AGENCY
AGENCY
Where an agent enters into a contract on behalf of a disclosed principal, the law generally treats the principal as a party to the contract. The principal assumes all rights and obligations arising from the transaction, and the agent is merely a conduit through which the principal’s intentions are executed.…
AGGRIEVED PERSON
AGGRIEVED PERSON
CHIEF (HON.) NKWO NNABUCHI & ORS V. I.G.P. & ORS (2025) 8 NWLR (PT. 1993) 495 ON WHO IS AN AGGRIEVED PERSON An aggrieved person is a party who has suffered legal grievances or a party against whom a decision has been pronounced that has wrongfully deprived him of something…
APPEAL
APPEAL
The relevant consideration in the determination of the competence or validity of a ground of appeal is whether it discloses a triable, arguable or reasonable complaint against the judgment appealed against. So that even if it is improperly or poorly or inelegantly couched, phrased or framed, if it discloses a…
ARBITRATION
ARBITRATION
The essence of an arbitration clause in an agreement is that the parties agree that in the event of a dispute arising between them as regards any aspect of their contract, the dispute shall be settled by a tribunal of their choice. The advantages of this course of action are…
AVIATION LAW
AVIATION LAW
MR. FEMI ANIBABA V. DANA AIRLINES LIMITED & ANOR (2025) 9 NWLR (Pt. 1994). On Determination of exchange rate to be used for conversion of award of damages in foreign currency into naira The importance of determining the exchange rate to be adopted in converting an award of damages in…
BANKING LAW
BANKING LAW
Generally, the death of a customer of a bank brings to an end the banker-customer relationship contract between that customer and the bank. However, the banker customer relationship being primarily that of a debtor -creditor, an existing obligation to pay money under the contract and entitlement to be paid money…
BURDEN OF PROOF
BURDEN OF PROOF
A Plaintiff has the burden to prove the reliefs sought in the statement of claim or originating summons to obtain judgment. The burden does not shift. This is because he is the party who claims the reliefs in the statement of claim and so the onus probandi rests on him.…
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
C.B.N. V. OCHIFE (2025) 12 NWLR (PT. 2000) 1 ON MEANING OF “PUBLIC SERVICE OF THE FEDERATION” AND WHETHER CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA AND OR ITS STAFF ARE MEMBERS THEREOF By virtue of section 318(1) of the 1999 Constitution, “public service of the Federation” means the service of the Federation…
CITIZENSHIP
CITIZENSHIP
The provisions of section 182(1)(a) of the 1999 Constitution (as altered) which are subject to the provisions of section 28, as they are, do not apply and are not applicable to a person who is a citizen of Nigeria by birth, even if or when he voluntarily acquires and retains…
CIVIL PROCEDURE
CIVIL PROCEDURE
“The appellants/applicants resorted to crafting reasons for their failure to obtain prior directive of this court to exceed the necessary number of pages and strayed into unimpressive inadvertence of counsel, which counsel generally flaunt to secure respite for their clients. In their affidavit in support, the learned counsel for the…
COMPANY LAW
COMPANY LAW
By section 36(6) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990, the certificate of incorporation shall be prima facie evidence that all the requirements of the Act in respect of registration and of matters precedent and incidental to it have been complied with and that the company is one authorized…
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW
In accordance with sections 2 and 3 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Nigeria practices federalism, a system of governance in which power is constitutionally divided between a central Federal government, the various State governments and their various local government authorities. The structure allows each level of government to exercise…
CONTRACT
CONTRACT
A contract is a legally binding agreement between at least two parties. It defines and governs the rights and duties of the parties to such agreement. It starts with an offer followed by an acceptance. Many contracts are entered into by parties to fulfill certain obligations or render certain services.…
CUSTOMARY LAW
CUSTOMARY LAW
NWIZI V. OKE (2025) 12 NWLR (PT. 2000) 589 ON PRESUMPTION OF KNOWLEDGE BY CUSTOMARY COURTS OF CUSTOMS PREVAILING WITHIN THEIR JURISDICTION Generally, customary courts are constituted with the presumption that their members possess inherent knowledge of the customs prevailing within their jurisdiction, a presumption grounded in their qualifications as…
DECLARATORY RELIEF
DECLARATORY RELIEF
A claim for a declaratory relief is a discretionary remedy which is never granted as a matter of course, or on admission of the adverse party or in default of pleadings by the defendant. The claimant must lead evidence to establish his entitlement to the declaration he seeks and may…
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRACY
C.B.N. V. OCHIFE (2025) 12 NWLR (PT. 2000) 1 ON NATURE OF PRESIDENTIAL SYSTEM OF DEMOCRACY IN NIGERIA The presidential system of democracy in existence in Nigeria is defined by the separation of the executive branch headed by the President, who unilaterally chooses his team outside the legislature. The head…
DUTY ON COURT
DUTY ON COURT
C.B.N. V. OCHIFE (2025) 12 NWLR (PT. 2000) 1 ON EFFECT AND DUTY ON COURT WHERE JUDGMENT CREDITOR FAILS TO CONTROVERT GARNISHEE’S AFFIDAVIT DENYING GENERAL ASSERTION OF HOLDING JUDGMENT DEBTOR’S FUNDS Where a garnishee order nisi is granted on the basis of a general statement of a judgment creditor that…
ELECTION PETITIONS
ELECTION PETITIONS
Once a person satisfies the criteria prescribed in section 177 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), such person becomes automatically qualified for election to the office of Governor. Any criterion not provided for in section 177 or any factor not listed under section 182 of the 1999 Constitution is not…
EMPLOYMENT
EMPLOYMENT
Employments with statutory flavour enjoy the protection of the statute creating them as enacted by the National Assembly. Such an employment can only be terminated by the very statute that created it. (P. 150, paras. B-D).
