Dr. Onyekachi Eni

Dr. Onyekachi Eni is a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Nigeria.  An interdisciplinary scholar, Eni holds a PhD in English and Literary Studies from the University of Calabar, a PhD in Environmental Law from Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki and a Master of Arts degree in Mass Communication from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. Before his entry into the academy, Dr. Eni had distinguished himself as a public administrator and human resource manager whose administrative pedigree is as eventful as his academic credentials. For a period of eleven years, spanning from 2004-2015, he was the  Chief Press Secretary to the first and second civilian Governors of Ebonyi State at the Government House Abakaliki, Nigeria. A member of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Eni has had impactful stints as a journalist with several media organizations in Nigeria before becoming the pioneer General Manager of the now rested Ebonyi State Cable Television, Abakaliki between 2001 and 2003. His distinguished career in the civil service climaxed with his appointment as Permanent Secretary in charge of Executive Council Secretariat in the Ebonyi State public service in 2015. Having reached the apex of the ladder in the bureaucracy, he sought a new challenge for which he joined the ivory tower in 2015 as a senior academic with the Department of English and Literary Studies, Alex -Ekwueme Federal University,  Ndufu-Alike, Nigeria. In the 2020/2021 academic session, the institution deployed him to the then newly established Faculty of Law as a pathfinder and Dean of Law. He occupied that office for the maximum allowable two academic sessions. An active member of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Eni is a proficient legal practitioner and environmental activist. He is widely travelled and published in several high impact, international peer reviewed journals. He is a member of the Tetfund sponsored  Environmental Study Group on the Development of Isotope Finger-Printing Protocol for the Implementation of Polluter Pays Principle in Nigeria’s Mining sector domiciled at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike.  Following the selection of his entry in that regard, Dr. Eni attended and presented a far reaching study on Biodiversity and Environmental Justice in the Mining Industry at the International Law Conference of the University of Cambridge, United Kingdom in April 2024. A distinguished servant of town and gown, Eni holds several University committee appointments either as member or chairman. In 2024, he was appointed a member of the Editorial Board of the influential, high impact, scopus-indexed Environmental Claims Journal based in the United States of America. Early in 2025, Dr. Eni was appointed a member of the 30-person Climate Justice Committee empanelled by the National President of the Nigerian Bar Association. He is a stickler for discipline and hardwork for whom due process and ethical conduct are not matters of lip service.