Magnus Amudi - New guidelines for the operation of the Nigerian Inter-Bank FX Market

1.0 Introduction

In line with the objectives of enhancing efficiency and facilitating a liquid and transparent, Foreign Exchange (FX) market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hereby releases the revised guidelines on the operations of the Nigerian Inter-Bank FX market towards the liberalisation of the market.

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Happy New Month, Wish you a beautiful July

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The dialogue now should be focused on inclusivity in the workplace, writes Tunde Okewale MBE

To facilitate change and improve the retention and progression of candidates from diverse backgrounds, the focus needs to be on inclusion. The big question is: are we trying to assimilate people from diverse backgrounds into the established norms of the profession or are we trying to change the culture of profession? I believe the answer should be the latter.

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Preparing for a Corporate Bond Issue In Nigeria: A Brief Guide

The current economic meltdown in the Nigerian business environment has necessitated that the Government and Companies diversify their sources of raising funds. A viable means of raising funds is through the issuance of Government or Corporate Bonds.

In recent times, the Nigerian Bond market has experienced a low turnout of investment and even withdrawal from investors due to various reasons. Today.ng reports that investors in London are wary about investing in Nigerian bonds due to uncertainty regarding the Nigerian fractured foreign exchange market. It is also reported that Foreigners held $5.4 billion of Nigerian bonds in September 2013 but dumped them after the country was ejected last year from the most widely used GBI-EM debt index.

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Taiwo Oyedele: Of Brexit, the New Foreign Exchange Policy, Tax and You

How the recent developments and events of the coming months in the local and global environment will impact you and tax.

There have been significant events in the local and international space in the past few days. Most notable locally is the new exchange rate policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and internationally, the referendum by Great Britain to leave the European Union (EU). Both key developments have impact on Nigeria, albeit to varying extent. I have attempted to highlight some of these impacts in this article.

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What Brexit Will Mean For Intellectual Property – Harbottle & Lewis LLP

1.     We don’t know what relationship the UK will have with the EU post-Brexit – other than not being a member state. Every business must plan an enterprise-wide review of its intellectual property licence and distribution agreements to establish any requirements for renegotiation (and possibly, termination).  The most obvious point being that agreements defining a territory as “the EU” will almost certainly have to be interpreted as excluding the UK from the date of exit.

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Hague Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation

Photo - bizradar.co

The Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation was formally brought into effect on November 25, 2002, at a launching conference hosted by the Netherlands in The Hague. The U.S. participated in the conference and is one of 93 original subscribing states to the HCOC (formerly known as the International Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile Proliferation). As of June 2016, 138 countries have subscribed to the HCOC.

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INFOGRAPH - Assault and Penalty

The above describes an Assault while below you will find the penalty for committing an Assault on another person.

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Bill To Amend Public Procurement Act Passes 3rd Reading In Senate

A bill seeking to amend the Public Procurement Act 2007 has passed third reading on the floor of the Senate.

In a report presented by Sen. Joshua Dariye, the Senate advocates the use of local content in public procurement process as well as a 25 percent mobilisation fund for contractors, up from the current 15 percent given to them.

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House moves to restructure The Niger Delta Amnesty Programme

Members of the House of Representatives have called for restructuring of the Presidential Niger Delta Amnesty Programme put in place by former President Musa Yaradu’a in June 2009. Leading debate on the general principles of a Bill which seeks for the restructuring on Tuesday, June 21, 2016, Hon. Oluwole Oke asserted that the Bill seeks the rehabilitation and reintegration of the Programme for proper implementation; adding that better articulation and organization of the Programme to serve the purpose of disarming, re-educating and reintegrating the ex-militants into the society without fear of them constituting a threat to the general public is cogent and in order.

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Legal tips for business #Startups

In this post, we have shared a couple of tips for business Startups with the aid of infographs, you can read the full article here.

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Akorede Omotayo - Binding a contract by Text Message?

photo - irishtimes.com 

Binding a contract by Text Message? New Traps for Deal – Makers in Commercial Negotiations.

With the prevalence of email and text messaging in today’s business world, multi-billion dollar deals can be signed up without the parties even sitting down together. As Frank Aquila and Sarah Payne of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP submits, Business negotiations, and especially commercial deals, between lawyers and businesspeople alike occur over emails, often with shorthand, with words that may not be chosen with the same degree of thought and care as the words that are “written” in the actual transaction document.

