The Academic Tribunal
The room was as cold as a freezer, not in temperature but in tone.
Three faculty members sat at the long conference table. Their expressions unreadable. A fourth chair sat empty. Favour sat across from them, flanked by a legal adviser from the student union. Daniel sat beside her, his hands stiff in his lap.
A projector screen glowed behind the panel, displaying Favour's student file.
It was a minefield.
Dean Obiora cleared his throat.
"Mrs. Okonkwo, you are here due to allegations of falsified documents during your enrollment and inconsistencies in your coursework."
Favour looked straight ahead. "I submitted everything honestly. If something was altered… it wasn't me."
Another faculty member, a white-haired woman with sharp glasses, tapped a folder.
"Several assignments were submitted from duplicate IP addresses. There are claims of plagiarized material. Can you explain that?"
Favour paused. "Yes… I used a public university computer sometimes. My friend Nkechi helped me once when I was sick. But I didn't cheat. I didn't lie."
"She cooked soup but she can't open a Word document?" a man on the panel whispered sarcastically to the others.
Daniel leaned forward. "That's inappropriate."
Dean Obiora raised a hand. "Mr. Okonkwo, we understand your loyalty. But this is about institutional trust."
"Then tell the truth," Daniel said. "Tell them how your office flagged her file months ago based on bias, not fact."
Murmurs spread.
Favour stood.
"I know I wasn't perfect," she said. "Yes, I lied to my husband about cooking. I avoided hard things. I hid from the truth."
Her voice shook.
"But I never lied to this university. I came here to grow. To fight. To learn. Maybe you saw a stereotype—but I'm a person. And I will not let this panel define me by fear or paperwork."
The panel fell silent.
Outside the room, Nkechi waited with clenched fists.
Inside, the future balanced on a blade.