Visit versus Visitation and allied matters

By Chinua Asuzu A visitation is not necessarily synonymous with a visit. A visitation means either (1) an authoritative, formal, legal, or official visit; or (2) a divine, supernatural, or transcendental appearance (not always benevolent—you don’t look forward to a “visitation of God,” which can be as ominous as an “act of God”). In Catholicism,…

June 27, 20230Comments

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“A brief should be luminous, not voluminous.”

By Chinua Asuzu "A brief should be luminous, not voluminous." Irvin Taylor. It’s harder, but more profitable, to write a short brief than a long one. Strive to write succinctly. The judicial branch of government will fall in love with you. Don’t drown your arguments in stylistic embellishments. “A style that steals the show from…

May 15, 20230Comments

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Recognizance versus Reconnaissance

By Chinua Asuzu Generally, a _recognizance _is a bond to the court or tribunal, whereby the recognizor undertakes to abide by some specified condition (for example, to appear for his trial, attend court when required, pay a debt, keep the peace, etc.) More particularly, a recognizance is synonymous with a bail bond—it secures the return…

February 11, 20230Comments

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Laches

By Chinua Asuzu Unlike most law terms of non-English origin, laches comes from French, not Latin. It’s the French noun for “remissness” or “slackness.” Black’s Law Dictionary, 11th edition, offers two senses of laches: (1) “Unreasonable delay in pursuing a right or claim—almost always an equitable one—in a way that prejudices the party against whom…

January 24, 20230Comments

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Did you know how Obafemi Awolowo got the title ‘Leader’?

Did you know? Well, the master storyteller Onigegewura scoured through books including Bola Ige, People, Politics and Politicians of Nigeria and made a discovery. “[Following the 1952 election] There was a majority party in the House of Assembly [the Action Group], but the head of government was not a member of the Party; indeed he…

January 19, 20230Comments

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Overturn versus Upturn

By Chinua Asuzu Appellate courts don’t “upturn” lower-court decisions. Nor do subsequent courts “upturn” precedent-court decisions. They may overturn them, however. Black’s Law Dictionary, 11th ed., defines overturn as “To overrule or reverse.” Regarding “upturn,” a literal word with little figurative potential, Black’s deems it ineligible for inclusion in a law dictionary.

January 2, 20230Comments

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It’s “wholly Nigerian-owned company”, NOT a “wholly owned Nigerian company”

By Chinua Asuzu WHITHER (adverb) versus WITHER (verb): “Whither” means “where” or “to which place.” It’s an archaic adverb to be avoided in modern writing, but you can inject it justifiably once a decade for poetic effect. “Wither” means “to become dry,” “to dry up,” “to shrivel.” WARY versus WEARY (adjectives): “To be wary of something is…

December 25, 20220Comments

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Introduce your quotations with informative lead-ins

By Chinua Asuzu Outgrow stereotyped, bare lead-ins like these: As Oputa JSC stated, “…” The statute provides: “…” The Supreme Court held, “…” According to Ben Nwabueze, “…” Prefer informative lead-ins like these: Oputa JSC restated the four criteria an applicant must meet for the grant of an interlocutory injunction: “…” The statute restricts relief…

November 18, 20220Comments

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Introduce your quotations with informative lead-ins.

By Chinua Asuzu Outgrow stereotyped, bare lead-ins like these: As Oputa JSC stated, “…” The statute provides: “…” The Supreme Court held, “…” According to Ben Nwabueze, “…” Prefer informative lead-ins like these: Oputa JSC restated the four criteria an applicant must meet for the grant of an interlocutory injunction: “…” The statute restricts relief…

November 7, 20220Comments

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Let’s outgrow the whether-fragment format of issue framing

By Chinua Asuzu The whether-fragment is the commonest, darkest, ugliest, and worst method of stating issues. The whether-fragment “states what should be a direct question as an indirect question in the form of a statement fragment. But that’s the least of the problems. The whether-question is invariably either highly abstract and therefore incomprehensible or else…

October 31, 20220Comments

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