Step by Step Application Guide to Register for the Nigerian Law School

 This is a step by step guide

Biography of Olori Ivie Atuwatse III

Olori Ivie Atuwatse III is the Queen of Warri Kingdom, Transformational Woman Leader, Lawyer and wife of Ogiame Atuwatse III, current ruler of the Kingdom of Warri, and the 21st Olu of Warri

Difference Between Sale of Goods and Other Aspects of Law

The sale of goods is an aspect of business law that's guided by the sale of goods act.The Sale of Goods Act of 1893 is the regulation that protects consumers. The aim of this act is that it gives room for goods to be as described, of applicable requirements, and fit for purpose for their critical use. All goods that are offered need to be in shape in accordance with the pattern proven in brochures, shops or showrooms. Section 1 of the Sale of Goods Act states that a contract of sale of goods is a settlement whereby the vendor transfers or has the same opinion to transfer the property in goods to the consumer for a monetary consideration, known as the price.

It is not only expected to be of acceptable quality and ideal first-rate if the consumer observes any deformity or difficulty with the product before he/she makes a purchase. So, if the purchaser turned to examine the products but ignored the possibility of looking for any flaws and that they were of inadequate quality, the lack of value would have been obvious on a practical examination of the product(s), and the purchaser would no longer be able to contend that the goods were of inadequate quality.

The contract of sale in the sale of goods act  encompass a sale and an agreement to sell. A contract of sale becomes an actual sale when possession and ownership of goods are moved from the seller to the buyer. An agreement to sell is used when the transfer of property is scheduled to take place at a later date or is subject to various conditions that must be met.Sale of goods deals with the accession and transfer of property. The introductory law of transfer of property centres on ownership and possession. A person must first acquire, own, and, in most cases, retain a property before he can legitimately vend, convey, or transfer power or title to another person. This principle of law is captured in the Latinic sententia of nemo dat quod non habet, meaning that no person can give what he doesn’t have. This principle is grounded in the sense that a person who doesn't own property can not confer it on another except with the true proprietor’s authority under an agency relationship; where he's dealing under statutory powers; or in cases where the doctrine of estoppel prevents the true proprietor from denying the authority of the dealer to vend.
A contract for the sale of goods is said to be a contract and, by section 2 of the Sale of Goods Act, it is regulated originally by the general law of contract and by the law of acquistion and transfer of property. In general terms, for a contract to be valid, there must be the existence of an offer, acceptance, consideration, and intention to produce legal relations. There are other fundamental rudiments to a valid contract of sale. The price which is the consideration  for a contract of sale of goods  must be expressed in monetary terms. The Sale of Goods Act provides that the price in a contract of trade may be fixed by the contract, or in a manner agreed by the parties, or in the manner in which the parties deal with each other. Where the price isn't determined in accordance with the foregoing, the buyer must pay an objective price.
 
Another important aspect of the sale of goods contract is the sold goods, also known as the property. There ought to be some goods or pastime in goods to be transferred. By section 16 of the sale of goods act, when the contract for the sale of unascertained goods occurs, no property in the goods is transferred to the customer until and till the items are ascertained. Furthermore, when the contract for the sale of precise or ascertained goods takes place, the property in them is transferred to the customer at such time as the events stipulated in the contract intend for it to be transferred. Section 17 focuses on the motive of ascertaining the intention of the parties. Regard must be paid to the phrases of the contract, the behavior of the parties, and the occasions of the transaction. Similarly, the vendor has to be the proprietor of the property or a lawful or approved agent of the proprietor of the property.
The involvement of two parties,property transfer, goods, price, a sale and an agreement to sell,no formalities to be observed, time, consent,capacity,offer and acceptance are the characteristics of the contract of sale of goods . Despite this, the sale of goods is said to be distinct from other areas of law such as hire purchase, barter trade, bailment, and contract for work and materials. Those differences are explained below.
 
