Contractual Relations between Employer And Employee by Oluyemisi Dansu

The regulation of the relationship between an employer and an employee is derived from 2 primary sources i.e. (i) statutes and (ii) the contract of employment. The contractual terms are either expressly stated in the contract of employment or they may be implied by statute, custom/practice, Staff Handbook and collective agreements.

It is trite law that where parties have entered into a contract or an agreement, they are bound by the provision of that contract or agreement as this is the whole essence of the doctrine of sanctity of contract. Consequently in any dispute as to the rights and obligations of parties arising out of the contract of employment, it is vital that the contractual terms be proved in order for an aggrieved party to be entitled to a relief.

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UNIVERSITY OF BRADFORD SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT ALUMNI ANNUAL LECTURE 2016

On Friday, 22^nd April, 2016, several brilliant Nigerian minds and alumni of the University of Bradford, School of Management, gathered at the Jade palace, Adeola Odeku, Victoria Island, Lagos for the Alumni Association Annual Lecture Event which turned out to be a evening of fun, friendly re-unions, networking and laughter.

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How to Mortgage a Ship by Osinuga Damilola

Ship mortgage is a form of security wherein the ship-owner (“Mortgagor”) gives a lender (“Mortgagee”) an interest in a ship as security for a loan via a Deed and same is discharged upon repayment of the loan. Mortgages may either be equitable or statutory. The essential feature of a mortgage is that it is only a security transaction, where the property is redeemable by the mortgagor upon satisfaction of the debt.  By Section 326(1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 2007 (“MSA”), the mortgagee shall not by reason of the mortgage be deemed the owner of the vessel or share of it nor shall the mortgagor be deemed to have ceased from being the owner thereof.

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Shares: What does it mean in a Company? PT 2 By Teingo Inko-Tariah

Credits  stepupmoney.com 

Ed's Note: You can begin by reading the first part of this blog series by Teingo on Shares and what they mean in a company  Here



Share Capital explained

In my last post [Shares: What does it mean in a Company? By Teingo Inko-Tariah] I attempted to explain what shares in a company mean and how they can be acquired. This post will explain some other related issues for a better appreciation of the subject.

Femi opted out of his paid job to set up his own company - Naija4Life Ltd. He registered the company at the CAC with a share capital of N1m. There was no N1m anywhere except on paper i.e. the CAC documentation. Femi took up 500,000 shares in the company and gave another 10,000 shares to his younger brother, Yemi who was also made a Director of the company.The operations of the block moulding and interlocking tiles company was largely funded by Femi but he realized that he needed additional funds to scale up the business and open branches in other locations. He began to consider how to raise money. If you are like Femi, please read on to understand the basics of equity funding.

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Sujimoto’s empty apartments in Ikoyi By Sijibomi Ogundele

www.linkedin.com 

Is it possible to ask for the price of a Bentley in exchange for the quality of a Toyota? Impossible! Any sane person would say. While many will consider this outrageous, it is indeed a stark reminder of the realities experienced in Nigeria’s Real Estate Industry.

 As an avid Property Enthusiast, Developer or an Observer, you must have noticed the surge in the number of empty apartments in Ikoyi over the last few years. To avoid drawing hasty conclusions and to guide our investment choices, let’s use familiar examples to understand why such phenomena have festered.

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Mapping the Nigeria Gaming Industry (1): Legal & Socio - Cultural factors By Yahaya Maikori

Photo Credit - www.financialnigeria.com 

In recent times there has been lots of excitement about the African gaming market for reasons which are not farfetched, given its demographic asset, which presents a growth opportunity for many companies. Of the 53 African countries Nigeria is undoubtedly the largest market by virtue of its population making it the preferred investment destination for most gaming companies, but beyond the excitement about the industry and its prospects, what is the value of Nigeria’s gaming industry? Do we have any supporting data? As always we have looked to companies like PWC and a host of other institutions to guide us. For example PWC’s 2015 – 2019 gaming outlook while projecting that gaming revenues were up by 17%, based its projections on only 3 licensed casinos in Nigeria. In reality casinos occupy the lowest rung of the Nigerian gaming ladder, PWC’s gaming outlook distorts the impact of the industry and how it permeates our economic life. A cursory look at the assumptions indicates a lack of understanding or appreciation of the industry.

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Re-Invigorating Members'Commitment through Small Claims Arbitration, ODR & Institutionalization of Mentorship - Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem

Ed's Note: This is the text of the Speech delivered by Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem, MCIArb (UK) delivered at the AGM of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Nigeria Branch on 21st March 2016. Same was published by the author on www.linkedin.com on 22nd April, 2016. 

Photo Credit - www.thelaw.tv 

By the records of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Nigeria has the fastest growing branch of the institute and ironically, has the lowest record of dues payment worldwide. As at 15th of October 2015, out of a total of 1241 members only 319 paid up their dues. 144 Associates out of 755, 118 Members out of 379 and 57 fellows out of 107 paid. The percentage of members who did not pay their dues in the period under review was 74.2%. When I was inducted as a member in 2010 about a 100 of us were inducted, less than 10% of that number are active presently. Many members, particularly young members are very enthusiastic when they join the institute, but with time their interest starts to wane. When asked about the reason for their loss of interest, they complained of non-inclusion and the lack of practical experience in arbitration practice. In summary, most members are disenchanted and see no reason why they should keep paying their dues without any meaningful gain or any hope of one. Some view the established arbitrators as a clique or worst still, a cabal who do not want outsiders within their ranks.

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Does an Infidelity Postnuptial Agreement Prevent Cheating? By Marni Feuerman

Ed’s Note: This article was published by the author on www.marraige.about.com at http://marriage.about.com/od/rebuildtrust/fl/Does-an-ldquoInfidelityrdquo-Postnuptial-Agreement-Prevent-Cheating.htm

If your spouse has cheated on you, and you are attempting to reconcile and rebuild trust, you will face one of the most difficult challenges a married couple can experience. One strategy that is sometimes used to dissuade further infidelity is to have the unfaithful spouse sign an “infidelity post-nuptial agreement,” consenting to some specified financial payment (or another significant item of value) to be paid if they cheat again. Such agreements, also known as “lifestyle clauses” can be drafted by family law attorneys.

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What do you think about this discriminatory law?

There is a provision of the Criminal Code that I believe may be construed as discriminatory to women but I want to seek your opinions so together we may rightly define if the law really does cross the line of discrimination.

Over time, I have always believed that the law favoured women over men but that’s quite understandable, women being the fairer sex deserve the protection right? But what happens when it’s the other way around. This is what this law seems to be doing.

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Ibrahim Abdullahi vs. National Pension Commission & ARM Pension Limited (FHC/ABJ/CS/22/16) by: Kehinde Okunola

Brief Facts:

The Applicant was an employee of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, but whose employment was terminated at some point. He maintains a Retirement Savings Account with the 2nd Respondent (ARM Pensions) in line with the provisions of the Pension Reform Act 2014 and had his Pension contribution remitted into his RSA in line with extant laws of the Contributory Pension Scheme. He sustained an eye injury at the time of his employment and which condition according to him had deteriorated before and after the termination of his employment.

He forwarded an application to the 2nd respondent to allow him access to the balance in his RSA to fund the medical treatment. The 2nd respondent had in compliance with the provisions of the PRA 2014 earlier paid him 25% of the sum in the RSA, flowing from which his subsequent request to access the outstanding balance was denied by the 2nd Respondent (ARM Pensions).

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Shares: What does it mean in a Company? By Teingo Inko-Tariah

Introduction

Profit making ventures are usually registered as companies limited by shares or unlimited companies. A company is limited by shares when the liability of shareholders of the company is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid on the shares held by them. In the case of unlimited companies, the liability of the shareholders is not limited to any unpaid amount for shares held by them. Thus the shareholders of an unlimited company are fully liable for the debts of the company no matter the amount involved. There are various ways a company can raise capital for its operations. Issuing shares is one of the ways capital can be raised.

What is a share?

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PENALTY FOR KIDNAPPING

The rate of kidnapping in Nigeria has risen considerably in the last ten years. Not less than 1,500 people are kidnapped on an annual basis in the country thus making kidnapping more or less a new “cottage industry”. With the statistical belief that one out of every 5 Africans is a Nigerian, it may not be wrong to say with her population and the increase in the wave of kidnapping, Nigeria has more potential kidnap victims than most of her West African neighbours.

