How Reverend Sister Moneme Made History as Canon Law Graduate

Alex Enumah

Following her success at the March 2021 Final Bar Exams of the Nigerian Law School and her subsequent Call to Bar last month, Reverend Sister Winifred Moneme is said to have made history as the second Nigerian to have studied Canon Law.

Reverend Sister Moneme, a native of Agulu in Aniocha Local Government Area of Anambra State, studied at the Catholic Institute of West Africa; the Catholic University of Eastern Africa, (where she bagged a degree in Canon Law); Urban University Rome, Italy (Diploma in Italian Language); Pontifical University Lateran, Rome, Italy ( Masters in Civil Law); Pontifical University Lateran (Phd. in Canon Law); Pontifical University, Rome (Phd. in Civil Law) and the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators.

The field of Law concerns the rules and ordinances governing the Christian community, specifically the Catholic Church.
Moneme, who is a member of the Congression of Sisters of Jesus the Saviour, Rivers State, combined both Civil and Canon law and studied both at the doctorate level.

In a chat with our Correspondent shortly after the Call to Bar ceremony in Abuja, the Reverend Sister who was overwhelmed with joy for being among the 884 graduates of the law school to be called to the Nigerian Bar, dismissed the perception that the legal profession lacks morality.

“It’s a wrong perception to say that religion and law, are strange bed fellows. Religion is like a vocation, while law is a profession.

“Like every other profession, there are good and bad people, so the issue of morality really is an individual thing. Besides, the rules of professional conduct for Lawyers and ethics does not accommodate immoral conduct”, she said.
According to her, she desires to practice law in the areas of forensic, medical and religion.

The Reverend Sister cum Barrister appealed to parents to allow their children choose their careers, and not force theirs on their wards.

Moneme similarly appealed to the management of the Nigerian Law School to improve in the area of academic facilities, especially the digital aspect of it.