1. Sale of Goods and Exchange: According to Section 1(1) of the Sale of Goods Act, the consideration for a sale of goods contract is money, whereas a transaction in which goods are traded and exchanged for other goods is known as a contract of exchange or trade by barter. That is, money is not used as consideration just for goods only. Although money as a monetary consideration in the sale of goods is now accepted either in part or full in the contract.
2.Sale of Goods and Bailment: A bailment is a type of transaction whereby goods are delivered by one party called the bailor to another party called the bailee on certain terms and conditions which necessitate the bailee to keep the goods and redeliver them to the bailee in accordance with his instructions. That is, the bailor transfers temporary possession of his goods to the bailee. The parties in a bailment are called bailor and baile, while the parties in the sale of goods are called buyer and seller. However, in bailment, the bailor only transfers and parts with the possession of goods for a temporary period of time, while in the sale of goods, the seller transfers the ownership and possession of goods.
3 Sale of Goods and Hire Purchase: A sale of goods involves a complete commitment by the seller and buyer that there will be a transfer of ownership as regards the title of the goods from one to another after payment has been made; whereas a hire purchase agreement involves the owner giving the hirer possession of goods or property with only the option to buy after the hirer has successfully paid all the specified amount. sale of goods, namely seller and buyer, there are three parties in a hire purchase agreement, namely owner, hirer, and guarantor. The sale of goods is preserved by the Sale of Goods Act while the hire purchase agreement is maintained by the Hire Purchase Act. 

4. Contract for Work and Materials and Sale of Goods

A contract for the performance of work or services to which the supply of materials or some other goods is incidental. For instance, when a fashion designer gets an order to make a particular dress or when a sculptor has an order to create the sculptural piece of a person, The work is completed after the dress or sculptural piece is created. This is seen as a contract for the purchase of the skills, work, and materials of the craftsman. To determine whether it is a contract for the sale of goods or a contract for work or materials, the essential object of the agreement is the provision of goods or the exercise of skill and experience. To further differentiate these two concepts, a sale of goods occurs when a buyer works in a fashion designer store and selects one of the available outfits and payment is made. Whereas, the contract for work and materials is when a buyer works in a fashion store and requests that the fashion designer get a fabric to sew the design of the outfit he or she selects, and the fashion designer ensures the outfit is ready by using materials, skill, experience, labour, and time.



In conclusion, to fully understand the contract of sale of goods, make sure you read through the sale of goods act of 1893.

 

Should Christians Sue?

I have discovered that getting a law degree is one thing and reconciling my beliefs as a Christian with some matters relating to the law is another thing entirely. As I randomly think about this article topic, a few thoughts cross my mind which I hope to pen down in subsequent lines of this article.

First, according to Vocabulary.com, to sue someone means that "you're accusing them (in court) of doing something wrong or illegal and demanding that they pay for it." So now back to the question: should Christians sue? 

 

In our day-to-day lives as Christians, we often have relationships with Christians and also with unbelievers, either at work (colleagues, bosses, clients, customers), in our homes (as neighbors, landlords, or tenants), or even as schoolmates. As humans, we are bound to have quarrels, and sometimes these quarrels may escalate. When these issues escalate, should we, as Christians, go to court as a first resort? How should Christians go about this? And for entities that are not in our spiritual family, shouldn’t there be a difference in our dealings with them? Even if we are lenient with our fellow Christians, should it be extended to unbelievers?


To understand this and draw a conclusion, dealing with these entities will be divided into two categories for better comprehension:

• Issues that happen in the church among christians
• Issues that happen outside the church 
  

Should Christians sue fellow Believers for Issues that happen in the church? 

Our main point of reference will be 1 Corinthians 6:1–10, which is a message by Paul that talks extensively about suing among church members. 1 Corinthians 6:1-2 (MSG) says, And how dare you take each other to court! When you think you have been wronged, does it make any sense to go before a court that knows nothing of God’s ways instead of a family of Christians? 

