Meridian Solicitors

25/12/2022

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

20/12/2022

God is the greatest humanitarian, HE is love personified.

“Activism works. So what I’m telling you to do now is to act. Because no one is too small to make a difference.” - Greta Thunberg

Meridian Solicitors received the humanity award from Oyo 100 Brands Award. Thank you for recognizing the humanity in our service delivery.

19/01/2022

LEGAL REPRIEVE FOR LANDLORDS
-By Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN.

On Friday, February 5, 2021, the Supreme Court brought joy to many landlords across the land when it delivered a landmark judgment which buried the ago-long antics of some tenants who hide under the technical rules of justice to frustrate landlords from reaping the fruit of their sweat and investment over many years. It is the case of Pillars (Nigeria) Ltd. v. Desbordes (2021) 12 NWLR (Pt.1789) 122. It has become almost established in Nigeria to have situations whereby tenants deploy legal gymnastics to battle their landlords, either against lawful ejection from a building or from collecting the rent due to them from their occupation of the said property. Especially in urban cities like Lagos where the courts are heavily congested, landlords who dare to sue their tenants before any court are made to ‘forfeit’ their buildings temporarily. There are cases that last for as long as ten years in court, with one preliminary objection or the other, filed by the tenant as land mines to frustrate the landlord. These objections will be escalated to the Court of Appeal if overruled by the High Court, and thereafter to the Supreme Court.

The technical issues that have plagued landlord and tenant cases are those of proper issuance and service of quit notices. Lawyers and judges have always laboured under the regime of appropriate notices. In some very disturbing cases, the tenant would acknowledge receipt of the quit notice but still proceed to challenge its validity on the ground that it was not properly issued and on that ground alone, he would remain in the property for as long as the case lasts, without paying any rent whatsoever. Of course there are landlords who operate as shylocks, using every occasion to extort money from the hapless tenant, in the name of providing accommodation. These ones are not the focus of this piece this week, but rather the tenants who delight in exploiting the systemic rot in the judiciary to punish their landlords.
How has the Supreme Court brought reprieve to landlords? No doubt, yes. The facts of the case of Pillars v Desbordes supra as narrated in the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports is typical of many cases pending in our courts across Nigeria. There was a contract of lease in respect of a plot of land lying and being at Plot B, Sabiu Ajose Crescent, Surulere, Lagos. The contract of lease was completed on 24/10/1977 when the respondent as lessor entered into a 26-year developer’s lease to erect a building within two years on or before 1979 on payment of annual rent payable in advance. The suit was initiated by the respondents as lessors on 13/5/1993, to recover the property due to non-compliance with the leasing terms of erecting a building on the land. The trial High Court (Akinsanya, J of blessed memory) on 8/12/2000 entered judgment in favour of the lessor, the landlord. The lessee, the tenant, filed an appeal against the judgment of the High Court before the Court of Appeal. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal on 8/5/2009, having found that the appellant, the lessee, breached the terms of the lease, whereupon the lessee appealed further to the Supreme Court, which delivered its final judgment on 5/2/2021, about eleven years after the appeal was filed in the Supreme Court. The portion of the judgment of the Supreme Court delivered by Ogunwumiju, J.S.C. that has buried the dirty and unethical games of technicality reads as follows:

