Maintaining the Status Quo in Pending Cases IN Nigerian courts, the Latin legal maxim Lites Pendente Nihil Innovetur, meaning “During the pendency of a suit, nothing should be changed,” remains a cornerstone of procedural law. Grounded in the doctrine of lis pendens, this principle dictates that once a legal dispute is filed before a competent […]
A Renewed Debate Over Identity and Statehood THE re-emergence of calls for the creation of Anioma State has reignited a long-running debate about identity, history and political representation in Nigeria’s federal structure. While critics often frame the demand as expansionist or politically motivated, proponents argue that it reflects a deeper historical and cultural reality shaped […]
By GODWIN KELECHI A Lingering Question in Nigeria’s Historical Memory MORE than six decades after Nigeria’s first military coup of 15 January 1966, one question continues to resonate strongly within Igbo political and historical consciousness: why were the Igbo people collectively punished for the actions of officers whose motivations and identities were neither exclusively Igbo nor […]
By STELLA JUSTICE NNENNAYA THE LEGAL MEANING OF STATE OF ORIGIN IN MARRIAGE Clarifying a Common Misconception ACROSS Nigeria, confusion persists over whether a woman’s state of origin changes after marriage. In official forms, employment processes, political appointments, and public service documentation, married women are often pressured to claim their husband’s state as theirs. However, under […]
THE AMALGAMATION AS A COLONIAL ECONOMIC PROJECT A Union Proclaimed from Afar ON 1st January 1914, a single administrative decision taken in Britain altered the political trajectory of West Africa. Through a formal colonial proclamation, the British government merged the Northern Nigeria Protectorate, the Southern Nigeria Protectorate, and the Colony of Lagos into one entity—the […]
GLOBAL OIL RESERVES AND ENERGY GEOPOLITICS Analysis: The World’s Largest Proven Oil Reserves and Their Impact PROVEN oil reserves—quantities of crude oil that can be economically extracted using existing technology and under current market conditions—remain at the core of global energy politics and economic strategy. Measured in billions of barrels, these reserves shape long-term planning […]
Voices Beneath the Ledger: Slavery, Memory, and the Triplets Story Introduction: Mythmaking in the Shadows of Slavery THE story of three enslaved triplet sisters born on a Mississippi plantation in 1845 — whose singing unsettled masters and whose disappearance remains unexplained — circulates widely in digital culture as a haunting antebellum tale. Yet rigorous historical […]
Background: A One-Week Shutdown and a Legal Debate THE decision by Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Charles Soludo, to shut down the Onitsha Main Market for one week has reignited a long-running national debate over the limits of executive power in Nigeria’s federal system. The closure followed continued observance of Monday sit-at-home actions by traders, a […]
By AROH ANTHONY Reconstructing an Indigenous History THE historical narrative of the Ukwuani-Ndosumiri people offers an instructive case study in African indigeneity. Anchored in the Ndokwa region of Delta State, the group is widely recognized as an aboriginal population whose identity predates later migratory inflows into Delta North. This recognition is grounded in linguistic evidence, cultural […]
MILITARY AND STRATEGIC ANALYSIS The Birth of a Breakaway State WHEN the Eastern Region of Nigeria declared independence as the Republic of Biafra in May 1967, its leaders believed they could sustain a viable state through popular mobilisation, defensive warfare, and international sympathy. The declaration followed years of ethnic violence, political breakdown, and military coups […]