After carefully reading the scripture, you would notice that Paul was against Christians taking church matters outside the church to be judged by people who aren't Christians. He said that instead of doing that, why not just settle it amicably in the church by looking for someone wise enough to help settle it? The scripture furthermore mentioned, “Is it possible that there isn’t one level-headed person among you who can make fair decisions when disagreements and disputes come up?" I don’t believe it. And here you are taking each other to court before people who don’t even believe in God! "How can they render justice if they don’t believe in the God of justice?” meaning that do not take the affairs of your fellow Christians outside the house of faith to be judged by unbelievers because it means the church as a body is not competent enough to solve its own issues, and for people who believe in the God of justice, that is a huge blow in the face.

Paul further stated that it is better to be cheated and wronged as a Christian by another Christian in the church than to take the case out of church. verses 7–8 (MSG): “These court cases are a black eye on your community. Wouldn’t it be far better to just take it, to let yourselves be wronged, and forget it? All you’re doing is providing fuel for more wrong, more injustice, bringing more hurt to the people of your own spiritual family.”  And there is a reason for this: it is unlikely for two Christians to wage a war in court and then come back to the church and continue as brothers and sisters. It is unlikely, which is why he said it is better to be wrong than to hurt another person in the spiritual family. For the sake of keeping the individual in the household of faith, it is better to be wronged and overlook it. 

Should Christians Sue Non-Believers?

Having tackled the issue of believers, now let’s take a look at what Christians should do when dealing with unbelievers. If settling this issue amicably out of court can be achieved, there is absolutely no need to take the non-believer to court. At the end of the day, we as Christians are to live as we have been told to by the Scriptures. The scriptures teach us to be willing to offer mercy rather than judgment to people who have offended us. 

Flowing from the above, there are some cases where you may be forced, as believers, to use the law to defend yourself against government bodies or a business, whoever it may be, just like Paul did when he was wrongly accused of a crime he didn’t commit. In Acts 21–22, there is an extensive explanation of Paul’s arrest and torture by the Romans. He was beaten and treated badly for a long period of time, and when the Captain noticed the anger of the people, he had no option but to call Paul into the barracks to get to the bottom of things. As he was being prepped to be interrogated under torture, he had to use the law and his citizenship to defend himself. This can be seen in Acts 22:25. Paul asks, “Is this legal—torturing a Roman citizen without a fair trial?” This resulted in his release.

Conclusion

Having looked at these two scenarios clearly, as Christians, according to the scripture, there is a pattern to follow when dealing with believers. It says in Matthew 18:15–17 “If a fellow believer hurts you, go and tell him—work it out between the two of you. If he listens, you’ve made a friend. If he won’t listen, take one or two others along so that the presence of witnesses will keep things honest, and try again. If he still won’t listen, tell the church.  If he won’t listen to the church, you’ll have to start over from scratch, confront him with the need for repentance, and offer again God’s forgiving love.”  

Lastly, we know there are some exceptional cases that may leave one confused, and as a result, one is left with conflicting thought processes. We should note that as Christians, before making any decision, it is good to seek the face of God to ask for wisdom, according to James 1:5, and we must also keep in mind that we should always lean towards mercy because that’s what God wants us to do. 

A Complete Guide on Dress Code in the Nigerian Law School

The Nigerian Law School is an institution of repute that awards the BL degree which formally authorizes an individual to practise law in the Federal Republic of Nigeria. After your graduation from any faculty, school or college of law in the university, it is necessary that you attend a one year programme at the Nigerian Law School and be called to the bar in order to practise professionally. With six current campuses and its headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, students of the Nigerian law school have to adapt to certain dress codes amongst other rules and regulations in the course of their studies.

There are many rules and regulations in every properly operating institution and the Nigerian law school is one. Since graduates of the Nigerian law school will be called into the bar in the long run, it is necessary that they begin to conduct themselves in a way that speaks well of the legal profession. As such, the rules and regulations at the Nigerian law school does not only talk about dressing in an educational sector but also talks about about how students should behave, conduct himself or herself,  and relate with other students among others. It is popularly said that where there is no law, there is no crime and so these regulations, rules and conducts which guides students in educational settings are not formulated to subject the students under a kind of rule of law or coerce them to do the bidding of an institution. Rather it is a laid down rule or regulation, that helps students become better people in the future. 

