Prof Caught Cheating in Varsity Exam Fails To Make SAN Final List

Prof caught cheating in varsity exam fails to make SAN final list

By Julius Wilson

Benedicta Daudu, a law professor who was allegedly caught cheating in an examination at the University of Jos (UNIJOS) and later suspended by the university, has failed to make the final list of recipients of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) rank for 2023.

The Legal Practitioners and Privileges Committee (LPPC), last month, shortlisted Ms Daudu alongside 68 other lawyers for the prestigious SAN rank.

Many Nigerians criticised her inclusion on the list.

However, Ms Daudu’s name was missing from the list of 58 SAN-designates, who made the final list released on Thursday.

It could not be ascertained if Ms Daudu’s failure to make the list had anything to do with her exam malpractice past.

Announcing the final outcome of the selection process on Thursday, the LPPC chaired by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Olukayode Ariwoola, said in its statement that all four petitions it received concerning the unsuitability of shortlisted candidates were dismissed.

“The meeting further considered four (4) different petitions written against some of the applicants and determined that each of the petitions lacked merit and thus dismissed.”

However, the committee did not disclose whether Ms Daudu was one of the applicants whom the petitioners challenged their suitability. It did not also disclose the name of any person whose suitability was challenged in the petitions.

The rank is reserved for Nigerian lawyers who have distinguished themselves in legal practice, either in the advocacy or academic lines.

The integrity and reputation of the candidates are also part of the major considerations for the award.

Background

PREMIUM TIMES had extensively reported on how authorities of the University of Jos (UNIJOS), Plateau State, suspended Ms Daudu for one academic session after she was caught “cheating” in a postgraduate course examination in 2016.

Ms Daudu, then an associate professor of law and head of the Department of Jurisprudence and International Law of the Faculty of Law at UNIJOS, was caught cheating while taking an examination for another Master’s degree in Research and Public Policy in the Faculty of Social Sciences of the same university.

The Department of Research and Public Policy of UNIJOS accused her of smuggling in prepared answers during the examination for the Global Context in Public Policy course.

Report said the matter was subsequently reported to the university’s examination committee but some students and faculty claimed there were attempts at cover-ups by the university authorities.

Efforts by the university management to sanction Ms Daudu based on her position as a lecturer failed owing to a legal action she instituted against the institution.

However, the university in December 2016, suspended her while trying to properly investigate the matter.

But it was later learnt that Ms Daudu and the UNIJOS management reached a settlement agreement, where she resigned her appointment and was paid off.

She, from there, left for the Taraba State University, where she became a professor in 2019. The cheating scandal, after it was exposed by PREMIUM TIMES, earned her the sack from then President Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC).