come back they couldn't manage this time, as the 500level side won the game by two goals to one (2-1).

In the second semi final match, the 300level side faced off with 200level.
The match unfortunately did not live up to the hype, as the 300level side who were tipped as favorites for this fixture were struggling almost all through the game.
However they caught a lucky break as they managed to pull one over the 200level goalkeeper, from that point on, it was all 200level as they scrambled and missed repeatedly all their prospective chances for a comeback. In the end the game ended one - zero (1-0) in the favor of the 300level side.

This result led us consequently to a much expected fixture since the exeunt of former champions of the faculty (400level), as 300level faced-off with 500level in the lawsa dean's cup final for 2015/2016.

Tensions and expectations were high pitch, as we saw a 500level side who had been to the final of the dean's cup three times of the five they've participated in the event without a single victory and with this been their last shot at the title before law school, a lot of fight was expected from them against favorite - 300level and first time finalists.

The final was played on fourth of February 2016 at the education pitch, with coach Onome (University of Benin's football team coach) as the official of encounter.

The final had quite a few dignitaries in attendance, a number of whom included - the school designated coach of faculty of law, hon.prince from 500level, Mrs Azaka (mother of Lawsa's vice-president) , and the sports officer of faculty of law, barr odion.

The match was billed to kick off by four in the evening (4pm), but it did not start due to "logistics" until sometime around five pm.

It was a very exciting match as we saw spectators, law students from all levels turn up en masse to support their classmates and friends.

Both teams showed right from the onset that they were out to win, as they both pressed forward without any faltering.
However the first goal of the encounter would come from 300level, from a beautiful cross by Lebari Dekina the captain of the side, which was met with a beautiful header by Mr Possible to put their side in front.

With their side on the back foot, the 500level side pressed forward even more, thus exposing their defence to more attacks which the 300level side failed to capitalize upon as they hit the cross bar and Mr possible would go on to miss a one on one with the goal keeper of the 500level side, after some amazing team play by his side, that got the fans cheering enthusiastically.
However, 300level would go on to score a second goal in the second half of the encounter and obviously the decider against a 500level side that was now very tired and frustrated after a lot of missed chances of their own, they refused to bow out without a fight though as they piled up pressure on the 300level side in the die minutes of the second half but sadly it was to no avail as the game ended two-zero (2-0) in favor of 300level.

It was a sober sight as we saw 500level players and supporters forlorn, downcast and obviously disappointed.

With the result, the 300level constituency becomes the new champions of law!

After the game, came the medal presentation ceremony which was carried out by the guests present.

Noteworthily, Mr possible of 300level went home with the award of the "most valuable player" of the competition, while Garrick Nosa, went home with the award of the "highest goal scorer" of the competition.

Mr Possible receiving his award.

Garrick receiving his award.

Also too, certificates for athletics and other sports play on monday were presented, while the girls who won the female version of the event were also present their medals and a trophy.

Ronny receiving his certificate for winning the 100 metres race.

Mojisola - Runner up for shot put.

Winner - shot put.

Ronny receiving the 2nd place certificates on behalf of his class female team.

100level females receiving their medals.

Presentation of trophy to 100level female team.

And finally, the much anticipated presentation of medals and trophy to the winner of the 2015 / 2016 Lawsa Dean's Cup, which was done by the sports officer of the faculty, Barr Odion.

The winners recieving their medals.

Presentation of the Dean's cup by Barr.Odion.

The question on the lips of many now is - What happens with this shift of power in faculty?
Is it for the better or for worse?
Can the new champions live up to expectation?

Report by gafar.

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