-                     The Street Journal, 9^th April, 2013, www.thestreetjournal.org

 According to the Black’s Law Dictionary, 10^th Edition, to kidnap is to seize and take away (a person) by force or fraud, often with a demand for ransom.

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Can a Director of a private company be appointed by a Will? by Teingo Inko-Tariah

Mr Arrowhead, a very prominent Nigerian suffered a stroke and was flown abroad where he received medical attention for several months. Unfortunately, he died abroad and his body was flown back to the country for burial which was celebrated in grand style. Although Mr Arrowhead left a will, there was serious contention among family members over the content of the will especially as some of the family members felt disappointed over what was bequeathed to them. Typical of a polygamous family, the will was contested in court. However, that is not the main thrust of this paper. It was discovered that in the will, the testator purportedly appointed his wife as a director of one of his companies. This is a real life situation and raises the question which this paper seeks to address. Can a director of a company be appointed by a will?

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The Top 14 Things Landlords Wish Tenants Knew

 

 

Editor’s Note: - This article was initially posted on 6^th February, 2015, on Time Magazine via http://time.com/money/3697636/landlord-tenant-renters-tips-advice/ and has been reproduced for the purposes of sharing on the blog.

Pay your bills, respect your neighbours, and please hide your weed. Please.

Sometimes the landlord/tenant relationship can be a difficult one. But it does not have to be that way, and it certainly does not have to start out that way. As landlords, we try to get this relationship off to a good start and keep it that way by taking care of our properties and tenant concerns.

But some tenants, perhaps due to past experiences, prepare for the worst and thus approach the relationship ready for a fight. Maybe they have never had a decent landlord. Maybe some just do not know how to act. Whatever the reason, here are 14 tips from our 12 years as landlords to tenants everywhere for a decent landlord/tenant relationship.

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Legal & Commercial Issues in International Project Finance By Adetutu Oluwaseyi

Background

International Project finance typically involves multiple parties from different jurisdictions with conflicting interests that must be protected and obligations that must be clearly defined. The structure of project finance loan can be limited recourse or non-recourse to the project sponsors. The underlying rationale is to distribute risk among the participants involved. In cross border transactions, it is important to anticipate and properly analyze the possible risk the project could be expose to in the host state and identify solutions that can be used to mitigate or eliminate the impact of the risks. In order to mitigate or reduce the risks associated with jurisdictional issues, clauses should be incorporated in the contract agreements between the counter parties at different phases of the project.  The contracts include- Sponsor Support Agreement, Loan Agreement, Collateral Security Agreement, Power Purchase Agreement (PPA), Engineering Procurement and Construction (EPC) Agreement, Operations and Maintenance Agreement (O & M), Fuel Supply Agreement, Concession Agreement, Management Agreement, Joint Venture Agreement and Shareholders' Agreement. The following issues and questions can be identified from the above scenario:

1.     What are the applicable laws and institutional framework that will govern the project in the host country?

2.     What structure should the business transaction take?

3.     What will be the currency of the transaction since the financier and project will be based in different jurisdictions?

4.     What is the profitability of the project?

5.     What is the structure of the project loan?

6.     What is the political history of the host country?

7.     What are the other risks to be considered in that jurisdiction and how can the project be secured from such risks?

Possible approaches to address these issues are discussed below:

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MEDIATION ADVOCACY TRAINING 21st APRIL, 2016

CLICK HERE TO FILL FORM

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Top Tips for Perfecting Your Court Room Craft Part 1 By Stephanie Solomon

Since 2014 I have been based at the Royal Courts of Justice (London, UK) and I have had the privilege of seeing and hearing some of the best advocates in the country. I also work with Law students to organise monthly moots/mock trials.

Whenever I speak to a current LLB/GDL student, I always get asked the same question:

"What makes a good Advocate?"

