Winner of the Honorable Justice Innocent Umezulike Annual National Essay Competition, Precious Onuabuchi of the University of Ilorin has won a cash prize of N100,000.

A statement by the foundation said, ‘The Hon Justice Innocent Umezulike Annual National Essay Competition’ is a legacy project in honor of Umezulike.”

Umezulike was an acclaimed Professor of Land and Property Law with over 25 published books and was the longest-serving Chief Justice in the southeast.

It read, “This project assists in the advancement of education and qualitative research amongst undergraduate law students, particularly in Land/property law. Its core aim is to cultivate and improve skills such as writing, critical thinking and research amongst our next generation of lawyers which will be invaluable to them in life and career. It is also an avenue to forge partnerships between the Foundation and Law Faculties in Nigeria.”

It explained that 40 Law Faculties participated in the 2023 Annual essay which attracted over 200 submissions.

“The submitted essays were then double-blind peer reviewed and scored by high-ranking academics in the field. The best candidate with the highest score was Precious Chiamaka Onuabuchi from the University of Ilorin and won a cash prize of N100,000. The first runner-up was Omobolanle Alashe from Babcock University with a cash award of N50,000. The second runner-up with a cash prize of N20,000 was Timothy Wisdom from Rivers State University. The Awardees additionally received Certificates of Excellence and will have their essays published in the Hon Justice Innocent Umezulike Foundation Law Journal,” it read.

The Foundation Head of Legal and Research, Ruth Soronnadi, commended the winners for their excellent research skills, critical thinking, and outstanding writing which exemplified the legacy of Umezulike.

Speaking on the National Essay Competition, the foundation’s Co-chairs, Dr Cynthia Umezulike and Dr Victor Umezulike, noted that the foundation remained committed to advancing excellent legal education and research which was what their late father was known for in his lifetime.