Read: The Right of Widows in the Nigerian Society

So, for an educational setting or for an educational institution to achieve certain goals and objectives, such an educational body has to implement these rules and regulations for students to follow at every particular point in time.

What is The Nigerian Law School Dress Code?

From the experience of senior colleagues who are now members of the bar, the different campuses of the Nigerian Law School have general standard rules as regards dressing. However, some campuses relax these rules due to weather conditions, nature of the environment and other reasons best known to them. On the other hand, other campuses may bring about penalties when these rules and regulations are trampled upon or are not adhered to subsequently.

These penalties are not put in place to trample on the human rights of any individual, rather it is a way of instilling discipline and orderliness in the lives of the students so as to become effective and efficient and proud members of the legal community in the future.

Whenever a child is taught at home, such a child brings to his or her environment, and whatever he or she learns in this same environment, is part of such a child for a lifetime. Every educational body or every educational system is jeered towards making the lives of its participants, or its students better in every ramification.

It does not matter if an educational system is strict in its policies, or in its objectives, the main point is that it is helping the citizens of the country to become better people, to themselves and to their society at large.

Read: The Doctrine of Laches and Acquiescence in Nigerian Law

 

Many people who have gone through educational systems, have had to subject themselves to the rules and regulations governing such systems and one of the systems that will be talked about in this article is The Law school system. This is very different from a University that offers law as a course.

The Law school is where lawyers are reformed and molded, for the betterment of the country and this law school has rules and regulations for its participants to follow. A lawyer must be disciplined and have a sense of orderliness in order to function well in the society. The lawyer also is given the mandate to improve themselves, so that they can improve other people. The legal profession is highly regarded in the world today and many want to become lawyers. To do that, such individual must have an instilled sense of diligence in his or her attitudes and that includes dressing too. That said, here are the modes of dressing in the different Nigerian Law School Campuses.

1. Lagos Campus

The Nigerian Law School, Lagos Campus emphasizes the fact that all students must be well dressed at every point in time. Students who are not well dressed have to undergo the punishment for not following rules and regulations. In the Nigerian Law School Lagos Campus, ladies are allowed to put on a dark colored dress or a dark colored suit (which could be brown, black, dark blue or deep grey). The gown must not have any form of design on it or any pattern of another color. Ladies are also allowed to wear pure white blouses (not Tee shirts). There are allowed to wear black skirts that are below knee lengths. They are allowed to put on black covered shoes and not lace or palm sandals. They are allowed to wear a few pieces of jewelry, and nothing extraordinary.

 

Male students on the other hand are allowed to put on dark suits. They are also allowed to put on plain white shirts without any form of patterns. They are allowed to put on black ties, and not short or bow ties and are allowed to use white breast pockets handkerchief which is not compulsory in any way.

2. Agbani, Enugu Campus

The Nigerian Law School, Enugu school believes in orderliness and good conduct of students at all times and has a very strict policy on dressing for both male and female students. At the Enugu Campus of the Nigerian Law School, male students are allowed to wear black suits, black belts, black socks and black ties, all of which are compulsory. Also, they are to wear trousers that are long enough and touching their ankles and there is no room for any other color other than black. For female students,, black dresses are not allowed, except when the lady is pregnant. Female students are also not allowed to wear trousers of any colours. They are only allowed to wear black skirts and suits, accompanied with wear white shirts. Also, they are only allowed to wear black covered shoes