EVIDENCE
EVIDENCE
The court has a duty to consider and evaluate all material facts and issues placed before it during trial. Therefore, there is need for every court or tribunal to make findings and pronounce on material and fundamental issues canvassed before it by the parties as failure to do so may…
FAIR HEARING
FAIR HEARING
The principle of fair hearing enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution demands that every party to a cause or matter has the right to be heard before a decision is given affecting him or his interest. He is not only entitled to a hearing; he is entitled to a fair hearing.…
FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS
FUNDAMENTAL HUMAN RIGHTS
It is not correct law that two or more persons cannot jointly file one application for the enforcement of their respective fundamental rights alleged to have been breached or violated by a common act of one or more respondents. It is true that section 46 of the Constitution of the…
GARNISHEE PROCEEDINGS
GARNISHEE PROCEEDINGS
C.B.N. V. OCHIFE (2025) 12 NWLR (PT. 2000) 1 ON NATURE OF GARNISHEE PROCEEDINGS AND LAW APPLICABLE THERETO Garnishee proceedings are a process of enforcing a money judgment by the seizure or attachment of debts due and accruing to the judgment debtor, which forms part of his property in the…
INHERENT POWERS OF THE COURT
INHERENT POWERS OF THE COURT
The court is imbued with the powers to consider and utilise a document in its record for the determination of a contentious issue even though the document was not tendered and admitted as an exhibit at the trial. Nothing forbids a court from looking into its records to resolve an…
INTERPRETATION
INTERPRETATION
C.B.N. V. OCHIFE (2025) 12 NWLR (PT. 2000) 1 ON DEFINITION OF “PERSON” Section 18 of the Interpretation Act defines “person” as including any body of persons, corporate or unincorporate.(P. 112, paras. A–B)
INTERPRETATION OF STATUTES
INTERPRETATION OF STATUTES
ON WHETHER “ALL AUTHORITIES AND PERSONS” IN SECTION 287 OF THE 1999 CONSTITUTION INCLUDES ATTORNEY-GENERAL OF THE FEDERATION Section 287 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as altered) states that the decisions of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the Federal High Court, the National…
ISLAMIC LAW
ISLAMIC LAW
MUHAMMAD V. UMARU (2025) 12 NWLR (PT. 2000) 301 ON PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE AT TRIAL AND APPELLATE COURTS UNDER ISLAMIC LAW Within the noble tradition of Islamic law, both the trial and appellate courts are not confined by the limitations of the grounds or issues presented by the parties. In…
ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION
ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION
C.B.N. V. OCHIFE (2025) 12 NWLR (PT. 2000) 1 ON NEED FOR ISSUES FOR DETERMINATION TO BE FORMULATED FROM GROUNDS OF APPEAL AGAINST RATIO DECIDENDI OF LOWER COURT’S DECISION An issue for determination in an appeal and the arguments canvassed under it must be predicated upon and be directed at…
JURISDICTION
JURISDICTION
Where the issue of jurisdiction of a court is raised and questioned, especially in a preliminary objection or otherwise, utmost and primal attention must be accorded it before other matters or the substance thereof can be considered. Where the jurisdiction of a court is challenged, the court must first and…
LAND LAW
LAND LAW
Where there is an agreement for the sale of land for which the purchaser has paid the purchase price in full or in part, and has taken either physical or constructive possession, the purchaser acquires a valid interest, which supersedes any subsequent transaction in respect thereof. (Pp. 33-34, paras. H-B).
