A no-fault divorce is a form of dissolution of marriage where the proof of wrongdoing is not required to be shown by either party. A no fault divorce in Nigeria is indirectly provided by the virtue of Section 15(1) and Section 15 (2) ( e ) and ( f ) of the Matrimonial Causes Act [...]
REVIEW OF FINANCE ACT IN NIGERIA President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday 13, January 2020 signed the Finance bill designed to create an enabling environment for business and investment by those in the private sector. This bill was earlier presented by the president at a joint session of the National Assembly on October 14 2019. In [...]
Affidavit of Spinsterhood in Nigeria Attestation of Marital Status Certificate of spinsterhood in Nigeria is basically an affidavit (sworn to before the commissioner of oath in the High Court of the state) attesting to her single marital status, clearly stating that the woman is free to marry and there is no hindrance of a proposed [...]
LEGALISATION OF DOCUMENTS Legalization of documents in Nigeria essentially deals with the certification or attestation of the authenticity of signatures on documents and compliance of same with the laws of a country where it was issued. The procedure of how to legalize documents in Nigeria are usually the same for most documents that require legalization [...]
LEGAL CONSULTANTS IN NIGERIA Resolution Law Firm is a leading law firm in Nigeria with more than a dozen legal practitioners in Nigeria. The firm acts as legal consultants in Nigeria to several individuals, local and multinational companies in Nigeria. The law firm has various competent and experienced lawyers focusing on various areas of legal [...]
COST OF NOTARIZING A DOCUMENT IN NIGERIA There is a procedure for how to get a document notarized in Nigeria and in every other part of the world. In general parlance and in most parts of the world, a document can only be accepted internationally if it has been notarized or authenticated and its genuineness [...]
HOW TO AUTHENTICATE CERTIFICATE IN NIGERIA ATTESTATION OF RESULTS IN NIGERIA The procedure for authentication of result in Nigeria usually commences with the notarization of the certificate by the Notary Public. The authentication is usually required by institutions in some countries. It is worthy of note to state that it is not all institutions abroad [...]
HOW TO LEGALIZE BIRTH CERTIFICATE IN NIGERIA The procedure to Nigerian birth certificate authentication usually commences by obtaining the birth certificate or the age attestation certificate from the National Population Commission (NPC). Because Nigeria is not a signatory to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (the Apostille Convention), most [...]
PATENT REGULATIONS IN NIGERIA The Patent and Design Act 1971 (the Act) is the principal patent law in Nigeria. A patent is a grant by a country to an inventor of an exclusive monopoly right to preclude another person from exploiting, making, using, importing, or selling invention his invention without his consent for a fixed [...]
FORMS OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN NIGERIA The enforcement of intellectual property rights in Nigeria involves various judicial and administrative mechanisms. The intellectual property right is an intangible property right, which is protected under the law. The intellectual property connotes all forms of copyrights; Inventions in all fields of human endeavour; Industrial designs; and Trademarks, [...]
LEGALIZATION OF MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE IN NIGERIA The procedure for an authentication marriage certificate in Nigeria involves three major steps. The first step is to obtain the certified true copy (CTC) of the marriage certificate at relevant registry; notarize the marriage certificate with the notary public in Nigeria; the third step is the attestation from Ministry [...]
BUSINESS LAWS IN NIGERIA There are several applicable rules and regulations of doing business in Nigeria. This purpose of this write-up is aimed at summarizing the steps required to carry out business in Nigeria and the rule and regulations governing businesses in Nigeria. Business setup and operation in Nigeria are governed by various laws. These [...]
COPYRIGHT LAWS IN NIGERIA ADMINISTRATION OF COPYRIGHT IN NIGERIA A copyright is an exclusive right given to the originator of creative work to reproduce the work for a limited period. Copyright protects the work of authors, artists, songwriters, music publishers and composers, photographers and other creatives. The primary copyright law in Nigeria is the Copyright [...]
WITHHOLDING TAX RATES IN NIGERIA 2020 WITHHOLDING TAX LAW Withholding Tax in Nigeria is a form of advance payment of income tax. It is a payment on account of the ultimate income tax liability of the taxpayer or company. Withholding tax (WHT) is not a separate tax on its own and does not confer an [...]
BENEFITS OF THE FREE TRADE ZONES IN NIGERIA FREE TRADE ZONES REGULATIONS A free-trade zone is a class of special economic zone. It is a geographic area where goods may be landed, stored, handled, manufactured, or reconfigured and re-exported under specific customs regulation and generally such goods are not subject to customs duty. Free trade [...]
COMPANY INCOME TAX IN NIGERIA The Company Income Tax Act (CITA) is the principal law that regulates the taxation of companies in Nigeria. The tax regime in Nigeria is a multi-level tax system, which simply means that tax is administered by the three tiers of government. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) administers or oversee [...]
LEGALIZATION AND AUTHENTICATION OF DOCUMENTS IN NIGERIA Legalization of a document in Nigeria connotes the certification of a document, which has already been authenticated. It is a process by which a foreign embassy in Nigeria certifies the genuineness of signature or stamps and/or seal made by the authorized officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [...]
