Daniella Okangba, a 2023 Law graduate of Babcock University, has emerged as one of the most outstanding students at the 2025 Nigerian Law School/The Nigerian Body of Benchers Call to Bar ceremony, clinching five prestigious awards including the coveted third prize for Best Overall student, in Abuja.
This year’s Call to Bar ceremony was historic, with 5,728 new lawyers, the largest cohort in Nigeria’s legal history, officially joining the profession.
Okangba, who graduated with First Class Honours, received the following awards: Justice Olujide Shomolu Award for Best Student in Civil Litigation, Mr. D. D. Dodo award for Best Female Student in Civil Litigation, Hon. Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar award for Best Female Student in Civil Litigation, Chief T.O.S. Benson award for Best Student of the Year (3rd Prize) and prize for First Class students.
She expressed excitement about her achievement, saying: “It has been my goal for a long time and now it’s my reality. I worked consistently and with purpose. I believe excellence is possible with the right mindset and God’s help.”
Her disciplined academic strategy included structured daily study, regular group sessions, and Sabbath rest in line with her Seventh-Day Adventist faith.” I was determined to remain a best graduating student,” she noted, recalling her prior top honours at Babcock. “Once a BGS, always a BGS.”
She credited Babcock’s Faculty of Law for laying the groundwork for her success.
According to her, “Babcock was foundational. The faculty’s support, especially from Prof. Dorcas Odunaoke and Prof. Olanrewaju, kept us encouraged throughout Law School. Most of the curriculum prepared us directly for what we faced at the Law School.”
Currently working at a top-tier corporate law firm, Banwo & Ighodalo, Okangba has set her sights on an ambitious future. Her plans include postgraduate studies at an Ivy League university, becoming a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, entering academia and possibly politics. ” They call me Prof. SAN,” she noted, adding that by God’s grace, that will become a reality.
She advised aspiring lawyers to set their minds to it, trust God and work relentlessly.
“The word impossible doesn’t exist.”
Babcock University’s President/Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ademola Tayo, expressed immense pride, saying: “Daniella and nine others have brought great honour to our university. This is just the beginning of greater things to come.”
