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A Federal High Court in Abuja has cleared former President Goodluck Jonathan to contest the 2027 presidential election, dismissing a suit that sought to disqualify him. In a judgment delivered on Tuesday, Justice Peter Lifu ruled that the case was an abuse of the court process, effectively removing a legal hurdle that has shadowed speculation about Jonathan’s political future. The suit was brought by a lawyer, Johnmary Jideobi, who was subsequently fined N20 million by the court for filing the frivolous case, as reported by punchng.com. Former President Goodluck Jonathan's eligibility for the 2027 election has been affirmed by a Federal...
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Continue readingWhen a Nigerian landowner dies, the question of who gets the land is rarely simple. The answer depends on at least four things: whether the deceased made a will, what type of marriage he contracted, which customary law governed his personal affairs, and where exactly the land is situated. Get any one of those factors wrong and the entire analysis changes. This is why succession to land rights in Nigeria produces more litigation than almost any other area of property law. This note walks through the rules clearly, covering intestate succession under customary law across the major ethnic groups, testate succession...
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It has become a deeply embedded practice in Nigeria for couples who intend to contract a statutory marriage to first marry under customary law before proceeding to the registry or church. This phenomenon — commonly referred to as double deck marriage — is not a legal term found in any statute. It is a concept developed in Nigerian family law scholarship, most notably by Onokah, to describe the situation where the same couple conducts a marriage in accordance with their indigenous customary law and subsequently goes further to conduct a separate marriage under the received English law, resulting in a...
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People act based on what they think is real. Sometimes they're wrong. A hunter shoots at a bush thinking it's an animal, but hits a person. Someone takes money thinking it's theirs. The act was deliberate, but based on a wrong belief. Nigerian law handles these errors through Mistake of Fact (Section 25) and Bona Fide Claim of Right (Section 23). Mistake of Fact (Section 25) Section 25 provides the defense: "A person who does or omits to do an act under an honest and reasonable, but mistaken belief...
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Understanding the Radical Defence That Can Destroy the Prosecution's Case Completely Have you ever watched a crime thriller where someone accused of murder proves they were at a restaurant across town when the crime happened? That's alibi in action. But in real Nigerian courtrooms, claiming "I wasn't there" isn't as simple as it sounds. The law demands precision, corroboration, and timely disclosure. Get it right, and you walk free. Get it wrong, and your alibi "collapses like a pack of cards." This guide explains everything you need to know about the defence of alibi under Nigerian criminal law—what it is, how it...
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