3. Bagauda, Kano Campus

In the Kano Campus of the Nigerian Law School, male students are allowed to wear pure white shirts attached with either black or dark blue trousers and suits. They must wear the same color of a waistcoat and the suit. They are also allowed to wear black shoes and dark color neckties (no bow ties) only. On the other hand, female students are allowed to wear black skirts which must be below the knee. They are allowed to wear plain white short or long white sleeves or camisoles without patterns. While black gowns and blacck covered shoes are compulsory, they are also allowed to wear dark blue gowns

4. Yenegoa, Bayelsa Campus

At the Bayelsa Campus of the Nigerian Law School, male students are allowed to wear dark coloured suits and trousers. They are allowed to wear dark coloured belts, dark coloured shoes, socks and dark coloured ties (no bow ties). The female students are allowed dark skirts or dark colored gowns and their shirts must be pure white shirts only. They are not allowed slits behind skirts, and it must not be too fitting. They are also allowed to wear only dark coloured covered shoes.

5. Yola, Adamawa Campus

Male students at the Yola Campus of the Nigerian Law School are only allowed black color suits and trousers. Long with their pure white coloured shirts, they are also allowed to wear only black coloured belts, ties, shoes and socks. On the other hand, the female students are allowed to wear black color skirt or gowns and black suits only. They are also allowed to wear mild accessories and must wear black covered shoes only.

6. Bwari Abuja Campus

MODE OF DRESSING FOR BOYS


   They are only allowed all black suits and trousers

   They are only allowed black shoes with black socks and laces

   They are only allowed pure white shirts and sometimes with patterns

   They are only allowed black ties, not bow ties

In the Abuja Campus of the Nigerian Law School, female students are allowed black skirts below the knee length. They are also allowed to wear white shirts with mild patterns and may have moderate slits at the back of their skirts. While black shoes are compulsory, they are allowed to carry any choice colour of the bag they want, whether black or not.

While these information was sourced from senior colleagues who are not practicing members of the bar, it is possible that there may be slight changes in the dressing codes for any of the campuses of the Nigerian Law School. This article is a guide  only and prospective students of the Nigerian law school should do well to check the updated handbook of the Nigerian Law School upon registration to stay updated as to any changes to the dress codes and other regulations. Also, these rules and regulations only prove that all law school campuses in Nigeria strive for both academic excellence, corporate, professional and physical diligence in their students at all times.

The Doctrine of Laches and Acquiescence

 

Laches is a doctrine of time limit when seeking redress in the court of law. It is a doctrine that combates delay in seeking remedy.

 

1. In Common Law, S12 of the Limitation Act of 1966 mentions that an action to recover land in the case of a state authority should be brought within 20 years and in case of individuals, within 12 years. If it is not brought within this time frame, it is presumed that the time has lapsed. 

 

2. In Equity, Lord Condemn in Smith v. Clay supports the application of limitations to an action of redress as regards time. The courts of equity thus developed the doctine of Laches and Acquiescence. 

 

3. In Customary Law through the case of Sunmonu v. Disu Raphael, the court held that limitation is inapplicable to land held under customary law.

 

 

Laches applies where a person culpably stands by and delays to take action to enforce his legal rights when infringement thereto has been brought to his notice. Although the omission or delay in taking action is culpable, it does not carry with it an implication of fraud or bad faith, it is share indolence, inordinate delay or indifference to a person's rights. It raises the implication of a waiver. Thus, in Linsay Petroleum Co. v. Hurd (1874) L.R. 5 P. C. 221, Lord Selbourne stated the circumstances that are important in order to found laches: "Two circumstances always important in such cases are the length of the delay and the nature of acts done during the interval, which might affect either party and cause a balance of justice and injustice in taking the one course or the other so far as relates to the remedy".

A person is said to acquiesce in a course of conduct affecting his right if he behaves in such a way that a reasonable man is led to believe that he consents to that course of conduct and it would amount to fraud on the part of the true owner later to assert his right against the occupier. 

Thus acquiescence means conduct from which it can be inferred that a person has by so doing agreed to a certain state of affairs affecting his legal rights. If a person has agreed to his right being contravened, or taken away, he should not afterwards complain about it; he would be estopped by the fact of his having consented to the act complained of. It follows, therefore, that acquiescence operates by way of estoppel.

