CodeIgniter Unit Testing class - best practices/security

Yes, I wouldn't recommend doing it the way you do it.

There is a great testing system built by a guy you will run into often on this forum for php unit. You can see it here:

https://github.com/kenjis/ci-phpunit-test

Codeigniter is simply one of the tools you need to learn to be a successful developer. Always add more tools to your coding arsenal!