UMYU Law Journal

An Examination on the Process of Arbitration and Conciliation in Nigeria

Shamsuddeen Bello Sada — 2021-12-31

Disputes are inevitable in the business world. No matter the dispute some business partners need to find a way of resolving it as well as preserving their long time business relationship. The best way to do that is to use any of the Alternative Dispute Resolution
(ADR) Processes. Conciliation and arbitration are two ADR processes that have been codified in Nigeria under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act Cap 19Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990. Most people resort to court litigation instead of using any of the ADR processes. This write up aimed at providing a guide to understanding and using arbitration and conciliation in resolving dispute and also make recommendations on making it accessible to majority of our businessmen and women. The paper applies the doctrinal method of legal research.

State Sovereignty and International Protection of Human Rights: The Way Forward

Simeon Ola Oni — 2021-12-31

The concepts of human rights and national sovereignty in the 21stcentury social-political system appear to be antithetical to each other. The co-existence of the two has not been easy particularly in a sovereign State that blatantly violates the rights of her people. In that situation, the two principles have confronted rather than partnered in the sense that any promotion of universal Human Rights by the international community is seen as a restraint on State sovereignty leaving the individual whose rights are violated to suffer. In this regard, this article will discuss the differences between the two concepts, the impact of State sovereignty on the protection of human rights in both Nigeria and United Kingdom, and fashion out a substantial degree of symbiotic relationship that will be of benefit not only to nation-state but also to individual.
Keywords: Human Rights; State Sovereignty; International law; Domestic Law

Review of the National Senior Citizens Centre Act of 2018

Usman Ibrahim — 2021-12-31

This paper reviewed the National Senior Citizens Act of 2018. Under t his Act, the National Senior Citizens Centre was established to cater for the needs of senior citizens in Nigeria. The Act aims to facilitate the implementation of Section 16 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 (as amended) which declares that Nigeria shall direct its policy towards ensuring the care of aged persons. The objective of this review is to identify some of the challenges that hinder the implementation of the Act. Using the doctrinal method, it is argued that the Act does not make adequate provision on how to cater to the need of the senior citizens, to provide adequate health and social services. It is also noted that the act fixed the Senior Citizens' Aged at 70 without regard to the retirement age, pension rights and their financial status. The paper compared the Act with policy or legislation of India, Ghana, South Africa and Brazil with the view of learning some lessons from their frameworks. Some of the lessons include the provision of clear implementation guidelines similar to Ghana, in India, a senior citizen is a person
who is 60 years and above. The paper finds a myriad of challenges affecting the implementation of the Act which include funding and lack of clear implementation plan. The paper recommends, amongst others, that there should be more funding and clear provision for the nature of the healthcare services to be enjoyed by the senior citizens

The Constitutional Obligations of States to Fight Corruption in Nigeria: Kano State as a Role Model

Dahiru Jafaru Usman — 2021-12-31

Corruption simply connotes the abuse of public office for personal befits and enrichment. The violation of formal rules relating to the allocation of public resources by public officials for personal financial gains or political support is also corruption. It is the biggest problem that undermines development of nations. In Nigeria Corruption is institutionalised, systemic and endemic. Several Committees set up on tackling corruption have proffered solutions but corruption keeps increasing and taking many forms. The need to address corruption and corrupt practices has featured in several provisions of the 1999 Constitution. Specifically, the Constitution mandates the Federal and States governments to strive to expose and abolish corruption and corrupt practices. The federal government drive in the fight against corruption is obvious. The paper doctrinally assesses the constitutional obligations of the federal government and the component states for fighting corruption. The findings reveal that out of the thirty-six States of the Federation however, only Kano State established an independent anti-corruption agency that has helped in curbing corruption, abuse of office or power and inefficiency in managing public funds. In view of the constitutional obligation of States for abolishing all corrupt practices and in order to complement the efforts of the Federal government led war on corruption, this paper recommends other States of the Federation to replicate the Kano State Model anti-corruption agency. This is not only necessary but desirable The other states' rediness to etiestablish similar agency will assist in combating corruption, ensuring public accountability, minimisation of waste and provisions of public good in their constituencies and Nigeria at large.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and Islamic Law: Any Meeting Point?

Azizah Mohd — 2021-12-31

Women constitute more than half of the world's population yet categorized as one of the vulnerable groups. Protection of women therefore means protection of a greater part of the human race. The Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) was adopted by the United Nations in order to provide special protection for women against discrimination and all forms of abuse. The Convention is categorized as one of the UN Conventions that has enjoyed the highest ratification in UN history. Islamic law has equally provided protection for women against discrimination and all forms of abuse. Islam came at a time when women were regards as chattels in most parts of the world. Islamic law placed them on the same footing with men, gave them the right to own property and prohibited all forms of discrimination against them. Clearly,
both regimes aim to protect women, however certain areas of disagreement has forced several Muslim nations to tender reservation on some articles of the Convention. Reconciliation of these conflicts will no doubt add to the level of protection to be enjoyed by women. This paper therefore intends to examine the Convention, look at its areas of similarities and differences with Islamic law and suggests ways to reconcile the differences. A doctrinal methodology was adopted in arriving at the findings of this paper. The paper provided the Islamic insights to the protection against of the discrimination of the women folk. The paper, adopted desk review of secondary data in arriving at the research.

Equilibrating the Organic Fluidity of Customary Law Arbitration and the Rigidity of Judicial Precedent

philip Osarobo Odiase — 2021-12-31

Customary arbitration is about the most utilized mode of arbitration in Nigeria. However, in recent times, resort to customary law arbitration has been on the decline. While the courts to a large degree have contributed to the development of customary law arbitration in Nigeria, this article argues that the application of some aspects of the validity parameters set by the courts and reinforced overtime in line with the doctrine of stare decisisi have to a large extent contributed to the stultification of the growth of customary law arbitration. In providing a comprehensive insight into the underlying challenges, the paper draws from some selected landmark case law and questions the propriety of judicial legislation with specific regards to customary law. The paper concludes that while it is imperative to ensure predictability and certainty in the law and practice of customary law arbitration, these qualities would be better secured if the inherent organic nature of the Nigerian customary law is retained.

Enforcement of Insider Trading Regulations: Comparative Analysis of Nigeria and Australia

Abubakar Garba — 2021-12-31

Insider trading remained a problem in the Nigerian Stock markets. The recent probe of the collapse of the Nigerian capital market by the National Assembly of Nigeria has helped to identify Insider trading as being amongst the major causes of the near collapse of Nigeria's equity capital market. Despites the efforts being made by Nigeria's Authority to combat the menace through regulations, enforcement has been identified as one of the major impediments to effective enforcement of insider trading regulations in Nigeria. This paper will primarily address the issue of enforcement of insider trading regulation in Nigeria. By way of comparison the paper will frequently refer to the Australian experience because Australiais one of the few countries in the world that has stringent insider trading law and stronger enforcement. The successful track record of the Australian regulatory
framework therefore demands a comparative analysis. This is done with a view to investigating lessons that might be learnt or adopted from Australia. The research is anchored on primary and secondary source materials. The study contends that having the
best insider trading laws on paper alone will not cure the insider trading problem. What is required is the effective enforcement of the laws in Nigeria.

Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters in Nigeria and the Role of the Attorney General of the Federation

Salim Bashir Magashi — 2021-12-31

Mutual assistance is a mechanism of cooperation in criminal matters whereby states cooperate with one another in order to obtain the evidence required for criminal investigations and prosecutions. It is a process by which states seek and provide assistance in gathering evidence for use in criminal cases. It is sometimes described as pursuing the evidence mechanism of cooperation in criminal matters. This paper examines the specific role of the Attorney General of the Federation as the statutory actor in the implementation of laws and policies in mutual assistance in criminal matter especially within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) sub-region. The paper finds specifically that non-domestication of the treaty on this subject matter; language barrier and some procedural matters hinder the effective realization of mutual assistance within the
ECOWAS sub-region. Consequently, the paper recommends the urgent need for the domestication of the ECOWAS Convention on Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters. The paper adopted as methodology the doctrinal approach which entails the use of relevant literature including international instruments, reports and general comments/recommendations.

An Assessment of Making a Case for Civil Asset Forfeiture Law in Nigeria

Suleiman Rilwanu — 2021-12-31

Asset forfeiture otherwise called asset confiscation is the seizure of asset of persons who have been tried and convicted of corrupt enrichment and/or other financial crimes. However, the legal huddles inherent in the trial and conviction of such persons accused of corruption and other financial malfeasances, the financial implication involved, including appeals and further appeals up to the Supreme Court makes the entire process distasteful. The non conviction based asset forfeiture, as a routine punishment, is aimed at confiscating the proceeds or instruments of crime. The trial takes the form of civil litigation with the main aim of obtaining a court order nisi, and where the defendant fails to satisfy the court as to the source(s) of his wealth, the court makes an order absolute thus forfeiting the asset of the defendant to the Government in a civil trial. In the United Kingdom, for instance, asset forfeiture proceedings are initiated under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The aim of this research is to, inter alia, make a case for the enactment of a civil Asset Forfeiture Law in Nigeria in order the strengthen the provisions of the Constitution dealing with nonconviction based forfeiture; to aid the activities of anti-graft and other security agencies in the fight against corruption and other financial crimes. The researchers make use of the doctrinal or library-based method of research, therefore, references will be made to both primary and secondary sources of information such as Statutes and other scholarly works. It is the finding of this research that Nigeria does not have a solid legal framework for nonconviction based asset forfeiture law. It is therefore recommended that legislative and institutional reforms be made to strengthen the governments' mandate in fighting
corruption, and what better way of achieving this than by introducing a law on civil asset forfeiture.