Delay Can Kill Justice Even When You Hold The Law
When Equity Withdraws Its Hand
ACROSS Nigeria’s courtrooms, one doctrine quietly ends more lawsuits than judges ever headline: Laches and acquiescence—a rule of equity that punishes conduct, not conviction. While statutes bar claims by fixed limitation periods, equity bars them by unreasonable delay that misleads the other party into believing the dispute is over. In high-stakes civil matters—land ownership, chieftaincy, contract enforcement, fundamental rights, and political office tenure—delay has proven more lethal than weak arguments.
In Nigerian jurisprudence, courts lean on the maxim that equity does not aid the indolent. This means that even where a claimant’s legal right is valid, prolonged silence or inaction can be interpreted as abandonment or acceptance, especially when the respondent has relied on that silence to invest, develop property, assume office, or change position irreversibly.
Rights vs. Remedies: The Misunderstood Divide
A claimant may be “100% right” in law, yet “100% irrelevant” in remedy. Legal rights are declaratory; remedies are consequential. When the consequence a claimant seeks can no longer be delivered—because the land is already built on, the appointment has expired, or third-party interests have crystallised—the law treats the claim as dead. This is not mockery. It is judicial self-preservation.
Real-Life Tragedy of the Law’s Stopwatch
In 2025 alone, multiple state high court and appellate decisions reinforced the pattern. Litigants frequently waited for reconciliation, political negotiation, traditional intervention, or informal arbitration—only to approach the court after:
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buildings had been erected on disputed land,
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witnesses had relocated or died,
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documentary trails had degraded, or
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contested tenures had expired.
At that point, courts ask only one question that matters: Can we still fix it? If the answer is no, the court walks away.
Systemic Risks for Governance and Property Rights
Experts warn that delayed litigation creates broader consequences:
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It weakens national land-title integrity.
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It emboldens illegal occupation and informal development.
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It encourages political actors to run out the clock on accountability.
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It undermines evidence preservation in public-interest disputes.
Editorial Verdict
Hope may calm emotions, but it freezes remedies. Silence may avoid confrontation, but it manufactures legal assumptions. Delay may look diplomatic, but it can look like consent. The real reform Nigeria needs is not just stronger laws, but stronger legal culture of urgency.
