NIGERIA IS MORE OPEN FOR BUSINESS: HOW A NEW LAW IS MAKING INVESTING EASIER. | Clementina E. Ukiri, Esq.
For a long time, Nigeria has been an attractive, yet challenging, destination for foreign investors. The process of doing business was often slow and confusing. However, a major new law, the Business Facilitation Act (BFA) of 2023, is changing the landscape by making Nigeria a much easier place to invest and operate a company. So, two years after this law was passed, how has it actually helped? Let's break it down. What It Used to Be Like Before the BFA, starting or running a business in Nigeria could be incredibly frustrating. Government…
INVESTING SAFELY: HOW TO SPOT FRAUD AND NAVIGATE NIGERIAN REAL ESTATE DEALS. | Clementina E. Ukiri, Esq.
Clementina E. Ukiri, Esq. The dream of owning property in Nigeria is a significant milestone. It represents stability, security, and a wise investment. However, this dream can quickly become a nightmare if you fall victim to the fraudulent schemes that unfortunately exist in the real estate market. The good news is that with the right knowledge, you can protect yourself. This guide will equip you with the tools to spot red flags, understand the non-negotiable role of a lawyer, and demystify the complex legal language in your sale agreement. Re…
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RENT, REPAIRS AND RIGHTS: THE ULTIMATE GUIDE FOR NIGERIAN LANDLORDS AND TENANTS.
The relationship between a landlord and a tenant is one of the most common legal arrangements in society. Yet, it's often fraught with misunderstandings that can lead to serious disputes. Whether you're a tenant trying to understand your rights or a landlord seeking to manage your property legally, knowledge is your greatest asset. This guide breaks down the most critical aspects of the landlord-tenant relationship in Nigeria, with a special focus on the influential Lagos State Tenancy Law of 2011¹, which serves as a model for many oth…
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THE CONUNDRUM OF PATERNITY FRAUD: A LEGAL AND SOCIAL ANALYSIS | Clementina E. Ukiri, Esq.
The issue of paternity is foundational to family law, affecting matters of inheritance, identity, and maintenance. Paternity fraud, where a mother knowingly misidentifies a man as the biological father of her child, creates profound legal and emotional turmoil. While the request for a Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) test can be a source of conflict, it should be viewed not as an accusation, but as a definitive tool for establishing truth, offering a faithful mother an opportunity to affirm her integrity. Legal Framework on Paternity in Nigeria In …
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NAVIGATING THE DIGITAL FRONTIER: A LEGAL PERSPECTIVE ON NIGERIA'S TECHNOLOGY, MEDIA, AND ENTERTAINMENT LANDSCAPE | Clementina E. Ukiri, Esq.
Nigeria's digital economy is a landscape of rapid evolution, innovation, and inevitably, complex legal challenges. As technology continues to reshape how we create, communicate, and transact, the legal framework must adapt to keep pace. The recent amendments to the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act of 2015, the modernisations brought by the Copyright Act of 2022, and the burgeoning space of Artificial Intelligence and digital assets all demand a thoughtful legal analysis. This article delves into these critical areas, offerin…
LAWYERS, INSULTS AND GROUP CHATS. | Bayo Akinlade Esq.
I am increasingly finding it nearly impossible to interact with my colleagues on WhatsApp forums because of how we respond to issues. Lawyers insulting other lawyers for a view they hold or even just forwarding someone else's opinion is risky without an insulting reaction from others. What bothers me the most is that respect and decorum which are the hallmarks of this profession (a noble profession... Gentlemen of the Bar) are thrown out of the window. The two saddest things about this are that first, seniors on these platforms do not cor…
ELECTIONS ARE RIGGED NOT BY POLITICIANS BUT BY LAWYERS AND JUDGES - THE 2023 NATIONAL ELECTIONS DISSECTED WITH PRECEDENCE. | Chuks Nwachuku Esq.
My little experience in election petitions is that most elections are rigged, not by politicians but by lawyers and our judges. Politicians sometimes are awed by the magic that lawyers and the courts are able to work for them. Check out the Lawan v Machina case. Who rigged the process? Was it Lawan who was only a party before the court or the court who awarded victory to him by simply refusing to attend to the complaint against him that in the plain view of the world, he did not contest the senatorial primaries which took place in May because …
A FORMULA FOR AN ECONOMY (1): AS BAD AS A DEARTH OF IDEAS.
After the second world war, Germany was devastated. The economy collapsed under the weight of the bombshells. The national currency was not worth the value of its printing. There were no jobs for able-bodied (wo)men. The situation was a natural emergency. War-ravaged Germany rose to the occasion with economic philosophies that saw young men engaged in the morning to dig trenches while another set were engaged in the evening to fill up the gourge. Germany is the fifth biggest economy of the world while others are still living on their colonies.…
NBA LAGOS BRANCH TO HOST ANOTHER MULTI-MILLION NAIRA DINNER AMIDST GROWING HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AND DWINDLING LAWYERS' INCOME. | Bayo Akinlade Esq.