LEGAL PRACTITIONER
LEGAL PRACTITIONER
The provisions of sections 2(1) and 24 of the Legal Practitioners Act, Cap. 207, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 1990 are in pari materia with sections 2(1) and 24 of the Legal Practitioners Act Cap. L 11, Laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004. Section 2(1) of the Act…
LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION
LETTER OF ADMINISTRATION
The powers conferrable on an administrator by a letter of administration are wide. It includes the power to hold the real estate as a trustee and also to bear the liabilities of the estate. This is notwithstanding that the properties of the deceased to be administered by an administrator or…
LETTERS OF CREDIT
LETTERS OF CREDIT
In international trade, “letter of credit” also known as “documentary credit” is the most commonly accepted instrument of settling international trade payments. A letter of credit is an arrangement whereby a bank acting at the request of a customer (importer/buyer) undertakes to pay for the goods/services to a third party…
LIABILITY
LIABILITY
The concept of vicarious liability is the imposition of liability on a person for actionable conduct of another, based solely on a relationship between the two persons. It runs against the well-known rule of responsibility in tort that requires everyone to bear consequences of his own action. It is an…
LIMITATION OF ACTION
LIMITATION OF ACTION
Where a statute of limitation prescribes a period within which an action should be commenced, legal proceedings cannot be properly or validly instituted after the expiration of the prescribed period. Therefore, a cause of action is statue barred if legal proceedings cannot be commenced in respect of same because the…
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
A State Government or the Governor of a State has no power to constitute, appoint or determine a local government that S. 7(1) of the 1999 Constitution has prescribed can only be by Local Government Councils democratically elected by persons in a local government area.
LOCUS STANDI
LOCUS STANDI
Locus standi denotes the legal capacity to institute or commence an action in a competent court of law or tribunal. The term entails the legal capacity of instituting or commencing an action in a competent court of law or tribunal without any inhibition, obstruction, or hindrance from any person or…
MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE
MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE
Miscarriage of justice simply means justice miscarried, failure of justice or failure of a court to do justice. It means a departure from the rules which permeates a judicial procedure as to make that which happened not, in the proper sense of the word, a judicial procedure at all. It…
MONTREAL CONVENTION
MONTREAL CONVENTION
MR. FEMI ANIBABA V. DANA AIRLINES LIMITED & ANOR (2025) 9 NWLR (Pt. 1994). On Purpose of Montreal Convention, 1999 The Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air,1999 (the Montreal Convention) establishes a comprehensive framework governing the rights and liabilities of carriers, passengers, and third…
NEGLIGENCE
NEGLIGENCE
Negligence is said to be omission or failure to do something which a reasonable man, under similar circumstances, would do or doing of something which a reasonable and prudent man would not do. Put differently, negligence is the omission to do something which a reasonable man, guided upon those considerations…
NOVATON
NOVATON
The term “novation” denotes an agreement entered into by two or more contracting parties, thereby consenting to allow for the substitution of a new party for an existing one. The original contracting party being replaced by the new party is thereby excused. By its very nature, a novation is a…
OBITER DICTUM
OBITER DICTUM
CHIEF (HON.) NKWO NNABUCHI & ORS V. I.G.P. & ORS (2025) 8 NWLR (PT. 1993) 495 ON MEANING OF OBITER DICTUM An obiter is a Judge’s passing remarks which have nothing to do with the live issues for determination in the matter. It is the statement of the Judge by…
ORIGINATING PROCESS
ORIGINATING PROCESS
An amendment duly made takes effect from the date of the original document sought to be amended; and this applies to every successive further amendment of whichever nature and at whatever stage it is made.
