Adamu mubarak reports
The Law Student Association of Nigeria( LAWSAN), Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, has held its first inter-chamber mooting competition on Monday, April 1st, for the 2023/2024 academic session.
This annual event showcased the legal prowess of various chambers within the faculty, including the K.T.T Chamber, ECOWAS Chamber, Prof. M.L Ahmadu Chamber, and Justice Amina Augie Chamber.
The competition centered on a face-off between the ECOWAS Chamber and the Justice Amina Augie Chamber, with each side fielding four counsels for the battle of legal wits.
Presiding over the competition, Chief Justice Abdulrauf Naheen emphasized the primary objective of such mooting activities.
He stated, “Participating in mooting activities aims to hone students’ advocacy skills and provide valuable experience in drafting legal documents.”
While speaking with The News Digest Press, Usman Ibrahim, principal partner of the ECOWAS Chamber and leading counsel of his team, highlighted the adherence to competition rules.
He said, “We are still in the first stage, processes have been made, and the next adjournment is the adoption of a written address. He further said that even though mooting is an extracurricular activity, it is one of the important phases for law students. Mooting is a line of approach to knowing the procedural aspect of law.”
Emphasizing the significance of engaging in mooting activities, Ibrahim remarked, ” Though one may argue that the procedural aspect of the law is not necessary for an undergraduate student of law until the law school, you can’t compare someone that has been through the system right from undergraduate level to somebody that just started learning it at the law school. There would be fundamental differences between them.”
Addressing the concerns of students eager to participate but unsure of where to begin, Ibrahim stressed the importance of commitment.
“ It’s all about commitment because one of the challenges one would surely encounter is how to reconcile these extracurricular activities with the normal school activities.”
He further encouraged law students to find time within their time to engage in mooting activities as it is one of the avenues for sharpening one’s advocacy skills.