The Federal Government and the Nigerian Bar Association gathered all the players in the Justice Sector for a reform summit. Beyond that they needed to have brought those who will say what they do not want to hear. How many of these names were there ? Aikpokpo Martins, Kunle Edun, Bayo Akinlade, Inebehe Effiong, Ike Augustine, Maxwell Uzoka, Maxwell Opara, my humble self -Douglas Ogbankwa,etc. A reform summit should have reformists present, not just those who are the cause of the problem you want to reform. Truth be told, we are not ready for reform. The simple things we can do, we do not do ..read more

One of the principal organs of the United Nations is the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which was created at the San Francisco Conference after the Second World War. At the first session of the UN General Assembly and Security Council in February 1946, the first members of the ICJ were elected to their positions, and they began receiving cases a year later. Currently, the Court consists of 15 judges elected by the General Assembly and the Security Council in simultaneous, separate elections. A judge must be elected by an absolute majority. Judges serve nine-year terms, and five judges ..read more

By Sylvester Udemezue Where a lawyer (or litigant) has good grounds for complaints against a judicial officer, in my opinion, below are the only options available in law and legal ethics, depending on the circumstances: Counsel can respectfully and politely call the court’s attention to a minor default or slip; an example is a default in following proper procedure. I was in Court in Lagos in 2022, when a judge tried to rebuke/punish a man for some perceived misbehaviour in court in respect of the proceedings, (perhaps inadvertently) without first affording the affected person an opportunity ..read more

CASE TITLE: IYANAM v. UBA PLC & ANOR (2024) LPELR-61550 (CA) JUDGMENT DATE: 5TH JANUARY, 2024 JUSTICES: HAMMA AKAWU BARKA, JCA BALKISU BELLO ALIYU, JCA PETER CHUDI OBIORAH, JCA DIVISION: CALABAR PRACTICE AREA: EVIDENCE FACTS: This is an appeal against a judgment delivered by the High Court of Akwa Ibom State in a defamation suit. The appellant, who maintains a banker-customer relationship with the 1st respondent, sued over a publication listing him as a loan defaulter. He sought damages and an apology. The respondents raised a defence of justification and counter-claimed for the repayment ..read more

CASE TITLE: FIDELITY BANK PLC v. PETER (2024) LPELR-61551(CA) JUDGMENT DATE: 5TH JANUARY, 2024 JUSTICES: HAMMA AKAWU BARKA, JCA BALKISU BELLO ALIYU, JCA PETER CHUDI OBIORAH, JCA DIVISION: CALABAR PRACTICE AREA: BANKING LAW FACTS: This is an appeal against the judgment of the High Court of Akwa Ibom State in Suit No. HU/330/2009 coram judice, Hon. Justice G. J. Abraham, delivered on March 21, 2013. The respondent took action against the appellant and two other persons in respect of the banking transactions the respondent directly had with the second defendant in the action (Mr. Inyang Emmah ..read more

By Olumide Babalola Introduction Strategic litigation has been defined as “using legal means aiming to ‘bring about broad societal changes beyond the scope of the individual case at hand” (ECCHR) – this simple definition clearly resonates with the subject of this article. When in 2015, the Federal Government enacted the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc) Act (the Act), the legislation immediately became a ready-made tool of oppression used by politicians against investigative journalists and other voices of dissent. Consequently, in 2016, three civil societies approached me to challeng ..read more

Last week, I shared the introductory part of my keynote address delivered at the 2023 Annual Summit of the Legal Services Department of the Niger-Delta Development Commission, NDDC. Apart from the formal presentations, I observed the fluidity of the engagements and interactions between the legal officers and their director, which in turn explained the robust contributions that characterized the discussions. This to me highlights the need for independence of ideas and thoughts within the public sector space more so that the law is settled that public officers do not serve at the pleasure of th ..read more

By: Hameed Ajibola Jimoh, Esq. There have been in public circulation various opinions with regard to the financial crimes allegations made against Bobrisky and Cuban Chief Priest just of recently. Some opinions opined that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission—hereinafter referred to as the EFCC—lacks the powers to investigate and prosecute such crimes and allegations. I wish to, with due respect, defer from these opinions with the clear provisions of the law. To that extent, it is my humble submission that the EFCC indeed has the statutory powers to investigate and prosecute such crim ..read more

By Afe Babalola The death penalty is as old as mankind itself. For thousands of years, it has been applied, as confirmed by the major religious texts, as the ultimate penalty or punishment for crimes as varied as adultery, stealing, murder and treason. Historically and politically, the death penalty and its implementation have helped to shape many events of great significance to the development of mankind. The story of the French Revolution cannot be told without mentioning Guillotine, which became synonymous with the reign of terror introduced by the revolutionaries. In the last century, the ..read more

(First published in 2020) SQS Publishing Limited is set to launch the maiden edition of its Electricity Law Report, the first-ever Electricity Law Reports. The Reports contains an exact reproduction of the judgments of various courts and panels, detailed analysis of facts, issues, subject matter, and findings on all known judgments (reported and unreported), as well as landmark decisions of the industry regulator, Nigerian Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC), relating to the electricity sector from 1900 to date. The Electricity Law Reports is a biannual publication available in digital a ..read more