A Record You Cannot Outrun IN Nigeria, the police statement is often the quiet killer of strong cases. Many suspects discover only later that the most consequential moment at the station was not the arrest, the questioning, or even detention—it was the signature. Once appended, that document becomes a speaking witness, carrying a version of […]
By DEBORAH OCHEJA The Constitutional Backing THE right to observe Nigerian court proceedings stems from the constitutional doctrine of open justice. Except where the law expressly restricts it, hearings are public events, accessible to citizens who wish to learn, monitor, or research judicial processes. This is the legal basis that allows journalists, law students, governance analysts, […]
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 […]
When the Court Walks Away, It’s Not Always Defeat Mootness vs. Merit: The Distinction Courts Assume You Know NIGERIA’S legal system suffers from a public-communication deficit: complex judicial doctrines are delivered in dense rulings but rarely translated for mass understanding. One of the most misreported is the doctrine of mootness—often summarised by judges as a […]
By TAYO TAIWO (T. T.) OLUWOLE “Opportunity, Tragedy, and the Battle for a Liveable City” Economic Swagger vs. Urban Fragility LAGOS spent 2025 courting investors while struggling to protect residents. The Lagos Tourism Fair in April targeted ₦5 billion in sales, hosted 220 vendors, and projected 75,000 […]
By AUGUSTUS ISICHEI The 1996 ghost and rivalry economicsFOOTBALL rivalries at AFCON are rarely just emotional—they are structural, psychological and numerical. When South Africa beat Cameroon 3-0 in 1996, it symbolised a generational inversion. Bafana were the disruptors, Cameroon the established power. Thirty years later, the narrative has not reversed: South Africa have not lost […]
By DAVID JOHN-FLUKE The Reform Agenda Nigeria Has Always Needed A Sector Interrupted, Not Irrelevant NIGERIA’S automotive industry is confronting a transition moment as disruptive as independence itself — but this time, the battle is industrial, not territorial. With global mobility rapidly pivoting toward EVs, CNG and low-carbon systems, Nigeria is scrambling to avoid becoming […]
By OBIOMA TORI AfCFTA as Nigeria’s Economic Re-Orientation NIGERIA did not enter the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by accident or political impulse. Its accession followed a deliberate pause, stakeholder consultations, and a late-stage review of national interests. After initially suspending the process, Nigeria eventually ratified the pact on 4 November 2020 and deposited […]
THE Supreme Court does not decide by headlines—but Nigeria’s digital public often interprets by them. The Rivers State emergency rule narrative is a case in point. The Court’s ruling in AG Adamawa & Others v. AG Federation did not give presidential emergency powers in Rivers a constitutional clean bill of health. Instead, it issued what […]
Development Without Permission The Counterfactual Africa Was Never Allowed THE belief that Africa could not have developed without colonisation persists because the counterfactual Africa—industrialising through indigenous systems—was never permitted to exist. Colonial economic policy was not interested in nurturing African manufacturing, technological autonomy, or intellectual property systems. Instead, Africa was positioned permanently as a supplier […]