Justice Chambers

Elements of a Valid Contract Under Nigerian Law If you’re an adult, regardless of whether you've engaged in a business transaction, you’ve probably heard the word ‘contract’ before. So what is the meaning of this word that appears highly prevalent in the commercial space? We have an answer for you.  A contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties. But let’s not stop there. Understanding its elements is crucial for ensuring a contract's validity under Nigerian law. The Nigerian legal system draws heavily from common law principles, but statutory provisions also play a significant role in shaping the framework for valid contracts. Therefore, before a contract can be valid, these following elements must be present: Offer and Acceptance : The basis of any contract lies in the existence of a valid offer and an equally valid acceptance. An offer is a clear expression of willingness to be bound by specific terms, and acceptance must be unambiguous and...

BURDEN OF PROOF  The term burden of proof is a trite tool used in legal proceedings to determines the viability of a claim. In ordinary parlance, burden means task or duty while proof on the other hand means establishment of fact by evidence. In relation to law, it is a legal requirement to offer evidence in prove of a party assertion or counter assertion. According to the Black law dictionary , burden of proof means necessity or duty of affirmatively proving a fact or facts in dispute on an issue raised between the parties in a cause. This concept burden of proof has further been defined in a judicial term which was codified into two forms in the case of Muriana Elemo v. Fasanic . First, it is defined as General burden which is the burden or obligation to establish a case. It lies on the party to convince the court either by preponderance of evidence or proof beyond reasonable doubt. This burden is fixed on the same party throughout the entire trial. Second meaning is ...

Writ of Summons The document known as the Writ of Summons is an essential document that precedes the commencement of civil proceedings between two parties in a court of law. To illustrate this, a scenario will be painted. If Party A has a grievance against Party B that he wants to sue Party B for, Party A cannot just drag Party B to court without the intervention of the court. Following due process, Party A will apply to the court to prepare a document known as a Writ of Summons that will then be sent to Party B, informing him of his needed presence in court because of the claims made against him by Party A. If Party B agrees to show up in court within the period of time stipulated in the writ, he would then become the defendant in the law suit between him and Party A, who would then become the plaintiff or the claimant. However, if Party B refuses to show up in court, the court may go ahead to give a judgement based on the claims of the plaintiff, who would be the only Par...

Nigeria's 2023 Budget: A Presidential Yacht? source “ What was named as presidential yacht in the budget is an operational Naval boat with specialised security gadgets suitable for high profile operational inspection and not for the use of the President.”  These were the words of the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga , in response to the controversy generated by the proposal of the Nigerian presidency to acquire a ‘presidential yacht’ that costs approximately 5 billion naira.  The ‘ presidential yacht ’ found in the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Bill presented to the National Assembly incited an outrage amongst Nigerians and invited criticisms for the primary reason that the plan to acquire said yacht is coming at a time of great and unbearable economic distress for many Nigerians as the cost of living has skyrocketed and the naira continues to depreciate sharply. In response to the outrage, the House of Representatives,...

The concept of Adjournment is one of the common procedural instruments which runs through the fabric of every judicial system. It is a familiar term used in legal proceedings to shift the hearing to a future date in order to facilitate justice. According to Blacks law Dictionary, Adjournment “A putting off or postponing of business or of a session until another time or place; the act of a court, legislative body, public meeting, or officer, by which the session or assembly is dissolved, either temporarily or finally, and the business in hand dismissed from consideration, either definitely or for an interval.” The term Adjournment was further given judicial interpretation by the court in the case of AIB LTD v. UBA PLC (2014) LPELR-CA/K/197/2005 where to adjourn was described to mean “to postpone or stop a trial for a period of time, or defer or postpone a matter to some future time, either specified or not specified.  Thus, adjournment is of duo forms; either be tempo...

                                                       As the business world continues to expand in global markets, trading of shares, bonds derivatives and whatnot continues to increase. Here comes a trading that has received considerable interest in recent years called insider trading. The purpose of this work is to elucidate on what Insider trading encompasses. According to Black's law dictionary , insider trading is defined as the use of material non-public information in trading the shares of a company by a corporate insider or other person who owes a fiduciary duty to the company. It is a criminal offense which occurs when an individual makes a ( securities trade) due to material non-public information about a company. Insider trading is one of the very few crime that one can commit accidentally in the capital markets. For example,...