NDDC Moot Court: 16 Law Faculties Battle for Honours, Ebie, Akpata Seek Stronger Legal Education

Sixteen law faculties from universities across the Niger Delta are competing in the 2026 Niger Delta Development Commission Annual Moot Court and Mock Trial Competition in Port Harcourt.

Opening the competition, NDDC 7th Governing Board Chairman Chiedu Ebie said the commission continued to invest in the event because it builds confidence and advocacy skills among young legal professionals. “It is our expectation that this competition lays the foundation for the advocacy skills these young legal minds will need to draw attention to the challenges of our region, even at this early stage of their careers,” he said.

NDDC Managing Director Samuel Ogbuku, represented by Executive Director of Finance and Administration Boma Iyaye, said the competition had been held for the third consecutive year under his leadership. He said feedback from earlier editions showed that moot trials gave students knowledge, practical experience and the ability to argue cases.

This year’s participants must examine legal issues connected to the Niger Delta’s socioeconomic and environmental challenges and propose legal solutions. Ogbuku urged legal-education stakeholders to update curricula in response to emerging global realities, including the energy transition and rapid advances in artificial intelligence. He said the NDDC would continue supporting educational initiatives that help young people from the region compete internationally.

Olumide Akpata, the 30th president of the Nigerian Bar Association, praised the NDDC for maintaining the program and called investment in young legal professionals an important investment in the region’s future. He asked the commission’s governing board to revive its memorandum of understanding with the NBA and urged universities to make moot courts a core part of legal education. Practical advocacy, he said, remained essential despite advances in artificial intelligence.

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It is our expectation that this competition lays the foundation for the advocacy skills these young legal minds will need to draw attention to the challenges of our region, even at this early stage of their careers.