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Dunmade Onibokun: Elements of a good Alibi in a criminal trial

Photo - 123rf.com 

Kunle Aminu Eze, was accused of armed robbery. It was alleged that he and 5 other people accosted John, a gold merchant just returning from the bank and robbed him of N15,000,000 (Fifteen Million Naira). Kunle Aminu Eze was identified by a witness to the crime who claimed she recognized him as a regular client of an auto-mechanic in her neighbourhood and described how Kunle Aminu Eze had led the gang by shouting orders. Kunle Aminu Eze however expressed his innocence and claimed to have been with his girlfriend in Lokoja when the act occurred. The matter went to trial before the High Court and Kunle Aminu Eze was sentenced to life imprisonment.

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Ivie Omoregie: Change – Breaking Down the New Forex Guidelines

Photo - www.nigeriacommunicationsweek.com.ng

Anyone living in or having dealings with Nigeria over the last few months would be aware of the MADNESS (apologies for the crude terminology) that has engulfed the value of the naira. This is especially so for people  who have forex denominated outflows, yet receive their primary income in naira. I, for one, have resorted to suffering and smiling, hoping like all struggles, this too shall pass.

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Ronke Omorodion - Have you paid your annual returns?

Hey there! We are back with our Chronicles of Becky.

Becky has been running her company for five years now. Her staff strength had grown to 15 full time and part time workers. Her business was growing and so was her clientele.

One Monday morning, Becky got to work and as usual she picked up one of the national dailies (she usually buys them from the newspaper vendor down the road).

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Music Saturdays - Slimusic

Stuck in a dilemma between his childhood ambition to be a lawyer and his passion for music, he opted for his ambition but in between he was still writing songs and going for petty shows. Now a lawyer but he can't stay away from his music.

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Tunde Okewale, From GQ Cool list to Queen's Honours List”

Tunde Okewale awarded MBE in 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours list for services to the community and disadvantaged young people. The award was made in recognition of his "services to the community and disadvantaged young people".

Tunde Okewale, Barrister at Doughty Street Chambers and founder of Urban Lawyers, is a popular figure on social media and made GQ’s 2014 “cool” list.

Background and achievements

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Killing of unarmed pro-Biafra supporters by military must be urgently investigated

Photo Credit - onyipeters.com

An on-the-ground investigation by Amnesty International has confirmed that the Nigerian army gunned down unarmed people ahead of last month’s planned pro-Biafran commemoration events in Onitsha, Anambra state.

Evidence gathered from eyewitnesses, morgues and hospitals confirms that between 29-30 May 2016, the Nigerian military opened fire on members of the Indigenous people of Biafra (IPOB), supporters and bystanders at three locations in the town.

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Vivian Nwobi - Making Boards Effective: The Role of the Company Secretary

Photo Credit - Fortune.com

 In the past, the definition given to the term “Company Secretary” tended to undermine the role of the Company Secretary in the scheme of the company's operations. Although the legal status of the Company Secretary is not provided for in most legislation that governs company affairs, it is generally accepted that the secretary is the chief administrative officer of the business of the company. The position of the Company Secretary as a mere clerk was overturned in the case of Panorama Developments v. Fidelis Furnishing, the Court of Appeal held that even where the authority is not expressly conferred nor conferred by implication, the secretary is nevertheless the company's chief administrative officer and has ostensible authority in day-to-day administrative matters.

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Natasha Brown - Five Simple Skills to Excel at Lawyering

In my position as the legal director of student-run law clinic, I supervise and teach law students. In this role, I am often asked what makes a good lawyer. When I was in private practice, I assumed that exemplary drafting and public speaking skills were required to make “good lawyers.” I was (mostly) wrong.

Now, when a new school term starts, I make sure to tell the new batch of law students that they simply need to master five simple skills to excel in the profession:

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Why are white people expats when the rest of us are immigrants?

Photo Credit - globaleye.com

In the lexicon of human migration there are still hierarchical words, created with the purpose of putting white people above everyone else. One of those remnants is the word “expat”.

What is an expat? And who is an expat? According to Wikipedia, “an expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of the person’s upbringing. The word comes from the Latin terms ex (‘out of’) and patria (‘country, fatherland’)”.

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Michael Erdle - The Role of Arbitrator Disclosure in International Arbitration

Photo Credit - Blog.oup.com

There is a very natural human tendency to claim the game is rigged when one loses.

“The referee was obviously biased against us,” the coach says, explaining the team’s loss.

Donald Trump kept complaining that the Republican Party primary rules were rigged against him, even though he was winning.

So, too, in arbitration, when the losing party seeks to overturn an unfavourable award. This is particularly evident in international arbitration, where there is no right of appeal. Also, in some domestic arbitration cases, where appeals are increasingly limited.

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Ivie Omoregie - Is Your Domestic Staff Paying His Tax?

Photo Credit - twitter.com

I was having a conversation on tax with one of my girlfriends, and she just couldn’t fathom why her driver who is making N45k a month is expected to also pay taxes – especially in this harsh economy. Her argument was that “what’s the point in paying tax when “they” don’t use it to do what they are supposed to do, all they know is how to share money…. Road we no get, NEPA get spiritual problem, police na to collect money for road side dem know, if robbers dey my house dem no go show”. Having lived in Nigeria for some time, I understood her argument.  However, I had to stress that this does not invalidate the law; to be deemed as a law abiding citizen, one has to behave accordingly.

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Adenike Adetifa - Parties to an action: meaning of- nomenclature of.

Credit - uscourts.gov

“The apex court has held in Green v. Green that a person whose interest is involved or is in issue in an action and who knowingly choose to stand-by and let others fight his battle for him is equally bound by the result in the same way as if he was a party”.

• HIS LORDSHIP JOHN INYANG OKORO J.C.A. IN CHIEF OF ARMY STAFF V. LAWAL (2012) 10 NWLR PART 1307 P. 62 @  74

For a non-lawyer, law student or person(s) with little to non-legal experience, stepping into a court room for the very first time might be a bit overwhelming, especially when such a person begins to witness the exchange of certain intricate terms & phrases between lawyers and the Judge(s). To sound less dramatic, such a person would literally feel as if they just got teleported into a completely different world with people dressed in flowing black gowns and wigs keep speaking in strange/alien languages. That at least was how my experience went the first time I witnessed a court proceeding and believe me when I say Nollywood movie courtroom scenes do not depict the real thing (No offence meant).

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Akorede Omotayo - The UK Immigration Act 2016 and What it means for Nigerians migrating to the UK illegally

Photo  Credit - Theguardian.com

On 12 May 2016, the Immigration Act 2016 came into force, making it officially UK law. The importance of this Act to Nigerians, and particularly Nigerian students, who live or intend to migrate cum study in the UK cannot be over-emphasised. 

The Act is designed to create an ‘hostile environment’ for those who require immigration permission to work and live in the UK but who do not have it.

Speaking about the new Act, Immigration Minister, James Brokenshire said:

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TyLegal - Read the contract before signing

It is common knowledge that people hardly read all those ‘terms and conditions’ before clicking ‘I agree’ when buying an app online or something of the sort. Or sometimes, a person just slips a piece of paper with different write-ups and asks you to sign it. Many of us go right ahead to sign without reading its contents...

This is not very advisable as most contracts contain information or clauses that should be read and understood before signing.

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House of Representatives sidetracks Nigerians to amend Code of Conduct Act

The Code of Conduct Act has secretly been amended by the House of Representatives; the secrecy behind the amendment must have been to prevent attracting the attention of Nigerians who had in the past weeks decried the intention of the Senate to amend same being that the Senate President is currently undergoing trial before the CCT. 

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Ronke Omorodion - Are you waiving your rights?

Welcome back everyone! Ready for a fresh installment in our series? I sure am!

We come back to Becky and BeWise Digital Limited (we’ve not forgotten about her, lol). Business had been good but the fuel scarcity and power supply situation in the country had started to affect the smooth running of her office. Getting petrol for the office generator had become a hassle and the generator had started developing faults. Since diesel seemed to be easier to come by these days, she decided to acquire a new diesel generator for the office.

She went to a renowned generator retailer close to her office called Jenkins Power and purchased a new diesel power generating set for N500,000. Part of documentation she signed when purchasing the generator was a Contract of Sale document – which she did not actually read because she was in a hurry.

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Role of a Lagos State House of Assembly Member

Any eligible voter can run as a candidate for election to the Lagos State House of Assembly. Members generally serve in government or in opposition and act in agreement with party policy, although membership in a political party is not an official requirement of elected office. If a member changes parties or chooses to sit as an independent, he or she is not required to resign.

Members are elected to represent the specific interests of their constituents but are also representatives of the their local government and must consider their needs as a whole. Whatever their political outlook, and regardless of which side of the Assembly they sit on, members’ duties and obligations are considerable.

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PHOTOS- House of Representatives during Plenary

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Chibueze Ngozi: What Lawyers can do to improve access to Justice for Children in Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

In Nigeria, May 27 of every year (today) is dedicated to celebrate children. Ironically, children and young people have been the most vulnerable to the country’s socio-economic challenges and are constantly exposed to incidents of poverty, exploitation, abuse and poor health conditions which inhibit their overall development. The UNICEF recently reported that no fewer than 10.5 million Nigerian children are out of school. Also, over two years ago, a terrorist group, Boko Haram abducted over 200 female children, and till date, the government has been unable to locate them.

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