A human rights lawyer has said Goddy Precious Mbakwe can drag UNIZIK to court if she so wishes......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
This is coming after the Anambra-based university expelled her after it was alleged that she assaulted a lecturer, Dr Michael Chukwudi Okoye.
Legit.ng spoke to Emenike Chioke Esq, a human rights lawyer, and managing partner at Toplaw and Attorneys who said Precious has the right to sue.
According to the lawyer, Precious can seek redress in the law court if she feels aggrieved by her expulsion.
“She has rights”: Lawyer says expelled UNIZIK student can drag school to court
“She can sue the school, but she’ll have to prove that her conduct in having the physical feats with the lecturer was justified in the circumstances.”
When asked if it was against the law for a student to record videos on school premises, Chioke Esq said it was not a crime if there were no such laws in the school.
He said:
“Her expulsion was not based on the fact of her recording a video, but fighting/assaulting a staff/lecturer, which is against the code of conduct for students.”
He said Precious could sue the school on the grounds that her reaction to the scene was done in self-defence.
He said:
“At the point the lecturer came to seize her phone, if her reaction in biting and dragging his shirt can be proved to be the right course of action in self-defense, then the law will avail her. But if the bites and physical dragging of his shirt fall short of “self-defence”, then her case will collapse in court. However, she has a right to sue (but succeeding is another ball game based on her evidence and facts of the case).”
What Precious Mbakwe will prove in court if she sues UNIZIK
However, to win the case if she decides to sue, Precious will have to prove that fighting a lecturer was not misconduct.
Chioke Esq told Legit.ng:
“She has to prove that her conduct in having a face-off with the lecturer falls under “good conduct” and therefore has not committed any misconduct.”
When asked if Dr Michael Chukwudi Okoye can also sue the student for assault, Chioke Esq said everyone can approach a court for redress.
He said:
“Everyone has a right of access to court for redress for any issue of assault.”
Also, he argued that the fact that the lecturer’s image was captured by the student did not necessarily amount to a privacy violation.
His words:
“Our Constitution guarantees privacy to private life. But whether the video was image of the lecturer or the student is a discussion which I do not think came under the umbrella of “privacy”. There’s nothing “privacy violation” in capturing a moving picture. Posting a lecturer’s face on social media by a student still falls under misconduct and not violation of privacy.”
Ex-student of assaulted lecturer speaks
In a related story reported by Legit.ng, a man who passed under Dr Michal Chukwudi Okoye as a student has defended him in the ongoing UNIZIK saga.
The man, Ugochukwu Duoh said Dr Okoye was more than a teacher but was also a father and a mentor to him and others.
Ugochukwu condemned the behaviour of the female student who allegedly assaulted Dr Okoye by slapping and bitting him.