Court Competitions; Preparing UNIZIK Law Students for Court Practice -Ebri Will

Within the serene grounds of the Faculty of Law, two posses of five lawyers each locked horns at 12 noon in a battle of brains and words; it was the maiden edition of the Battle of New Wigs.

The Battle of New Wigs is a series of practice court proceedings where 100 level students are the lawyers. This event is a prelude to the Law Students Association (LAWSA) Call-to- Bar ceremony. Being called to Bar grants a UNIZIK esquire the right to appear before the LAWSA court and SUG High Court.

The session’s court competitions began on Monday the 8th of November, 2021 at Moot Court, Faculty of Law. The contests would run through the week. The finals will take place on Friday the 12th. There are proceedings from 9am to 4pm every day of the event, with teams of young lawyers from the six LAWSA chambers vying for the winning spot in this war of wits.

Speaking to the COMET, Chief Judge of LAWSA, Honorable Justice Ikedinobi Emmanuel, explained that the Battle of New Wigs was organized to teach the new members of the faculty actual practice of the profession. The goal, he stressed, was to ensure that law students got a hands-on courtroom experience from their first year. This competition is one of the first achievements of his administration since he was sworn in as Chief Judge on the 30th of October, 2021.

Faithful Okafor, 200 level law student, was pleased with the innovative idea which she said was a welcome break away from the ineffectiveness of ‘endless classroom lectures without having any idea how to really apply what they had learnt in class.’ She told COMET that she applauded the LAWSA administration for this step in ensuring excellence in the course and hoped to see more of such innovations in the future.

The LAWSA Call-to-Bar ceremony is scheduled for the 16th of November, 2021 at the Multi-purpose Hall, Faculty of Education.