OAU Beats 16 Nigerian Universities as Student Wins Best Advocate Title in Moot Court Competition
- Obafemi Awolowo University has defeated 16 Nigerian universities to win the maiden national moot court competition in Lagos
- An OAU law student earned the Best Student Advocate award after an impressive final-round advocacy performance before judges
- Organisers said the competition has exposed law students to practical courtroom advocacy and specialised legal practice
Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, has won the first-ever Streamsowers & Köhn National Moot Court Competition, with one of its students, Ase Hephzibah, also taking home the Best Student Advocate award.
The competition ended on Saturday, July 4, in Lagos during activities marking the 20th anniversary of the law firm, Streamsowers & Köhn.
After a rigorous written stage, OAU and Bayero University advanced to the final oral advocacy round, where they argued a mock legal case before a panel of judges.
Source: UGC
According to The Punch, at the end of the contest, OAU emerged as the overall winner, while Ase Hephzibah received the award for Best Student Advocate.
Other universities that reached the final stage were the University of Abuja, the University of Lagos, and the University of Calabar.
Why the competition was organised
The Chief Operating Officer of Streamsowers & Köhn, Modupeola Olusoga, said the competition was created as the firm's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project to celebrate 20 years of legal practice.
Instead of limiting the anniversary to celebrations, she said the firm wanted to create an opportunity for law students to experience advocacy that reflects real courtroom practice.
"We thought about creating a platform where students could come, showcase themselves, showcase their learning, and be exposed to something that mirrors the real court experience," she was quoted as saying.
Olusoga noted that although students take part in moot court competitions in their universities, those experiences are often different from what happens in actual courtrooms.
She also said more than 30 universities were invited to participate, while 17 submitted entries. Independent assessors reviewed the written memorials before five universities qualified for the finals.
Source: Twitter
Organisers praise students' performance
A partner at Streamsowers & Köhn, Vincent Owhor, said the quality of advocacy displayed by the students exceeded expectations.
"For students who have not even gone through procedural law to perform the way they did was thoroughly impressive. Their advocacy skills were excellent, and the quality of their legal arguments was fantastic," he said.
According to him, the competition also introduced students to legal practice beyond traditional courtroom litigation while helping them improve their advocacy skills.
Best Advocate speaks on victory
Speaking to the platform after the competition, Ase Hephzibah said receiving the award was both "humbling and challenging."
She credited the achievement to years of preparation, the support of her teammates, lecturers, and family.
Ase also said the competition exposed participants to specialised areas of legal practice that many law students rarely encounter.
24 Nigerian universities earn global ranking
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that 24 Nigerian universities secured places in the 2026 Times Higher Education World University Rankings and Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings, giving Nigeria the highest representation among countries in the region.
The University of Ibadan and the University of Lagos led the Nigerian institutions, while the rankings also recognised federal, state, and private universities based on teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.
Source: Legit.ng