Every year, for as long as I can remember coming back to Nigeria, the NBA Lagos Branch has hosted a Law Dinner for its members. While this tradition may have been instituted for a reason that seemed noble and in keeping with the ethos of the profession, it has in my view become insignificant and unnecessary in the current state of our economic and judicial conditions. In 2019, I was informed that the Branch spent some 30 million Naira, I wrote about it but it seemed that its leaders didn't get it. How can you spend that much on a 4-hour e…
A FORMULA FOR DEMOCRACY 7: TIERS OF GOVERNMENT. | S. O. K. Shillings Esq.
Nigeria operates a 3-tier federal government having the federal, state, and local governments. The constitution defines the rights and duties of each tier, more particularly, the sharing of responsibilities between the federal and state governments through the legislative lists (exclusive, residual, and concurrent). In all, we have a federal government, 36 state governments, and 774 local governments with the federal capital territory being administered by the federal government with quasi-state status. Again, it is part of the frame upon whic…
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A FORMULA FOR DEMOCRACY 6: ARE THERE THREE ARMS? THE OMBUDSMAN.
The conventional kinds of literature on government have taught us that there are three arms of government, to wit: executive, legislature, and judiciary. The legislature makes the laws, the executive executes the laws (and policies) and the judiciary interprets the law. They work independently and interdependently such that while the roles are distinct and separable, the need for cohesion and rhythm in the social engineering network necessitates some overlap in their responsibilities and workings. The time-honoured doctrine of checks and bala…
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THE IMPERATIVENESS OF THE DEPENDENCE OF THE JUDICIARY IN NIGERIA. | Douglas Ogbankwa Esq.
The battle for the independence of the Judiciary in Nigeria is now or never. Bar leaders act as if things are okay. When the main crux of the judicial process, the Judiciary budgetary process, is left to political control, talking about pedestrian issues. The Nigerian Judiciary is under siege from politicians and it is now a laughing stock by the public and the international community. Injunctions are now commonplace, even those that determine the main matter at Ex Parte or interlocutory stage. We lost it during the Onnoghen case. Justice Walt…
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THE BLUNT WAY. | Ebuka Esq.
I am tempted to make this submission without fear or intimidation from any quarter. Law practice without integrity is a sham and has no relevance in the preaching of due process as being paraded by the entire legal practitioners albeit the umbrella body NBA. In a country where a so-called superior senior lawyer could not recuse himself from his position after prior complaints and resignations on the basis of interference by the BOB in the LPDC proceedings by some key members of the such panel, especially in relation to a colleague's possib…
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DEPRIVING LITIGANTS THE FRUITS OF JUDGEMENT BY USE OF EXTRA JUDICIAL MEANS
For litigants, enjoying the fruits of judgement is crucial and uncompromising. We believe that a key overriding function of the judicial process is to enable the judgment creditor to reap the fruits of judgment with every sense of due satisfaction and where necessary have compensation, performance, compliance and restitution. Nevertheless, there have been instances such as this, where judgements of courts are either frustrated and/or ignored. Such challenges in the judicial process are overwhelming experiences for litigants and indeed a stigm…
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ABOUT CORRUPTION IN THE JUDICIARY | Bayo Akinlade Esq.
Lawyers are my major problem when it comes to corruption within the Judiciary. Most Lawyers are happy with the fact that the judiciary is underfunded and lacks capacity. This is evident in the refusal of most lawyers to report incidences of extortion and request for bribes by court officials and staff, aside from the fact that lawyers willingly offer these bribes, further making it difficult for the judiciary to effectively deliver on its mandates. Lawyers also seldom demand accountability nor stand their ground in insisting that judiciary sta…
NBA: OUT OF TOUCH WITH REALITY AND LAWYER'S WELFARE. | Bayo Akinlade Esq.
Let us take a look at what our dear NBA (both national and branches) spends yearly. NBA National Conference yearly average Expenses... 700 - 900 Million naira. NBA sections and fora yearly expenses... 200+ million naira. NBA branches' yearly Law Week expenses (at least more than 50 NBA branches host a law week yearly)... 100+ million naira. OVER 1.5 BILLION NAIRA is spent by the NBA and its branches yearly on conferences and events. If one were to consider other NBA events such as stand-alone dinners, end of year cocktails, etc... for in…
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A Call for the Nigerian Bar Association Law Students’ Internship Programme
By: Douglas Ogbankwa, Esq. An average student of a law faculty in Nigeria is inundated with the theory of Law, without any practical knowledge in his five years in the law faculty. The externship programme of the Nigerian Law School is too short and the law student is more concerned about reading for his examinations and he therefore does not pay close attention to it . It will be apposite for Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), a major partner in the legal education milieu, to synergize with the law faculties in Nigeria to run a mentorship /inter…