“The justice of this case is very clear. The appellant has held on to the property regarding which it had breached the lease agreement from day one. It had continued to pursue spurious appeals through all hierarchy of courts to frustrate the judgment of the trial court delivered on 8/2/2000, about twenty years ago. After all, even if the initial notice to quit was irregular, the minute the writ of summons dated 13/5/1993 for repossession was served on the appellant, it served as adequate notice. The ruse of faulty notice used by tenants to perpetuate possession in a house or property which the landlord had slaved to build and relies on for means of sustenance cannot be sustained in any just society under the guise of adherence to any technical rule. Equity demands that wherever and whenever there is controversy on when or how notice of forfeiture or notice to quit is disputed by the parties, or even where there is irregularity in giving notice to quit, the filing of an action by the landlord to regain possession of the property has to be sufficient notice on the tenant that he required to yield up possession. I am not saying here that statutory and proper notice to quit should not be given. Whatever form the periodic tenancy is, whether weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly, etc., immediately a writ is filed to regain possession, the irregularity of the notice, if any, is cured. Time to give notice should start to run from the date the writ is served. If for example, a yearly tenant, six months after the writ is served and so on. All the dance drama around the issue of the irregularity of the notice ends. The Court would only be required to settle other issues if any, between the parties. This appeal has absolutely no merit and it is hereby dismissed.”
There is no better way to say it than as My Lord has put it so eloquently. In this way, the ends of justice can be served in ensuring that what litigants get on paper is not just the empty judgment that is bereft of any modicum of remedy but rather a satisfactory reward for trusting the legal system as an effective route to justice. The case of Pillars v Desbordes supra is reminiscent of what happens in our courts day in day out. This case took 28 years from 1993 when it was filed in the High Court to 2021 when the final judgment was delivered by the Supreme Court. It was in the High Court between 1993 and 2000 (seven years), in the Court of Appeal between 2000 and 2009 (nine years) and in the Supreme Court between 2009 and 2021 (twelve years). This is how the judiciary works in Nigeria, where litigants who file their cases in Court are not sure that they will still be alive when the case is finally decided. By default, the courts serve the interests of the defendant, in this case the lessee who must have remained in the property for the duration of the cases, for 28 years from the High Court to the Supreme Court, perhaps without paying rent. This is why impunity practitioners taunt their victims to go to court, knowing that the system is damn too slow to deliver real justice to most people. And to imagine that this could have been a commercial transaction where time is of the essence. Which investor would commit his money into an economy where it takes twenty-eight years to resolve an issue as simple as breach of a lease agreement? This is why something needs to be done urgently to address the rot that is currently plaguing the judiciary across the States and even in the federal judicial sector.
Lagos State Government attempted in 2011, to address these lapses through the promulgation of the Tenancy Law now reproduced in the 2015 Laws of Lagos State. In section 13 of the said Tenancy Law, the length of the notices to be issued was specified in detail. In section 13 (4) of the said law, it is stated that “notice to tenants … need not terminate on the anniversary of the tenancy but may terminate on or after the date of expiration of the tenancy”. However cases still linger on in the courts due to the wrong interpretation of this section. What is required now is for the Houses of Assembly of the States to study the decision of the Supreme Court in Pillars v Desbodes supra and proceed to amend their tenancy laws to conform with the judgment and thus remove all the technical jargons that tenants and their lawyers latch on to, to deny landlords of the reward of their sweat and labour, over the years. Property has become more of an investment for retirement in the latter part of life, so you can imagine how it feels for one to be denied such a benefit when it is needed most.

The other solution is for the government to invest massively in the housing sector through deliberate construction of houses for the masses. Given the projected explosion in our population by the United Nations, the housing deficit must be addressed frontally by the government not only through direct investment but also to create the level-playing field for the private sector to undertake some initiatives that will address the needs of the people and in that wise, help to ameliorate the burden placed upon the government in this regard. Housing falls under the statutory responsibility of the government to provide for the welfare of the people and it is also one of the basic necessities of life. Although the Supreme Court has ended the agony of landlords on paper through this landmark judgment, there are still so many cases like Pillars v Desbordes in various courts across Nigeria. In this case, the original owner of the property died, a substitution was effected on 14th May, 2018, suggesting that even some of the children also died in the course of the case, most unfortunately.

The technical areas of our laws, the practice and procedure of the courts and general administration of justice, which help to hinder the resolution of the real issues in controversy between the parties in litigation should be addressed and removed. Nigerians yearn for true justice, which we have paid for in sacrifices through our limbs, lives and liberties. Access to justice is a cardinal point to which we are committed, in order to give room for the oppressed, the common man and indeed all victims of injustice, to call their oppressors to account. In this regard, our laws should reflect the true desires of our people and offer them genuine remedy against all forms of deprivations that they are constantly subjected to by the high and mighty. Both on the side of the tenant and the landlord, none should be able to exploit the law to frustrate the due entitlement of the other. When any society gets to a stage where it takes an average twenty-eight solid years to conclude a case to finality, it will be extremely difficult to assert that the court still remains the last hope of the common man.

10/01/2022

GENERAL OVERVIEW OF PROPERTY LAW AND PROPERTY TRANSACTION IN NIGERIA

THE VARIOUS LAWS THAT HAVE DIRECT IMPACT ON PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS IN NIGERIA ARE:
• The 1999 Constitution – The constitution affects property as regards to section 43 which provides for the right of every citizen to acquire and own immovable property anywhere in Nigeria.