ORIGINATING SUMMONS
ORIGINATING SUMMONS
Where a suit is commenced by originating summons, the content of the affidavit in support of the summons, rather than pleadings, forms the basis of the court’s determination whether the defence of limitation of action is viable. In this case, all that the respondents’ supporting affidavit needed to provide in…
PLEADINGS
PLEADINGS
A claimant for specific performance of a contract must set forth facts to show that the breach of the contract cannot be adequately compensated for in damages. This is so because specific performance would not be decreed if the claimant would be adequately compensated by the common law remedy of…
POLICE
POLICE
C.B.N. V. OCHIFE (2025) 12 NWLR (PT. 2000) 1 ON WHETHER NIGERIA POLICE FORCE IS A PROFIT-ORIENTED PUBLIC AGENCY The Nigeria Police does not generate funds as it is not a profit-oriented public agency but one which renders a social service in the protection of the public and the administration…
POLITICAL PARTY
POLITICAL PARTY
A party is like a club. It has its own rules, regulation, guidelines, and constitution. Members join the party on their own free will. By joining, they freely give their consent to be bound by the rules, regulation, guidelines and constitution of the party. The rules of the party must…
PRE-ELECTION
PRE-ELECTION
By a combination of section 285(14)(a) of the1999 Constitution (as amended) and section 84 of the Electoral Act, pre-election matters such as a complaint from an aspirant at a political party’s primary election about the conduct of the primary election is justiciable. But where an issue between members of a…
PRELIMINARY OBJECTION
PRELIMINARY OBJECTION
A preliminary objection, if upheld, would render further proceedings before the court impossible or unnecessary. Generally, the Rules of the Supreme Court allow a respondent to rely on a preliminary objection to the hearing of an appeal.
PUBLIC OFFICER
PUBLIC OFFICER
C.B.N. V. OCHIFE (2025) 12 NWLR (PT. 2000) 1 ON MEANING OF “PUBLIC OFFICER” The term “public officer” includes a public department. Therefore, an artificial person, a public office, or a public body is a public officer. (P. 112, paras. A-B) Section 18(1) of the Interpretation Act defines the term…
RATIO DECENDI
RATIO DECENDI
Ratio decidendi represents the reasoning or principle or ground upon which a case is decided. It means what was decided. It is not something which a party imagines or thinks was decided. The ratio decidendi of a case lays down the principle of law that has the binding force of…
RECEIVERSHIP
RECEIVERSHIP
RECEIVERSHIP HERITAGE BANK LTD .v. MEENS NIGERIA LTD. (2025) 9 NWLR (Pt. 1994) 321 (SC) ON DUTY ON RECEIVER OF BUSINESS LETTER TO REPLY SAME WHERE IT CONTAINS ASSERTION RECEIVER DISAGREES WITH, AND EFFECT OF FAILURE TO DO SO In business and mercantile transactions, if in the ordinary course of…
RECUSAL OF A JUDGE
RECUSAL OF A JUDGE
Recusal, with respect to judicial proceedings is the stepping aside or disqualification of a judicial officer from a case on the ground of personal interest in the matter, bias, prejudice, or conflict of interest, or if he has conducted himself in such a way that he could be regarded as…
SEPARATION OF POWERS
SEPARATION OF POWERS
C.B.N. V. OCHIFE (2025) 12 NWLR (PT. 2000) 1 ON PURPOSE OF SEPARATION OF POWERS OF GOVERNMENT UNDER 1999 CONSTITUTION Separation of powers is a constitutional principle introduced to ensure that the three major institutions of the State—namely the legislative, executive, and the judiciary—are not concentrated in one single body,…
SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE
SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE
Specific performance is a court-ordered remedy that requires precise fulfillment of a legal or contractual obligation when monetary damages are inappropriate or inadequate. Specific performance is an equitable remedy that lies within the court’s discretion to award whenever the common law remedy is insufficient either because the damages could be…
STARE DECISIS
STARE DECISIS
By the doctrine of stare decisis, every inferior court is bound by the decision of a superior court of record and must apply it, however sure it may be that it was wrongly decided. The place of precedent, the doctrine of stare decisis, in adjudication is an eminent one.
TENANCY
TENANCY
A customary tenancy involves the transfer of an interest in land from the customary landlord or overlord to the customary tenant, and which interest entitles the customary tenant to exclusive possession of the land and, subject to good behaviour, he holds in perpetuity. (Pp. 422-423, paras. H-B).
TORT
TORT
Negligence is said to be omission or failure to do something which a reasonable man, under similar circumstances, would do or doing of something which a reasonable and prudent man would not do. Put differently, negligence is the omission to do something which a reasonable man, guided upon those considerations…
UNDEFENDED LIST
UNDEFENDED LIST
Where a plaintiff brings a claim for a liquidated money demand, the rules of court allow it to be brought under a peculiar procedure called the undefended list procedure. The purpose of the procedure is to enable a plaintiff obtain summary judgment without going into a lengthy trial if he…
WRIT OF SUMMONS
WRIT OF SUMMONS
Section 97 of the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act states that every writ of summons for service under Part VII of the Act out of the State or the Capital Territory in which it was issued shall, in addition to any other endorsement or notice required by law of such…