My advice may vary depending on what type of student I am addressing, but here are five simple tips I have learnt from my days in Court:

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You can jilt a lover but not a child

While dating, many people have complained of getting dumped by their partners, it simply means they were jilted by lovers or got their hearts broken in extreme circumstances. While this may be socially acceptable as a person cannot be forced to love or care for another person, it’s socially unacceptable for anyone to jilt or dump their children and the Criminal Code Act of the Federal Republic of Nigeria provides a penalty for same.

According to Section 372 of the aforementioned law,

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When fuel queues and LASTMA Jams You

If you ever have to travel on Awolowo Road, in Ikoyi, Lagos during a period of fuel scarcity, you will understand how much of a mad house it can be. The traffic literally stands still, carrying a trident and waving its two horns flipping from side to side. Traffic on those days can be the devil.

It’s not only Ikoyi, virtually every fuel station in the city will be invaded by mammoth crowds and mile long queues. It’s always a commuter’s night mare, take my word for it. 

This is why the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has decided to take strong measures in curtailing the effect of fuel queues in Lagos State and what better way to do it than introducing a stiff fine.

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IF I SLAP YOU

 

There is this popular belief that members of the Yoruba tribe in Nigeria are never one to actually fight but they can spend hours cursing and gesticulating. A popular comedian once said if you get a Yoruba man angry, he would threaten to hit you by saying words like “I will slap you” but he may never actually hit you but the Warri man whom you have gotten angry will actually slap you first and threaten to slap you later.  Kindly provoke someone from one of the tribes mentioned above and share your experience with us. Please I am just kidding, I won’t support or promote street fights anywhere. 

However, do you know that slapping someone is an offense?

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YOU BE THIEF?

You be thief

I no be thief

You be rogue

I no be rogue

You dey steal

I no dey steal

You be armed robber

I no be armed robber

-      Fela Kuti (Authority Stealing) 

The above are the lyrics from one of Fela Kuti’s songs, in the bridge, he is heard to be arguing with another while accusing the person of being a thief, an accusation the other party denies profusely. Thus, in the spirit of Fela’s song, are you a thief?

Don’t bother answering the question, it’s not like you would confess to being one right here on this public domain. At the same time, you may not be a thief but you may know someone suffering from Kleptomania. I suggest you share the contents of this blog post which such people.

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Your suicide attempt had better be successful

We are all supposed to have our individual freedoms right?To do what we want and how we want, as long as it does not hurt any other person. That’s what our basic human rights are based on. But the above position isn’t true, if not, being homosexual will not be an offence in Nigeria and we will be able to kill ourselves. That’s right, suicide is a crime. I wonder why though, it’s not like I am killing someone else.  

According to Section 326 of the Criminal Code Act, CAP C38, LFN 2004:

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A few things about the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT)

The Code of Conduct Tribunal is established by Section 15(1) of the Fifth Schedule, of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. It provides that –

“There shall be established a tribunal to be known as Code of Conduct Tribunal which shall consist of a Chairman and two other persons.” 

By virtue of the further provisions in Section 15, the Chairman of the tribunal must be qualified to hold office as a Judge of a superior court in Nigeria. Also the Chairman and other two members are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the National Judicial Council.

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Regulatory Compliance: A panacea to dysfunctional Corporate Governance by Opeyemi Adagbada

Often times, ‘Governance’ refers to the action and manner of governing. Corporate governance is the mechanism and process which companies and corporations are governed. It is primarily concerned with balancing the interest of stakeholders- which includes government, financiers, shareholders, management and the community at large.

Corporate Governance can also be said to be the examination of the control of a company as exercised by its directors. The directors of companies are accountable for their actions to the company’s shareholders and other members of the company. However, in practice, the power of the shareholders to affect the behaviour of the directors is limited and rarely exercised.

The issues of corporate governance have continually attracted considerable national and international attention. The current global financial meltdowns have necessitated the need for a critical focus on  corporate governance.

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The penalty for killing another human being

I remember sitting in court a couple of years ago, waiting for my client’s case to be called and going through the motions in my case file. I was not really paying attention to the judgment being read by the Honourable Judge but I could hear the words. Apparently, it had been a criminal suit and I guessed the guy in the box must have done something wrong but my client’s cause needed more of my attention at that time. Not until I heard the words, “you are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment” and the court had my full attention.

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