Copyright: The Concept of Fair Use in Nigeria

Copyright is a legal means of protecting an author's work. It is a type of intellectual property that provides exclusive publication, distribution, and usage rights for the author. This means that whatever content the author created cannot be used or published by anyone else without the consent of the author. 

The length of copyright protection may vary from country to country, but it usually lasts for the life of the author plus 50 to 100 years. Also, many different types of content can be protected by copyright. Examples include books, poems, plays, songs, films and artwork. In modern times, copyright protection has been extended to websites and other online content. Therefore, any original content published on the Web is protected by copyright law. This is important in the digital age we live in, since large amounts of content can be easily copied and pasted.

The exception of fair use is the most significant exception to copyright control. According to the Second Schedule of the Copyright Act 2004 which reads

(a) the doing of any of the acts mentioned in the said Section 6 by way of fair dealing for purposes of research, private use, criticism or review or the reporting of current events, subject to the condition that, if the use is public, it shall be accompanied by an acknowledgement of the title of the work and its authorship except where the work is incidentally included in a broadcast.

Therefore, one factor that the courts would consider in determining "fair dealing" is the value of the portion taken relative to the work from which it is taken. Accordingly, substantially is in relation not only to the quantity taken but also in relation to the value of the portion taken of the work.

Fair dealing is the same as the concept of fair use. "Fair dealing" means that the dealing with the work must be genuine and reasonable. Thus, fair dealing with a work for purposes of criticism and review does not infringe.

Digital Transport Services and the Nigerian Transport Laws

From the generation of Ubers, we evolved with time to Max, Gokada and O’Ride amongst many other similar transport platforms that have come to be a necessary part of our existence. Using these transport services also depend on your personality, occasion and your pocket size amongst other factors.  In recent times especially, on demand motorbike hailing services have been the thirst and many reasons are involved. These include that the average individual may be unable to own a car due to cost of purchase and maintenance costs and that those who may have vehicles find issues in transporting themselves within heavily trafficked cities and as the case goes while beating time, stress, violence and rough situations.

The existence of these digital transport platforms has overnight proved itself to be worth it for every coin. However, there are negatives as well as positives. Most important is the question of how these digital transportation services manage contracts and service agreements with their clients (app users who book rides) and as well as the legal regulatory frameworks for their existence.  Proposed as the future of digital transport, these platforms operate with Application Software usually downloadable from mobile device stores such as the IOS and Android on the internet. Upon download, the user seeks to create accounts with these platforms, leading to the revelation of certain privacy information. How this information is handled is usually explained in the Privacy policy document of relative platforms.  This however is similar to signing a ground norm agreement as regards the use of the application, as with every transaction or booked ride, certain transaction and contract agreements may still bind. Nonetheless, for an attraction, many passengers or clients are given promo advantages and trip discounts which form the enticing part of the agreements. 

 

Digital Transport Services provide a solution to a myriad of transport challenges, particularly heavy traffic. The services offer flexible payment options including cash, card payment, and payment through the Applications that allows riders to access promotional offerings. Opportunities are also provided for operators and users in the less formal and informal sector to access the tools, training, skills and finance they need for a better life leveraging the use of mobile phones and technology, thus improving the quality of life of low-income families. These services also have the potential to create more tax paying jobs (through riders, staff and agents), easing the movement of people and goods, and boosting commerce and entrepreneurship.

The quality of services proposed by the Digital transport platforms revolve round many options. One of these is driver training and safety.  Several steps have been taken to ensure that riders are trained by safety professionals. Also, motorbikes come with pre-adjusted speed limits, usually between 60kmph-100kmph. The motorbikes too have unique tracking devices attached to them and are tracked online in real time, putting off the risks of crime such as kidnapping, theft, harassment and other possible crimes. This measure is a result of the skepticism of passengers to use of certain conditions of the platforms, for  example, the use of helmet. Furthermore, riders and passengers are covered by comprehensive insurance and have access to Customer support service.  Riders have access to healthcare too.

