Legal Dilemmas

By Ehiwe O. Sam Esq. The Lagos State House of Assembly on January 28, 2018 passed the Lagos State Land Use Charge Bill into law. This law which was recently assented to by the state Governor repeals and replaces the Land Use Charge Law, 2001. The new law introduces a number of changes to swathe the loopholes that were in the former law. The major and most pronounced change in the law is that the Land Use Charge Formula (LUC) now ensures that assessments are based on the market and commercial value of the property and not the rental value. Also, unlike what obtained under the old law where cemeteries, whether public or private were exempted, under the new law; only public cemeteries are exempted. The implication is that owners of private cemeteries would be required to pay the charge. Public and private libraries are exempted under the new law, however for the private libraries, the owners must show that the libraries are not for profit-making, and this must be certif...

By Ayuk Kure It will be remembered that in July 2017, Honourable Tony Chinedu Nwulu of the House of Representatives and Senator Abdul-Aziz Murtala Nyako of the Senate sponsored a bill in their respective legislative chambers for an Act to amend the provisions of sections 65, 106, 131 and 177 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended. The bill which is otherwise known as the ‘Not Too Young To Run’ bill was immediately passed by the National Assembly in the same month and in compliance with Section 9(2) of the 1999 Constitution, as amended was forwarded to the States’ Houses of Assembly for approval before the Presidential assent. The bill seeks to reduce the age requirement for the office of the President from 40 to 30 years; Governor and Senate from 35 to 30 years and the House of Representatives and House of Assembly from 30 to 25 years.  To ensure the speedy passage of the bill by at least two-third majority of the States’ Houses o...

By  Okpoko Orobosa and Ifeanyi Ogbodo   Introduction The relationship between indigenous/traditional knowledge and intellectual property law is a complicated contemporary legal problem. Although intellectual property was fashioned during the age of industrialisation of the West and was subsequently developed in line with the needs of societies that are technologically advanced, the need for indigenous traditional knowledge systems protection has become heightened leading to demands for its protection as well as the recognition of its importance in cultural identities. Its importance has also been linked to such issues as peoples’ health, food security and affordable treatment. Questions around indigenous knowledge protection present issues unlike any other that intellectual property law has had to consider. Indigenous peoples’ concerns include legal questions involving copyright, patents, trademarks, designs and/or confidential information. They also raise iss...

By Ayuk Kure It is quite well established that the responsibility of building any nation is not one any individual or government can effectively or successfully shoulder single-handedly . There must be a concert of efforts on the part of the key stakeholders and key decision makers before any sustainable development can be achieved. At the just concluded National Security Summit organized by the National Assembly, the Senate President, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki stated very lucidly: “To the Executive, I say this: you cannot do it alone. We need all hands on deck. No one person, organisation or arm of government can single-handedly tackle the hydra-headed monster of insecurity in Nigeria”. Although the distinguished Senator spoke in relation to the insecurity situation of the country, the statement holds true even for evolving the Nigeria of our dream –no person, organization or government can build Nigeria alone! A stroll down memory lane will buttress this point ev...

By Ehiwe O. Sam, Esq. On the 29th of June 2017, the vice president, then as Acting President formally launched the Voluntary Assets and income declaration scheme (VAIDS). The scheme which is designed to have a life span of 9 months officially commenced on the 1st of July 2017. The implication of this is that the scheme is scheduled to end on the 31st of March 2018. It is important that investors and taxpayers clearly understand what this scheme is all about and what is to happen at the expiration of the scheme on the 31st of March 2018. The VAIDS is a scheme designed to encourage voluntary disclosure of previously undisclosed assets and income with the intent that after such disclosure the taxpayer would make payments of all outstanding tax liabilities. The VAIDS is being implemented by the Federal Inland Revenue Service in collaboration with the state Inland Revenue services. This scheme is coming up at a time when the country’s tax to GDP ratio has dropped so low to a pa...

A Guest Post By Raymond Ijeomah During my Court Attachment at the Law School, I had a glimpse of the kind of torture innocent citizens go through in our prisons. This made me often sad and I wondered why this had to be so. Can't the authorities try them go or let them go if they can't find convincing evidence to nail them for the alleged offences? Just yesterday, at a Goal Delivery visit to one of the states prison under the auspices of the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria, I and a few senior colleagues sought the bail of prisoners who were overdue for bail or who should not be there in the first place. My experience on the visit was mind boggling and it has led me to further research on the state of the Nigerian prisons and the need for the Nigerian government to do something about the situation pronto. According to Okeke T. (2010) "All over the world, prisons are established to serve as rehabilitation and reformatory institutions with the ultimate goal...

By Nwokocha Chidinma Grace It was my first day at work and I was excited about it. I had just been recently called to the Nigerian Bar and I had looked forward to my first experience as a legal practitioner, where I could put to practice all that I had been taught in school. I had a flair for litigation and couldn’t imagine myself doing anything other than filing of processes and speaking long grammar before a judge. I could hardly wait for this day, and when it finally came, I welcomed it with open arms. Unlike most of my colleagues, I was lucky to have been posted to the firm of a learned Senior Advocate for my compulsory Youth Service year. I arrived at the office at 8:00am on the dot. I had woken up at 6 to beat the long traffic that characterizes Lagos roads. I thought I was late but by the time I got to the office, the whole place was still locked. I was beginning to get disappointed. It was not until 8:30 before the cleaners and messengers began dragging their feet ...