Author: Chinemerem Nnawuihe

The events of the past few days across Nigeria, have been most worrisome. There has been massive looting, arson, violence, brigandage and general unrest in most parts of the country. The direct cause are the events that took place on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, at the Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos State which jolted the whole world. It was the climax of several days of #EndSARS protests. To say that the current events which unfolded therefrom were unforeseen would be fallacious. They did not just happen; it was the natural result of several years of bad governance, corruption, mismanagement of public…

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The ongoing #EndSARS protests have necessitated this article. Nigerians from all walks of life, especially youths have been protesting for several days against police brutality and calling for the scrapping of the (Federal) Special Anti-robbery Squad (SARS), the unit of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) that has been given the mandate to combat the crimes of armed robbery and kidnapping across Nigeria. Unfortunately, SARS operatives have been constantly accused of various human rights violations which include extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, unlawful detentions, torture, extortion and dispossession of citizens’ properties. They abandoned their core mandate and became a tool of harassment,…

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Widowhood practices are those customs and traditions that are meted out on widows which constitute part of the funeral rites. Widowhood has been defined by the Black’s Law Dictionary, 2nd Edition as: “the state or condition of being a widow”. It goes on to define a widow as: “a woman whose husband is dead, and who has not married again”. The status of a widow under the Law depends on the type of marriage she contracted with her deceased husband because marriage is a necessary antecedent to widowhood. There are basically, four types of marriage in Nigeria; they are: Court/Registry…

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Under Section 42 of the Companies & Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, a company becomes a body corporate from the date of its registration; it acquires the capacity of exercising all the powers and functions of a registered company. It becomes a legal person distinct from those who from time to time compose it whether as members (shareholders), directors or employees. Upon registration, a company becomes an artificial person (persona ficta); it acquires all the rights of a natural person of contractual capacity. Thus, it can enter into contracts, borrow money to finance its operations, acquire property(ies), execute documents; but…

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The Black’s Law Dictionary 6th Edition at page 1566 defines vicarious liability thus: “The imposition of liability on one person for the actionable conduct of another, based solely on a relationship between the two persons. Indirect or imputed legal responsibility for acts of another; for example the liability of an employer for the acts of an employee or, a principal for torts and contracts of an agent”. In the case of Fawehinmi V Inspector-General of Police (2002) 7NWLR Pt 767, 600, the Supreme Court per Uwaifo JSC quipped: ….. Section 214(1) of the 1999 Constitution recognised one Police Force for…

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The Ease of Doing Business (EODB) index is a ranking system established by the World Bank Group. It ranks countries against each other based on how the regulatory environment is conducive to business operations and stronger protections of property rights. It is a yearly ranking that assesses the business environment in 190 countries using various indicators including paying of taxes, starting a business, protecting minority investors and trading across borders. Economies with a high rank, that is, between 1 and 20 have simpler and more friendly regulations for business. Nigeria is currently ranked 131 among 190 economies according to the…

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Origin Of The Company Secretary A secretary occupies a very important position in all administrative spheres. They are literally referred to as “keepers of Secrets” and have been found to be indispensable throughout history. Before the Europeans came to Nigeria, many kingdoms and Empires had administrative functions and duties which were performed by officers who did not necessarily bear the title of secretary. The influence of the Europeans and their introduction of English type corporate business concept and the Joint Stock Company marked the origin of the company secretary in the country. The origin of the company secretary in Nigeria…

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The concept of citizenship commenced with the development of man’s idea about society, state and politics. It is derived from the concept of nationality in International Law. Citizenship is a domestic affair of every country. Therefore, each country has the prerogative to do the following: define who are its nationals; impose its membership on people; claim and enjoy monopoly of coercive authority over all persons living within its jurisdiction; give protection to its citizens and in return exact obedience from them even when such citizens are in foreign countries. Citizenship attaches to the person carrying it; the rights and privileges…

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Judicial Separation is a matrimonial relief granted to parties in a marriage when they do not have the intention to dissolve their marriage. The essence is to relieve the petitioner of the duty of cohabitation with the respondent for matrimonial misconduct such as cruelty or adultery. Under the Matrimonial Causes Act (MCA), Judicial Separation can be granted on the same grounds as those for a grant of divorce. Another ground for Judicial Separation could be desertion for at least two (2) years or failure of the respondent to comply with the decree for restitution of conjugal rights. Prior to the…

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The dissolution of a Customary Law marriage is quite different from the dissolution of a marriage celebrated under the Act: that is, a marriage celebrated in a licensed place of worship or in a Registry. While the dissolution of marriage under the Customary Law can be done extra-judicially, dissolution of a marriage celebrated under the Act must be done in the High Court of any state in Nigeria. Customary Law marriage is easily dissolved because it lacks any formalities unlike the dissolution of a marriage celebrated under the Act which is far more cumbersome to dissolve because of so many…

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The Black’s Law Dictionary defines defamation as: “An intentional false communication, either published or publicly spoken, that injures another’s reputation or good name. Holding up of a person to ridicule, scorn or contempt in a respectable and considerable part of the community; may be criminal as well as civil. Includes both libel and slander”. In the case of N.E.P.A V Inameti (2000) FWLR (Pt 130) 1695 at 1721, the Court of Appeal, Calabar Division defined defamation thus: A defamatory statement is one which has a tendency to injure the reputation of a person to whom it refers which tends to…

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The New International Webster’s Comprehensive Dictionary defines Autonomy as the power or right of self-government. The Black’s Law Dictionary defines it as, political independence…, the right (and condition) of power of self-government. Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) makes provision for the existence of Local Government with its duties and responsibilities set out in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. It has been designed to be the third tier of government with a presumed independence or autonomy but this has been achieved only on paper. The unfortunate reality is that, Local Governments in Nigeria have become mere administrative…

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A child is legitimate at birth if the parents were lawfully married at the time of his conception or at the time of his birth. Therefore, a child is deemed legitimate if conceived during the marriage even if he is born after the dissolution of the marriage of his natural parents. A child, on the other hand, is considered illegitimate if, he is born to parents who are not married. Under the Customary Law, there is no connection between the concepts of Paternity, Marriage and Legitimacy. Thus, it is implied that a child may be legitimate even though the natural…

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Adoption is a process by which the legal relationship between a child and his natural/biological parents is severed and another relationship is established between the child and a third party or parties. In other words, it is a process of establishing a new union from a defunct, collapsed or even ascertainable parenthood between a child and another person or persons other than his natural/biological parents. We will take a review of Adoption under the Statute and under the Customary Law. Adoption under the Statute The first known statutory provision for adoption in Nigeria was a Private Member’s Bill which was…

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ABSTRACT This work intends to review the patents system in Nigeria as one of the Intellectual Property (IP) Rights, which protects the property rights of persons who engage in creative activities that bring about innovations in the technological world. The patents system in both the developed and developing countries play an important role of stimulating inventions of industrial utility. Despite the long existence of the Patents Law in Nigeria, the dearth of Nigerian case law and the paucity of materials on the subject militate against a proper understanding of the patents system in Nigeria. The main reason for such a…

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There are two important vehicles used in bequeathing estates namely, a Trust and a Will.  In Nigeria, it is common to use Wills for this purpose. Trust even though a part of our legal system has remained at its infancy. The reason is not because of its inadequacy in catering for the asset management and distribution needs of corporate entities and individuals but largely because of ignorance and lack of information on the subject. A will and a Trust can co-exist for the purpose of assets management and distribution.  However, it is my humble opinion that a Trust is the…

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