By The Daily Reality
Farida Bungudu, a 2026 graduate of Ahmadu Bello University, has turned years of skepticism about her home state into a record-breaking academic run, becoming the first student from Zamfara State to finish top of the Faculty of Law with First Class Honours.
Bungudu, who emerged Overall Best Graduating Student in the LL.B Class of 2026, said the journey began as “a dream few people believed in.” Critics, she recalled, argued she was “reaching too far, too fast.”
“What they didn’t know was that this dream was never about me alone,” she said. “It was about proving that Zamfara State, too, belongs in every room, every conversation, every arena where excellence is measured.”
Record-Breaking Run at ABU
Results released on Wednesday confirmed a historic performance that placed Bungudu among the faculty’s all-time best.
Her list of achievements includes:
– Overall Best Graduating Student, LL.B Class of 2026, Faculty of Law, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
– First Class Honours, LL.B (Civil Law)
– Third Highest CGPA ever recorded in the Faculty’s history
– 5th Female Best Graduating Student in the Faculty’s history
– First Female from the Northwest to graduate with a First Class and as Best Graduating Student in the Faculty
– First Zamfara State student from the Faculty to graduate with a First Class and as Best Graduating Student
– First Chief Judge in the Faculty’s history to graduate as Best Graduating Student with First Class Honours.
Beyond academics, Bungudu also distinguished herself in student leadership and advocacy. She served as the Second Female Chief Judge of the ABU-SRC Court, Chief Justice of the Law Students’ Society, Chairman of the LSS Privileges Committee, Chairman of the Council of Benchers, and Chairman of the LSS Judicial Council.
Her profile also identifies her as a Nigeria Higher Education Foundation (NHEF) Scholar, an award-winning National and International Moot Court Champion, Best Advocate, and Best Oralist. She also served as Assistant Chief of the Ahmadu Bello University Students Support Associates.
“We now have a seat at the table”
Speaking after the announcement, Bungudu described the achievement as more than a personal success.
“Today, I stand as a voice for every Zamfara State student who has ever felt limited, overlooked, or underestimated,” she said. “We can walk into any room now, and know we belong in the conversation. We have broken through the glass ceiling, and we now hold an undeniable seat at tables once thought unreachable.”
She described the milestone as “merely a blueprint” for younger students from Zamfara and the wider Northwest.
“I have walked the path; now it is your turn to run,” she said, adding that she will later share details of “the sacrifices that happened behind the scenes to make this possible.”
For a state whose students have long faced stereotypes about their academic capacity, Wednesday’s announcement represents a new reference point. For Farida Bungudu, the achievement was answered “not with words, but with results.”