Author: Lawbreed Limited

There was a tense atmosphere in an Ikeja High Court on Wednesday night as Francis Atuche, a former Managing Director (MD) of Bank PHB, begged Justice Lateefa Okunnu not to send him to prison following his conviction for defrauding the bank of N25.7 billion. Atuche and Ugo Anyanwu, a former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the bank, were both found guilty of 22 of the 27 counts of conspiracy and stealing charge proffered against them by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2011. Atuche’s wife, Elizabeth, who faced trial alongside the duo, was found not guilty of the…

The Lagos State Judiciary has directed the revalidation of all court processes affected by the industrial action of the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN. In a circular addressed to All, heads of litigation services, High Courts and Chief Magistrate Courts, and signed by the Chief Registrar, Okunuga O. A. (Mrs.) The circular reads in part “Consequent upon the disruption of services from 6th April, 2021 to 11th June, 2021, by the JUSUN STRIKE, the Hon. Chief Judge has directed that all Writs of Summons and other processes which could not be served and or expired during the above-mentioned period…

The President of the Court of Appeal, Honourable Justice Monica Dongbam Mesem has directed that the period strike embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria be excluded in the computation of time for all court dealings. See and download below the Practice Direction issued to that effect: [mks_button size=”medium” title=”CLICK TO DOWNLOAD PRACTICE DIRECTION” style=”squared” url=”https://lawbreed.blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/COURT-OF-APPEAL-PRACTICE-DIRECTIONJUSUN.pdf” target=”_blank” bg_color=”#000000″ txt_color=”#FFFFFF” icon=”” icon_type=”” nofollow=”0″]

Lagos state government has launched a new electronic platform, ‘Justice Clock’, for tracking case files and case management. ‘Justice Clock’, the first of its kind in the nation’s judiciary sector, is also intended to fast track issuance of legs advice. Speaking at the launching of the platform, the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN) described the platform as a remarkable development that would be sustained for improved justice delivery. In spite of efforts, Onigbanjo said issuance of legal advice remained a contentious issue as litigants frequently complain that case files stay too long in the office…

The Hon. President of the National Industrial Court, His Lordship, Hon. Justice Benedict Bakwaph Kanyip, PhD, FNIALS has issued practice directions, exempting payment of default fees for filing processes in the Court for the period of the JUSUN strike being from 6th of April to 14th of June 2021. Justice Kanyip issued the directions in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by Section 254F(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended and Section 36 of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (Civil procedure) Rules 2017. His Lordship stated that the practice directions shall…

By Sylvester C. Udemezue “Ultra vires” is a Latin Legal term translated (in English) to “beyond the powers”. The term is used to describe an act which requires legal authority or power but is then done/completed outside of or without the requisite legal authority (lexisnexis.co.uk). The act of a person or authority, is said to be ultra vires when the person/authority acts beyond the scope of the powers and purposes provided to him/it by law. Ultra vires acts are generally void. (see: Communities Economic Development Fund v. Canadian Pickles Corp., (1991) CarswellMan 402 (S.C.C.)) (PracixalLaw). See also, NOSDRA v.…

Anyone who intends to challenge a tax assessment in court must pay 50 per cent of the amount in dispute into an interest-yielding account of the Federal High Court before the case can be heard. The new requirement is contained in a recent practice direction issued by the Chief Judge, Justice John Tsoho, under Order 57, Rule 3 of the Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019. Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Executive Chairman, Mr Muhammad Nami, highlighted the condition at a public hearing organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts. The committee is investigating revenue leakages…

The International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Nigeria, Lagos branch has unveiled speakers for her forthcoming 2021 law week, which is themed- “AFRICAN CHILD’S RIGHT TO LIFE AND A STABLE HOME : TOWARDS ELIMINATING SOCIAL CONFLICTS IN NIGERIA“ The technical sessions of the law week will hold on Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th June, 2021. A number of sub-topics will also be discussed at the law week, they include – Career Opportunities for female lawyers,  Law as a Business: Leveraging Technology To Build A profitable Law Practice, Professional ethics and pursuit  of excellence, Going The Extra  Mile on Personal And…

One of the interesting developments of tax jurisprudence in the last decade is the importation of the concept of abuse of rights in setting the limits that a tax payer may go in legally planning his tax affairs in a way to limit his liability. The concept was explained in the English case of Barclays Mercantile Business Finance Ltd v Mawson (2005) STC 1 that a practice was abusive if the transactions concerned resulted in a tax advantage the grant of which would be contrary to the purpose of legal provisions. The more interesting development is that of the Centros…

The Federal High Court of Nigeria has released Practice Direction on issues relating to Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS The Practice Direction, which is signed by the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Hon. Justice John Terhemba Tsoho, is dated 31st May, 2021 and shall come into force on 1st June, 2021 Other purposes of the Practice Direction is effective case management and expeditous disposal of tax related matters; direction on applications by FIRS and to encourage the settlement of tax debt or liability between parties. See and download below: