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I Look Forward To When Nigeria Rewards Hardwork, Newly Appointed Minister of Justice in Canadian Province, Says Madu

Kaycee Madu, a Nigerian-born lawyer appointed minister of justice and solicitor-general of Alberta in Canada, says he looks forward to the day Nigeria will become a place where hard work and merit are rewarded.

Madu recently became the first African to be appointed minister of justice in the Canadian province after his previous role as minister for municipal affairs.

His appointment was described as one that would bring the needed perspective and change in the justice system.

In a tweet on Sunday evening, Madu thanked Nigerians who celebrated his appointment.

“Thank you for all the support and prayers coming from Nigeria and Nigerians in the diaspora,” he said.

“I look forward to the day when Nigeria and Africa become places where hard work and merit are rewarded. Chukwu Gozie!”https://platform.twitter.com/embed/index.html?creatorScreenName=Nigerialawyers&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1300164812274458624&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fthenigerialawyer.com%2Fi-look-forward-to-when-nigeria-rewards-hardwork-newly-appointed-minister-of-justice-in-canadian-province-says-madu%2F&siteScreenName=Nigerialawyers&theme=light&widgetsVersion=223fc1c4%3A1596143124634&width=550px

Madu had his tertiary education at the University of Lagos where he studied law before he was called to bar in the early 2000s.

In 2005, he and his wife — who also studied law — migrated to Canada where they have been practising.

In a statement signed by Femi Adesina, presidential spokesperson, President Muhammadu Buhari congratulated Madu on his achievement.

The president described the honour as landmark and historic saying it once again pedestals people of Nigerian descent as go-getters, who distinguish themselves in different walks of life.

If I Were The New President Of The NBA

There is no doubt that Mr. Olumide Akpata, the newly sworn-in 30th President of the Nigerian Bar Association is inheriting a Bar that is divided. The first seemly division was prior to the election that brought him into power as a result of an uproar generated by an assertion attributed to a very Senior Lawyer that was rooting for the reservation of the NBA presidency solely for the Senior Advocates of Nigeria.When the election was eventually lost by two SANs to a Non SAN, those aggrieved by the election result were threatening to create a parrarell bar.Before that controversy could die down , the disinviation of Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State suddely became another big issue in the NBA politics. Almost around the same time Mr. Akpata was being sworn- in as the New President of the NBA ,the news was going round that a group of lawyers from the Northern part of the country who were aggrieved by the disinvitation of what was perceived as injustice to El-Rufai had declared the formation of what was called the New Nigerian Bar Association (NNBA). When I read the news, the question I asked was that : Were those lawyers following the pattern of those conventional politicians who formed the New People Democratic Party (nPDP) from the mainstream PDP or the Reformed All Progressive Congress (rAPC) from the APC? Did anything come out of those “new parties” formed by the political Protestants?

I was one of those involved in the war of pen against the decision of the NBA NEC disinviting El-Rufai from the just concluded NBA virtual conference.The question I asked in my write-up titled, BETWEEN NBA AND EL-RUFAI : A WALK ON A TIGHT ROPE https://lawyerwaka.com/between-nba-and.el-rufai-a.walk.on.the.tight.rope/ was whether the anticident of El-Rufai as a controversial speaker or personality was on unknown to the NBA before he was invited in the first place ? While many lawyers and non lawyers commended the said write up as a brilliant and thought provoking, some of our colleagues insulted, abused, attacked and called me all sort of unprintable names for expressing my personal view. There is this lawyer that called himself “Steve Sun” on the social media. He said that he deliberately approved my post on his platform so that lawyers would be able to LAMBAST me on his platform. When the purported lambasting started from him and his comrades, it was a great war of written words between me and them, but when “Steve Sun” could no longer bear the bombardment and the crossfires; he blocked my right to reply on his platform and cowardly ran away. This is a man that always raises unnecessary dust on the social media. Prior to the just concluded elections of the National Officers, he did a fake public poll that a particular candidate would win the position of the General Secretary but his fake prediction never came to pass. When the election result finally came out, “Steve Sun” made a post on his platform trying to ridicule the lawyers from the core West that they had again been defeated by the lawyers of the Mid-West in the race for the NBA Presidency.Is “Steve Sun” a kind of lawyer to be taken serious?

Was it a crime to express one’s personal opinion? Why must I lose a sleep because someone like “Steve Sun” called me names when he could not write a strong rejoinder by quoting me words for words to prove me wrong? There are lawyers in our midst who do not like reading but complaint of an essay being too long or asking someone to summarize for them apart from making other irrational comments.Can those lawyers afraid of reading what they called “long essay or thesis” perform very well if they are appointed as judicial officers whose duties are to read volumes of documents in forms of court processes including written submission, record of proceedings and briefs of arguments before writing their judgments? Their attitude has justified the assertion that standard is fallen in the legal profession. Any person that is afraid of reading and writing does not worth being a lawyer!

I was not the only one that disagreed with the decision of the NBA NEC on the issue of invitation and disinvitation of El-Rufai. Many lawyers and non lawyers equally disagreed with that decision, Dr Reuben Abati, an ex-aide to a former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan in his column of 25/8/2020, a day after mine titled NBA Vs. EL-RUFAI said:

“…By disinviting him to the 60th NBA 60th General Conference, the NBA submitted itself to the will of an aggressive and vocal minority in a manner that could affect the future of the NBA negatively .Most of the people that signed the petition against Nasir El-Rufai come across like persons who nurse personal grudges against him and who failed to look at the big picture….NBA should not be politicized.It must not be personalized .It mus not be used to settled ,ethnic or personal scores. The decision to uninvite Nasir el-Rufai to this year’s NBA which commences tomorrow is a major low in the history of the NBA…”

Some people have argued that there was no big deal in the disinvitation of El-Rufai,that he was not the first victim of such disinvitation that Professor Maurice Iwu, a former Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was once a victim as such NBA owed nobody apology for doing that .My response was that if the NBA has been involving in such act, it is high time NBA stops that . I am of the view that it will be unjust to ask for a consent of a speaker and after consenting,you publish it and send an invitation to him only for you to later embarrass him with disinvitation.To me, this will be unreasonable and irrational to the extreme.If the Conference Organizing Committee is not independent to determine the speakership,then let the NBA NEC first approves the speakers before they are contacted for their consents and invitation send to them.It was for this that I disagree with those saying the NBA owes nobody apology. Except there was a scheme on the ground to deliberately disgrace or ridicule those people invited and later disinvited, I believe both Maurice Iwu and Nasir El-Rufai needed to be apologized to for the embarrassment caused to them by the NBA. If I were the new President, I would soon personally visit both Maurice Iwu and Nasir El-Rufai to apologize to them for the embarrassment caused to them by the NBA.

There is also a strange argument going around even among the Senior Lawyers that NBA NEC on its decision on disinvation being not a court cannot be accused of violating the principle of fair hearing. I for one cannot buy into this newly invented definition. Must a body be a court or tribunal to embrace the principle of fair hearing? If I may ask: Was the NBA BOT a court or tribunal when deliberating on the petition of Deacon Adeshina requesting for the cancellation of the last election? Did the BOT hear from the Electoral Committee before arriving at its decision not to cancel the election? Please forget for the sake of this argument whether the BOT decision was right or not. My advice to those flying that irrational argument is to go and do proper legal research to honestly see whether their newly “invented definition” can hold water or not. Before God passed judgment on Adam for eating the forbidden fruit, did He not give him fair hearing? When Yoruba say that an elder that listen to one side but does not listen to the other side in a dispute is a wicked person , what are they talking about?

The need has arisen for the NBA to change the sytle of its invitation of those to be invited to its programmes and conference. I absolutely share and agree with the view expressed by a learned Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chris Uche when answering the question, what is a Law Conference? He said:

“This is the question we must honestly ask ourselves .We must return to the basics. Annual Bar Conference in those days used to be our professional forum for talking to ourselves about our profession and improving ourselves professionally.We brought distinguished professionals in law who had excelled in their various fields to speak to us .We interacted among ourselves .We lost it the moment we started using Bar leadership as platform to reach out to political leaders.We have no business bringing politicians to our Conference to address us. It’s being mutually abused .This is what is killing the Association. In those days (mid-80 as I can well remember) we attended NEC meetings without being hosted by or visiting any Governor. It was our own thing until that changed and it now became the norm that every Governor in whose State we took NEC to ,must give us N5 million and talk to us.I’m sure the amount must have increased by now. Let us all retrace our steps, and reclaim our profession. We are losing it.”

Will the new President, Olumide Akpata take us back to the glorious days? Those NBA leaders that went about collecting money from politicians are not doing that in the interest of the bar but for their own selfish interest. They were not on the same pedestrian with that late great Bar Leader, Alao Aka-Basorun alias “MAO” who would never compromise the interest of lawyers for any personal gain. The rat race among some senior lawyers to become the NBA President with the view to get appointed as the Attorney of the Federation by the Military junta in the earlier 90s led to the demise of the NBA at that time.

The inaugural speech given Mr. Olumide Akpata as the new NBA President is filled with a lot of hope for the better of the profession. He is fully aware of the problems on the ground when he said:

“….I am not unaware of the very recent events and agitation that have tended to divide our Bar along regional and religious lines. This is rather unfortunate for an egalitarian Association like ours. The Bar that I want to lead henceforth is one that is united on all fronts and that recognizes that our diversity is, perhaps, our greatest strength .I plead with all Nigerian lawyers to bear this philosophy of unity in mind as we commence a new journey together today…..I saw many Nigerian lawyers who had either lost faith or had never been interested in the NBA participate with utmost enthusiasm in the hope that things would become better.I restate that this victory is for our colleagues who have become disillusioned with the NBA and how the Association appears to be disconnected from the challenged that faced its members It is progressive lawyer who refused to accept the status quo and took firm steps to ensure that things are done better…”

The burden is now on Mr. Olumide Akpata to immediately take step to call those who are aggrieved to the round table for proper and serious discussion on how to really unite the bar. The new President should ignore those who are trying to provoke those who are already aggrieved by the recent events at the bar. NBA does not need any parallel association now but we need to reform the present NBA to embrace all its members. I commend the President for the Committee set up to be headed by Mr. Ayo Akintunde (SAN) as I have no doubt in his competence to discharge any assignment given to him. After the conclusion of the NBA Lagos branch election last year, I wrote this about him:

“… The Electoral Committee headed by Chief Akintunde again did a wonderful job which it has been doing for many years now. Chief Akintunde is a person I can recommend for any electoral assignment whether nationally or internationally. We have a personality in our branch that the NBA at national level can look up to, to deliver a free and fair election in the nearest future.Chief Ayodele Akintunde (SAN) is a person that will not compromise as he is a principled man. I congratulate him and all members of his committee for making history again.

If I were Mr. Olumide Akpata, I would also go ahead to constitute a Sport Committee to organize a friendly Football March among lawyers in the sense that all the branches within each state of the federation including Abuja should form a football team to compete for what will be called NBA Cup among state bar. This was the magic I used to unite the Campus Journalists during our undergraduate in the university. During the years of General Sani Abacha’s self succession bid, the leadership of the National Association of Campus Journalists (NACJ), Usmanu Dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto Chapter compromised their positions with those promoting the Youth Earnestly Ask for Abacha (YEAA) and by this various Press Clubs under the Association were divided and there was press war on campus. When I later got elected as the President of the Association, I used the Football Competition to unite all the press clubs. Therefore this is one of the ways we can unite the lawyers in the NBA.

To have a united National Officers leading the NBA, the leader must be transparent by carrying all executives members along in decision making. The leader must avoid the attitude of the sole administratorship and usurpation of the powers of other executive members as this may lead to conflict and misunderstanding. Many leaders are still unable to do away with this kind of attitude which seems to have become rooted in the NBA politics and often create problems within rank of the NBA officers.Mrs Funke Adekoya (SAN) once asserted that :

“Instructively ,the Presidency of the NBA is not a one man show;that is why the President has many National Officers to support him.That is why the President has three Vice Presidents,has a treasurer,has a financial secretary ,has a welfare and a legal adviser.And if everybody is allowed to do their jobs,then it is not a stressful exercise at all .The problems that we are actually seeing in the Bar Association today is that people are trying to put all the powers of all the officers in one place ,that is not what it is supposed to be.”

The above observation was made by the learned silk about six years ago, but the business is still as usual as at the last outgone NBA National Officers wherein Dr. Foluke Dada , the outgone 2nd Vice President accused Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN) of turning the NBA Presidency to the Sole Administratorship.She said PUSAN attempted to assign his kinsman to perform her constitutional duties but she resisted the move. Anyone that has been involved in NBA politics would surely have one story or the other to tell. I once served in the NBA Lagos executives and the experience was not all that pleasant. When I contested for a position and I won, I had it in mind I would pressurize the executives as to the reality of our branch secretariat or bar centre as our branch had existed for years without one to show for it.

When I joined the branch in 2002 immediately I was called to the bar, there was in circulation a Newsletter called NBA LAGOS BAR but later ceased to exist. When I became the Publicity Secretary of the branch, I made an attempt to revive it but did not get the necessary official support. Then from my own personal purse I began to publish a monthly newsletter I called THE BRIEFCASE which I circulated among members during the monthly meeting of our branch.Whenever I hear anyone complaining be marginalized, I just laugh and say that is the NBA politics for you. I remember vividly very well that I started sending monthly meeting notice to member online as Publicity Secretary, some people brought the useless argument that it was the General Secretary that suppose to be doing that.In NBA politics if you are not patient you will always be at loggerhead with those who may want to frustrate you. Another problem with the NBA politics is that many Presidents or branch Chairmen come to the office with their own person hidden agenda that may not be in the interest of the Association but for their own selfish interest and that is why they want to marginalize everyone other officers. Many NBA leaders prefer wasting Millions of naira on merrymaking like organizing Bar Dinners that would last for just few hours than stocking their Bar Secretariat Library if they have any with useful material that will be of benefit to all the members.

While congratulating and welcoming Mr. Olumide Akpata and his new team to the NBA House, I must commend his very impressive inaugural speech wherein he has highlighted his great mission for the NBA. His promise of free 2 packs of 48 stamps for every lawyer that pays his or her annual bar practicing fee on or before the 31st March 2021 is wonderful and well thought. Perhaps for the first time in many years, lawyers are now to derive benefit from the NBA. If were Mr. Olumide Akpata , I will move a bit further to print NBA dairy for lawyers that will have the NBA Constitution as annexture as majority of its members are not familiar with the contents of the Constitution apart from the fact that it needs to be amended to make it more democratic and non discrimianatory.

NOTE: Anyone is at liberty to disagree with my above submissions as I will surely appreciate a balanced, fair and objective rebuttal.

08055476823, 08164683735: [email protected]), 30th August 2020

15-year old suffers multiple rapes by satanic Alfa and a strange man

A 15-year old female resident of Imedu-Nla area of Mowe in Ogun State, last Tuesday August 25, 2020, suffered double jeopardy, as two men forcefully had carnal knowledge of her.

The minor was first defiled on on two different occasions, first by 20-year old Toliha Sabith who forcefully had carnal knowledge of her. Pained by the unfortunate incident, she reported to her Islamic Studies teacher who also raped her instead of proffering the desired counsel and assistance.

After reporting the encounter to himr, the 38 year-old Cleric, Ismaila Saheed was said to have told her she could get pregnant on account of the episode.

He then offered to help her terminate the said pr

Ogun State CP Edward Ajogun

egnancy. Strangely however, he forcefully took advantage of the young girl and even proceeded to insert a sharp object into her private part, causing a serious damage to her vagina in the process.

A report on the devilish act was later reported at the Redeemed Camp Police Station, Mowe, where the Divisional Police Officer, 

SP Bala Yakubu detailed his detectives to go after the two suspects and they were both apprehended on the 28th of August 2020.

Upon interrogation, the suspects have allegedly confessed to the commission of the crime., 

The victim is currently being admitted in an hospital for proper medical attention.

Police Public Relations Officer in Ogun State, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the story.

Ogun PPRO, Abimbola Oyeyemi

Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police, CP Edward A Ajogun, has directed that the two suspects who he described as “animals in human skin” be transferred to Anti Human Trafficking and Child Labour Unit of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for further investigation and diligent prosecution.

The CP therefore appealed to parents to always be concerned about the well being of their children especially the female ones so as not to make them easy prey for predators in human skin.

Oral Application for Bail is Allowed in High Courts.

Daily Law Tips (Tip 643) by Onyekachi Umah, Esq., LL.M, ACIArb(UK)

Oral Application for Bail is Allowed in High Courts.

In Nigeria, like in other countries, there are types of courts (inferior/state-owned and superior/federal-owned courts). There is a hierarchy, with some courts being at the base for small claims and simple offences. The courts at the base of the hierarchy of courts are courts of summary jurisdiction, with little need for writing/documentation (they are often referred to as “inferior courts”). The inferior courts are created by state laws and often allow oral applications (motions, prayers/requests). Since the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has no state legislature, the federal legislature (National Assembly) creates inferior courts for the FCT.

On top of the inferior courts are the Superior Courts, created by the National Assembly through federal laws, like the Constitution of Nigeria and several establishment Acts. The superior courts are courts of records, they always require applications to be in writing and not orally made. Among the inferior courts in Nigeria, are Customary Courts, Area Courts and Magistrate Courts. The Superior Courts include; State High Courts, Federal High Courts, Sharia Court of Appeal, Customary Court of Appeal, National Industrial Courts, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court (the apex court).

Unlike the inferior courts that normally/regularly accept oral applications, there are few situations where the superior courts allow oral applications. One of such is in cases for bail for suspects that have been detained for more than 24 hours for non-capital offenses. In such cases, oral applications for bail are allowed in all courts. Under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and similar state laws in states across Nigeria, a suspect must be released within 24 hours of his being arrested, especially where the alleged crime is not punishable with death (capital offence).

Where a suspect is not granted bail within 24 hours, any person can go to court/institute a case against the concerned law enforcement agency (and its agents) on behalf of the suspect. The court will order the suspect to be produced (brought to) court and inquire into the circumstances of the detention. Where the court desires, the court will grant bail to the suspect. An application for bail in court, can be written or oral, even if the court is a superior court (High Court/Federal High Court/National Industrial Court).

My authorities are:

1. Sections 32, 494 and 495 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 and its equivalent in states across Nigeria.
2. Sections 34, 35, 36, 230, 237, 249, 255, 260, 265, 318 and 319 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.

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FG Moves NIMC To Federal Ministry Of Communications And Digital Economy

To ensure synergy and effective ministry supervision, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the transfer of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy.

A statement by the Spokesperson of the Minister, Mrs. Uwa Suleiman said the approval for the transfer was based on Mr President’s consideration for the critical role of NIMC towards the realisation of the objectives of the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria (NDEPS).

It said also said that the President directives for NIMC to be under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy is an illustration of Mr President’s vote of confidence on Dr Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), the Minister, based on an unprecedented achievement he has recorded within a short time in office.

It will be recalled that Dr. Pantami has, within his first year in office, amongst others, resolved the ICT sector’s decade-long dilemma of Right of Way charges and also able to secure Mr President’s approval for the provision of security as well as designation of Telecommunications Infrastructure as Critical National Infrastructure; regularization of improperly registered SIM cards and deactivation of unregistered ones; the deployment of over 250 digital projects across the country under his policies and supervision as well as built the capacity of over 36,000 Nigerians.

The NIMC is mandated to create, manage, maintain and operate the National Identity Database established by the NIMC Act, 2007. In an effort to realise this, the Commission has so far registered around 41 million eligible enrollees for the National Identity Number (NIN).

The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) on the other hand has details of over 191 million mobile subscribers.

Similarly, the National Information Technology Development Agency has recorded huge successes in the development and implementation of the Nigeria Data Protection Regulation (NDPR), the country’s first codified data protection regulation.

The Agency has also reached an advanced stage on the implementation of the National Public Key Infrastructure (NPKI), while Galaxy Backbone Limited (GBB) also provides services to Government Agencies – Infrastructure-as-a-Service, Platform-as-a-Service and Software-as-a-Service.

The need therefore for NIMC, NCC, NITDA and GBB to work closely together under the supervision of one Ministry towards harnessing what has already been achieved cannot be overemphasized.

The NIN, considered as social security as well as civil number, is very important for economic planning and social intervention. With Federal Government’s digitalization initiatives in line with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy, access to services and interventions will require it.

The Minister, therefore, urged all eligible individuals to enrol as soon as possible, assuring all citizens as well as residents that appropriate measures will be put in place to ensure that opportunities for enrolment are provided to all.

Thenigerialawyer

MultiChoice hikes DSTV, GOTV rates

Subscribers are to pay more to view channels on DStv and GOtv networks, following an announcement on Sunday by MultiChoice to adjust subscriptions with effect from tomorrow.

MultiChoice said the price adjustment was arrived at after careful consideration of the market and a review of its business operations.

In a statement, its Chief Executive Officer, John Ugbe, said: “We have made efforts to contain any price adjustments on subscription prices. However, to ensure the sustainability of the business, we have to consider financial impacts, including inflation as well as increased content and operational costs.
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“As such, we have reviewed the prices of some of our bouquets so that we can continue to survive as a business and bring quality entertainment to our customers.

“To arrive at the decision to adjust prices, we took into account many factors, including the impact on the customer, current inflation, content costs and efficiencies within the company.”

Ugbe said the packages will continue to be available at varying pricing points to allow subscribers flexibility in price and choice without compromising quality or variety.

“To this end, only the prices of some of the bouquets have been reviewed upwards while the lower bouquets have been left untouched,” he said.

Thenigerialawyer

{REGISTER} SRJ Webinar Themed “Ease Of Doing Business: Inheritance Taxes And Tax Incentives In Estate Planning And Administration In Nigeria”

SRJ Legal Practitioners holds a Webinar on Friday 4th September 2020 at 5p.m WAT on the theme “Ease of doing business: Inheritance taxes and tax incentives in estate planning and administration in Nigeria”.

The Panellists are leading key industry experts that include (a) Dame Gladys Olajumoke Simplice, FCIT, the 14th President/Chairperson of the Council of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (b) Luqman Balogun TEP, Founder, Carrot Technologies Ltd ( a leading E-Will application in Nigeria) and (c) Mrs. Omotola Rotimi, Lagos State Administrator-General & Public Trustee.

The Webinar will be moderated by Michael Dugeri and Osita Enwe, both of SRJ Legal Practitioners.

The Webinar fosters discussions on Inheritance taxes and tax incentives available to Nigerians under different Estate Planning and Administration Laws that applies to States in Nigeria in view of Governments commitments to enable the Nigerian business environment and to ease costs of doing business with it.

There is a need to look inward: how does our Estate Administration Laws and all other applicable legislations and policies impact on estate planning and administration across the Nigerian States? How does Inheritance tax impact on Will and estate administration and practices in Nigeria. Does it encourage estate planning and administration? What other pro-active policy recommendations can Governments absorb?

Register to attend to discuss these issues and more on Friday 5th September at 5p.m WAT.

Register here: http://bit.ly/SRJ_sept_webinar

CRC Credit Bureau Sensitises Bank Customers on New GSI Policy

In light of the mixed reactions around the Global Standing Instruction (GSI) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the CRC Credit Bureau has moved to give more insights around the new policy that is aimed at reducing the incidence of non-performing loans in the Nigerian Banking and thereby encourage economic growth.

The GSI Policy which has taken effect since August, 1, 2020 allows financial institutions to leverage on the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) and Credit Risk Management System (CRMS) platforms to recover bad loans.

While speaking on the new policy as a game-changer, the Director, Financial Policy and Regulation Department, CBN, Dr. Kelvin Amugo, explained that the policy would not only guarantee the financial stability in the financial system, but would also reduce the rate of unserviced loans, improve loan recovery efforts and uphold responsive borrowing in the banking system.

He further mentioned that the new policy would help in ensuring bank customers become more responsible in upholding their character when borrowing from financial institutions, saying the Central Bank was working towards including more financial institutions.

“CBN has commenced GSI enlistment for other financial institutions, especially the microfinance banks. We also want to onboard the mobile money operators, because at the end of the day, we want the chain to be complete,” he added.

Stating the implications of the policy on customers, the Chief Risk Officer, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Olajumoke Odulaja announced that the policy would go a long way in correcting situations where a customer who has the capacity to pay back a loan refuses to pay. She further explained that the policy would improve lending confidence, thereby bringing a decrease in interest rate.

“It is safe to also note that banks are not allowed to wrongly trigger the GSI mandate against a customer, as there are stiff penalties for banks that do that, ” she added.

Global COVID-19 cases top 25 million – Johns Hopkins report

WASHINGTON –  The number of coronavirus cases recorded worldwide has topped 25 million, according to data compiled by U.S. researchers.

In the United States, which has the highest case tally of any country, infection numbers are nearing six million, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University updated on Sunday night.

Brazil has the second-highest number of cases, at almost 3.9 million, followed by India, which has recorded more than 3.5 million.

The U.S. has the highest number of COVID-19 deaths, at more than 183,000, followed by Brazil with more than 120,000 and Mexico with over 64,000.

The figures from the Baltimore-based University put global deaths at more than 845,000.

The Johns Hopkins tracker website is regularly updated with incoming figures and tends to show higher numbers than those officially counted by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

However, in some cases, figures have been later corrected downwards.

Experts expect that official numbers do not reflect the full picture of the spread of the coronavirus, as it is unlikely all COVID-19 deaths and cases of infection have been recorded. (dpa/NAN)

The Concept of Netting Under The Nigerian Law -By Precious Okoh

Netting arises when several contracts between the same two parties are settled concurrently. The amount due from the several contracts is collated and the obligations to pay or be paid are combined into a single obligation of the net amount. The process of collating these several off-setting claims into a single claim is generally called “netting’’.

An example is: Where Company A enters into a contract with Company B (first contract) amounting to about N10 million in favour of Company A on the 1 January 2020; and a second contract on the 2 February 2020 amount to N20 million between the same parties now in favour of Company B and a third transaction on the 3 March 2020 amounting to N30 million in favour of company A; these three different agreements are individually valid and enforceable, however they may be combined by the process of netting so that eventually Company A is settled by a single payment of N20 million from Company B.