HOW TO OBTAIN BETTING LICENSE IN NIGERIA There are various gaming laws in Nigeria regulating gambling and gaming licensing at both federal and state levels of government. Some of the laws governing gaming in Nigeria include the National Lottery Act 2005; National Lottery Regulations 2007 (as amended); Lagos State Lottery Law 2004 and various laws [...]
HOW TO REGISTER FOR NOGIC JQS WITH NCDMB NIGERIAN LOCAL CONTENT REGISTRATION The Nigeria local content registration is supervised and administered by the federal government through the NCDMB. The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is a federal government agency that was established by the virtue of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content [...]
TRADEMARK OPPOSITION PROCESS NOTICE OF OPPOSITION TRADEMARK A trademark opposition in Nigeria is an administrative proceeding, similar to a civil federal lawsuit, before the Opposition Office at the Trademark Registry in which one party seeks to prevent another from registering a proposed or an accepted trademark. A trademark is a branch of intellectual property that [...]
REGISTERING A MICROFINANCE BANK IN NIGERIA A microfinance bank refers to a mini or non-commercial bank licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to provide financial services and non-financial services. The CBN is the government agency in charge of registration and licensing of microfinance banks in Nigeria. There are several requirements for registering a [...]
OIL AND GAS POLICIES IN NIGERIA There are various laws regulating oil and gas in Nigeria. The principals among these laws are the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) and the Petroleum Act, which vested ownership and control of oil found anywhere in Nigeria in the Federal Government. This includes oil located within any land [...]
REGISTRATION FOR DEED OF ASSIGNMENT IN LAGOS STATE DEED OF CONVEYANCE IN NIGERIA A deed of assignment is an agreement where an assignor assigns his or her ownership in land or property to an assignee. The deed of assignment in Nigeria contains very pertinent information for a real estate transaction. The deed of conveyance in [...]
Notice of Arbitration Nigeria In accordance with the provisions of section 17, Arbitration and Conciliation Act (ACA)), where there is a default of an agreement by the parties, the arbitral proceedings in respect of such a dispute may commence on the date the request to refer the dispute to arbitration is received by the other party. [...]
ATTESTATION OF BIRTH CERTIFICATE BIRTH CERTIFICATE NIGERIA The National Population Commission (NPC) is an agency of the Federal Government of Nigeria established and saddled with the responsibility of issuing a birth certificate in Nigeria. The agency also issues attestation of birth certificate for any person born in Nigeria where applicable. The Nigeria birth certificate is [...]
NAPIMS REGISTRATION The National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) is a corporate services unit in the E&P Directorate of the Nigerian Petroleum Petroleum Commission(NNPC), which supervises the Nigerian Petroleum Exchange (NIPEX) registration. The purpose of NIPEX is to register supplier, vendor and contractor with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(NNPC) and also for all other Exploration [...]
Private Security Company License and Registration The private security guard companies are supervised by the Nigerian Security and the Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC). The procedure for how to register a security guard company in Nigeria must be commenced with the registration of a private limited liability company. Most individuals and corporate organizations now require the [...]
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW Intellectual property is simply the creation of the human mind. It is the intangible property of human creation. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions; literary and artistIntellectualic works; and symbols, names, and images used in commerce. In this article, we briefly [...]
How To Recover Debts Debt Recovery Process in Nigeria The law has provided for a lawful process and procedure for debt recovery in Nigeria. To start with, owing debt is a civil wrong, and not criminal wrong. Thus, the Police and other security agents may not have the power to arrest a debtor except the [...]
The core principle of corporate governance in Nigeria is on how to make those in the management of the companies more accountable, responsible and sensitive to the interest of shareholders, the interest of creditors and members of the public.The main laws, which are the fulcrum of the corporate governance principles in Nigeria are: The Companies [...]
MARRIAGE LAWS IN NIGERIA STEPS FOR GETTING MARRIED IN NIGERIA Marriage in the English dictionary is defined as the legally or formally recognized union of two people as partners. It is also called matrimony or wedlock and this union establishes rights and obligations between the two people who are married and just like every other [...]
Appointment of arbitrators in Nigeria is the first step to commence an arbitration proceeding. Arbitration is a procedure in which a dispute is submitted, by agreement of the parties, to one or more arbitrators who make a binding decision on the dispute. In choosing arbitration, the parties opt for a private dispute resolution procedure instead [...]
APPOINTMENT OF ARBITRATORS Appointment of arbitrators in Nigeria is the first step to commence an arbitration proceeding. Arbitration is a procedure in which a dispute is submitted, by agreement of the parties, to one or more arbitrators who make a binding decision on the dispute. In choosing arbitration, the parties opt for a private dispute resolution procedure [...]
Trademark Search Nigeria The trademark search is the first step for registering a trademark in Nigeria. Essentially, there are three major steps involved in trademark registration in Nigeria namely; (1) Search, (2) Filing and (3) Publication. Each of these three major steps is followed by a major result. To start with, the first step, the [...]