As regards the legal regulatory framework, it is not clear that the transport laws of Nigeria have accepted these digital transport services. In an attempt to identify the government policies in a place like Nigeria that helps local, homegrown transport and logistics startups better leverage technology to deliver value to consumers, it is hard to believe that of Google searches, motor park and conductor chats, LASTMA/FRSC and Ministry of Transport (MoT) conversations and Uber/Taxify/Gokada interviews, the Nigerian transport and logistics startups are all operating on some level of free for all. This is why amidst increased competition and operational issues flooding the digi-transport scene, the regulatory hurdles come in line too.  Where there is no conflict with existing transport organizations/bodies, tech-enabled road transport startups have very little regulatory oversight, especially from a safety and consumer satisfaction standpoint.

Just as every company registered for operations in Nigeria, these digital transport companies pay tax to the government. However, there also comes some union of transport workers who form a corporate organization for private vehicle owners. More specifically as a duty, they are seen as industry insiders who view and levy licensing fees by hassling through their union agents to have these digi-transport companies pay much as five times the original price of union dues, giving extortion. For starters, transportation and logistic operations in Nigeria are almost completely dominated by the private sector. This is same as the telecommunications sector but regulation makes this space sane. The NCC and its affiliate bodies have records of regulation and policies that have made the telecoms sector what it is at this time. Conversely, there is very little, if any, impactful regulation in the road transportation segment.

As they preach safety, convenience, and transparency, it is not enough to brand new quality bikes in company names, or train drivers with customer service policies, driving, navigation and hygiene (against bad labour practices), but much more to ensure that the lines between true transportation is drawn for the passenger and the company, considering existing transport laws and capital. There is a lot of potential and room for growth in the Nigerian road transport market and regulation cannot be ignored as one of the key drivers of the segments growth. By 2050, the UN predicts another 2.5 billion people will be living in urban areas globally and Nigeria is expected to add over 200 million people to its cities in the next 40 years, more than tripling the size of its current urban population. Transportation is an important segment that needs to be re-imagined given this rapid population and urbanisation growth.

Biography of Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN

Chief Gani Fawehinmi who was born in Ondo state, Nigeria on the 22nd of April 1938 and died at the age of 71 on the 5th of September 2009. The iconic fellow who was both an Author, a Publisher, Social critic, Lawyer and Politician. He was known as the “people’s lawyer” during his time, because he used his legal training to fight for the cause of justice for Nigerians. His father Saheed Tugbobo Fawehinmi, was a leading traditional and Islamic personality in the western part of Nigeria. Chief Gani who studied law at Holborn College, University of London in 1961 after his secondary school days in Ondo state. Unfortunately, before his 2nd year as an undergraduate student, he lost his father and his source of income dried up. He then, began to take up various menial jobs which included working as a toilet cleaner in order to complete his degree. He was called to bar in 1965 and he immediately began to practice in Lagos state and soon became mentor to several well-known lawyers. Some of his friends were the late Ransome-Kuti and Fela Kuti. In 1993, Gani was given an international award in honor of all his role in advancing the cause of human right. 

 

He suffered imprisonment and harassment for over three decades all in bid to fight for the rights of the just. He was one who feared no one and used his voice to fight for the oppressed. He fought for the protection of human right and also against the corruption of civilian rule, as well as the then military rule. The then military rule which was under the late General Sanni Abacha in the early 90’s, where he fought against the cancellation of the June 12 presidential election and the detention of the election winner. On several occasions, he was being exiled from one part of the country to another, to prevent his voice from being heard by the masses.  Gani Fawehinmi was more than just an activist, he was also a philanthropist. He gave out several scholarships to Nigerian student and also established the Nigerian weekly report which has gone a long way today in helping law students and practitioners. Gani Fawehinmi was indeed one of the past heroes of our time and most of his works would forever be remembered.