In a swap transaction for example, assume two parties enter into a swap agreement on a particular security whereby they both owe money to each other. At the end of the swap period, the following is due:

  • If Investor X is due to receive N100,000,000 from Investor Y
  • And Investor Y is due to receive N25,000,000 from Investor X
  • Then, instead of Investor Y paying Investor X N100,000,000 and Investor X giving Investor Y N25,000,000, the payments would be netted
  • Consequently, Investor X would give Investor Y N0, while Investor Y would give Investor X N75,000,000

Netting, as it relates to insolvency, dates back to the beginning of commercial relations. The early history of insolvency law provides some fundamental perspective for understanding the efficiency implications of netting.

In Nigeria, the concept of netting was codified in the recent Companies and Allied Matters Act signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on the 7 August 2020 to provide explicitly for circumstances where multiple transactions/contracts relating to insolvency may be combined and settled.  The amounts due for the contract may involve obligations to pay under one contract and a right to receive under another, are summed together and the several obligations to pay or be paid are combined into a single obligation for the net amount.

By Section 718 of the CAMA 2020, netting means the occurrence of the following:

  1. Termination, liquidation or acceleration of any payment or delivery obligation or entitlement under one or more qualified financial contracts entered into under a netting agreement;
  2. Calculation or estimation of a cl0se-out value, market value, liquidation value or replacement value in respect of each obligation or entitlement or group of obligations or entitlements terminated, liquidated or accelerated under paragraph (a)
  3. Conversion of any value calculated or estimated under paragraph (b) into a single currency; and
  4. Determination of the net balance of the values calculated whether by operation of set-off or otherwise;

Netting is a reconciliation, settlement and payment mechanism under which competing rights or interests are terminated and valued, resulting in amounts payable between contracting parties being consolidated into single, smaller payment from one party to another. That is, the party’s gross obligations are offset against each other and treated (for payment purposes, but not for regulatory capital purposes) as a single obligation such that there is, effectively, only one claim in existence at any given time.

Netting is also used when a company is in bankruptcy and the parties wish to settle or offset the balances owed to each other. It is similar to set-off clause or set-off law. A company carrying on business with another company ‘defaulting company’ may ‘net’ any money owed the defaulting company with money that’s owed them. The final balance is the amount owed by them or to them, which can be used in bankruptcy proceedings.

In high transactions, companies may enter into ‘Qualified financial contracts’.  Qualified financial contracts mean financial agreements, contract or transaction, including any terms and conditions incorporated by reference in any financial agreements, contract or transactions, pursuant to which payment or delivery obligations are due to be performed at a certain time or within a certain period of time and whether or not subject to any condition or contingency.

While a netting agreement means any:

  1. Agreement between two parties that provide for netting of present or future payment or delivery obligations or entitlements arising under or in conjunction with one or more qualified financial contracts entered into under the agreement by the parties to the agreement called the master netting agreement.
  2. Master agreement between two parties that provides for netting of the amounts due under two or more master netting agreements known as master-master netting agreement; and
  3. Collateral arrangement related to or forming part of one or more of the foregoing.

Benefits of Netting and Netting agreements

Netting saves companies unnecessary waste of time and costs by reducing several deals entered into by corporations into a single transaction by narrowing the transaction and deal.

In the foreign exchange market, companies or banks can consolidate the number of currencies and foreign exchange deals into larger trades, reaping the benefits of improved pricing.  In situations where companies have more organized time frames and predictability in settlements, they can more accurately forecast their cash flows.

Netting is a method of reducing risks in financial contracts by combining or aggregating multiple financial obligations to arrive at a net obligation amount. Netting is used to reduce settlement, credit, and other financial risks between two or more parties.

Precious Okoh is a legal practitioner called to the Nigerian bar in 2019. He is currently a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and passionate about commercial litigation, Arbitration and Dispute Resolution and very curious about digging into novel fields of law like technology, artificial intelligence and Energy law.

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