COOPERATIVE SOCIETY REGISTRATION IN LAGOS A cooperative society is a voluntary association of individuals, united by the common bond, who have come together to pursue their economic goals for their own benefits. It is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social & cultural needs and aspiration through a jointly [...]
PAYMENTS SERVICE PROVIDER LICENSE CBN FINTECH LICENSE In the most recent times, financial technology (otherwise known as FINTECH) companies have been evolving with numerous innovative products relating to payments services, which are gaining acceptance in Nigeria. Consequently, the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) commenced a new licensing regime for all categories of payment service providers and [...]
STARTING A COMPANY IN NIGERIA The principal law guiding the starting of a business in Nigeria is the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) Cap C20. There are different types of business entities that can be registered in Nigeria. The choice of business to set up is influenced by various factors such as control, limitation [...]
PROCEDURE FOR NSITF REGISTRATION The Employee Compensation Act of 2010 establishes the Employee Compensation Scheme, which provides adequate and timely compensation for employees who suffer diseases or injuries in the course of employment. The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) provides a defined scheme through social insurance method for employees in the private and public [...]
TWP VISA NIGERIA Temporary work permit (TWP) is a short time permit issued to foreigners encouraging them to work in Nigeria for a limited period of time. The Temporary Work Permit visa does not guarantee permeant residency in Nigeria. Foreigners coming into Nigeria for a short term employment purpose are expected to obtain the TWP [...]
Subject to the provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2004 (CAMA), a private company may appoint any competent person as its Secretary. The CAMA does not exclude the director of the same company as an eligible person for such a position. Consequently, a private company may appoint one of its directors as a [...]
RESIDENT DIRECTOR NIGERIA SHAREHOLDERS IN NIGERIAN COMPANY There are several types or classes of Directors allowed under the Nigerian law, which include Executive Directors, Alternate Directors, Managing Directors, Shadow Directors, Life Directors and Nominee Directors among others. The focus of this write-up is to briefly examine and evaluate the proprietary and appointment of nominee directors in Nigerian. [...]
SALE AND TRANSFER OF VESSEL IN NIGERIA ACQUISITION OF SHIP IN NIGERIA A Ship or Vessel can be sold and ownership of title to a ship can be transferred to another in accordance with the Merchant and Shipping Act. The Merchant Shipping Act 2007 provides for the transfer and sale of a ship in Nigeria. [...]
TAXES APPLICABLE TO COMPANIES IN NIGERIA Taxes are imposed and applicable to both individuals and companies in Nigeria. The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) collect taxes on behalf of the Federal Government in Nigeria. There are several taxes mandated by law to be payable by companies doing business in Nigeria, which includes but are not [...]
OPENING A BANK ACCOUNT IN NIGERIA There are various regulations and procedures guiding the opening and operation of a bank account for both locals and non-resident persons in Nigeria. The Non-resident bank account opening in Nigeria is relevant to Nigerian citizens in diaspora and foreigners having Nigerian residency status. Pursuant to the Central Bank of [...]
LOCAL CONTENT IN NIGERIA OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY NIGERIAN LOCAL CONTENT REQUIREMENTS Nigeria a former British colony had an Independence date that was heralded on the discovery of oil in 1956. The Nigerian oil and gas industry has been growing since the discovery of Crude Oil by the Shell group at Oloibiri. Although this particular [...]
DPR OFFSHORE SAFETY PERMIT (OSP) The Offshore Safety Permit (OSP) is issued by the DPR for travelling by boat, ship or helicopter to offshore/swamp facilities, ship to ship transfer, oil and gas platforms, rigs, work barges, marine vessels, workboats operated and owned by contractors in the oil and gas industry. It is a Personnel Accountability [...]
ECOWAS RESIDENCE CARD IN NIGERIA PROCEDURE FOR ECOWAS RESIDENCE PERMIT IN NIGERIA ECOWAS residence permit is the approval given by countries under the Economic Community of West African States to citizens of other countries to come into any ECOWAS country for a given period of time. The ECOWAS treaty provides for free movement of citizens [...]
HOW TO GET POWER OF ATTORNEY IN NIGERIA TYPES OF POWER OF ATTORNEY Power of Attorney is a document or instrument, which authorizes or appoints a person to legally act and administer affairs on behalf of another. The parties in a Power of Attorney are referred to as Donor/Principal (the party who donates power to [...]
SHARE CAPITAL OF A COMPANY IN NIGERIA The share capital is fundamental to a set up of a company. The extent of liabilities and dividends or profits of the owners of a company can only be determined by the number of shares subscribed to be the individual owners or shareholders. There are various types or classes of shares permissible under [...]
EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT IN NIGERIA The contract of employment in Nigeria is used under the employment and labour relations to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. It emphasizes the power of the employer to control the work of the employee. Contract of employment is defined under section 91 of the Labour Act 2004 [...]
Company secretarial services in Nigeria involve the administration of a company with regards to ensuring compliance with the statutory and regulatory requirements. Nigerian companies are required under the Companies and Allied Matters Act LFN 2004 to appoint a secretary. Section 293 of the “Act” states that “every company shall have a secretary” Upon the incorporation [...]
