The Department was established during the 1991/92 academic session when the Faculty of Law was established, as one of the two functional departments out of the Six Departments approved for the Faculty. The Department which at various times was under the leadership of eminent members of the Faculty has made giant strides in inculcating into the students the best traditions of the legal profession. The Department is currently under the leadership of Dr. E. K. Adetifa as the Acting Head of Department.

The philosophy of the Department is to function within the context of the general philosophy of the faculty. Thus, its broad aim is to equip the students with the requisite qualifications skill and experience in the public, International and Environmental law areas with the view to making them competent as lawyers either in the public or private sectors of the Nigerian economy. Courses taught in the Department are tailored after the NUC and Council of Legal Education approved syllabi and are reviewed from time to time to make them relevant to the needs of the changing Nigerian society.

Mission Statement

The objectives of the Department are to:

• Expose students to the basic skills in public law courses available in the Department.
• Train the students and relate these subjects to their application in practice.
• Inculcate in the student the necessary skills to carry out independent research and at a more advanced level in these subject areas and
• Encourage collaboration partnership and linkages in training and research with other institutions of learning locally and internationally.
• Contribute to the manpower needs of the University, the state and the international community the country in the subject areas taught in the Department.
• Attract funds and grant to promote research in public law subjects.

List of Courses Domiciled in the Public Law Department

LPU 201: Constitutional Law I (4 Units)

LPU 202: Constitutional Law II (4 Units)

LPU 301: Criminal Law I (4 Units)

LPU 302: Criminal Law II (4 Units)

LPU 309: Environmental Law I (4 Units)

LPU 310: Environmental Law II (4 Units)

LPU 405: Law of Evidence I (4 Units)

LPU 406: Law of Evidence II (4 Units)

LPU 411: Oil and Gas Law I (4 Units)

LPU 412: Oil and Gas Law II (4 Units)

LPU 409: Criminology I (4 Units)

LPU 410: Criminology II (4 Units)

LPU 511: Administrative Law I (4 Units)

LPU 512: Administrative Law II (4 Units)

LPU 513: Human Rights I (4 Units)

LPU 514: Human Rights II (4 Units)