• Land Use Act 1978 – An Act to Vest all Land compromised in the territory of each State (except land vested in the Federal government or its agencies) solely in the Governor of the State, who would hold such Land in trust for the people and would henceforth be responsible for allocation of land in all urban areas to individuals resident in the State and to organisations for residential, agriculture, commercial and other purposes while similar powers will with respect to non urban areas are conferred on Local Governments. Section 1 provides that the Governor of each state shall hold the land comprised in such State upon Trust and administer same for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians. This actually gave birth to the acquisition of Certificate of Occupancy in Nigeria, what private individuals have on the land is a right of occupancy. This is the greatest and highest legal interest a holder can have in Nigeria.

• Property and Conveyancing Law (PCL) 1959 – This is enacted by Western region of Nigeria commonly referred to as PCL. The most important features of this law is that no sale of land shall be enforced except there is a note of memorandum in writing containing the terms of the sale and signed by the person to be charged – Section 67(1) of PCL; all conveyances of land or interests in land for the purposes of creating any legal estate are void unless they are made by deed – Section 77(1) and 78(1) of PCL; where a person executes a deed, he shall either sign or place his mark on it and sealing alone is not sufficient – Section 97(1) of PCL; and the right to create leases are safeguarded so long as certain elements exist in it – Section 79(2) of PCL.

• Stamp Duties Act/Law 2004 – There is a Stamp Duty Act for every State and FCT which provides for the procedure for stamping of documents. Duty on land within the control of the State is paid to State Internal Revenue Service. Stamping of documents should be within 30 days of the ex*****on of the document though it may be stamped out of time, which will attract penalty.
• Illiterate Protection Laws (IPL) 1994 – This is a law made to protect illiterate persons involved in transactions generally. “It is like a very wide umbrella and covers all forms of writing or document written at the request of an illiterate person”. Any person who shall write any letter or document, at the request on behalf or in the name of an illiterate person shall also write on such letter or other document his own name as the writer and his address. The importance of this protection is for the benefit of the illiterate person. Further, where the illiterate person is to sign or to make a mark, the document must be read over and explained to him. The object of this law is to protect an illiterate person from possible fraud.
• Registration of Titles Law 2004 – This is under Cap. R4, Laws of Lagos State which requires titles to land to be registered as first or subsequent registrations. The principal purpose of this law is for the State to guarantee titles that have been investigated and registered by the Registrar of titles so that purchasers of land can rely on it in determining if the vendor has title to sell the property and the encumbrances that attach to the land.
• Administration of Estates Laws of States - This law regulates the administration of the estate of a deceased person who dies intestate or testate. The law substitutes local provision on intestate succession with English law on intestate.
• Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) – The Act permits registered companies under the Act to mortgage their properties by the creation of debentures over the assets of the company. Section 166 of the Act states that a company may borrow money for the purpose of its business or objects and may mortgage or charge its undertaking, property and uncalled capital and issue debentures, debenture stocks and other securities for any debt, liability or obligation of the company. ‘Property’ in the section includes land or any interest in land which the company has.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE MAKING PAYMENT IN LAND TRANSACTION
1. You must be sure that the vendor of the property is really entitled to sell it. You need to ensure that vendor proves that his title to the land is good and that he can pass to you the land/ property which he is offering to sell.
2. You must know whether any third parties have rights to the land which might interfere with his intended use of it. These third-party rights might include covenants restricting usage, a right of way, tree preservation order, or even mortgages.
3. You must know the exact size of the land by physical inspection and sighting of survey plan.
4. You need to ascertain the genuineness of the legal papers available in respect of the land.
5. Finally, you need to ascertain that there is no dispute over the property.

WAYS TO ASCERTAIN THE GENUINENESS OF THE PROPERTY

1. SEARCHES AT THE LANDS REGISTRY – The Land Instrument Registration Law of each State establishes a land registry for the State, where documents relating to land within the territory are kept, and it varies from one State to another. The procedure in conducting the search varies from state to state; to save you the stress get a lawyer that can assist you in conducting the search. Note that some properties are not registered and such properties will have no record at the Lands Registry.
2. SEARCH AT THE COMPANIES REGISTRY – This is situations where the vendor or past owner is a company incorporated under CAMA (a Company registered in Nigeria), apart from the searches at the land registry, there should be a further search at the Corporate Affairs Commission.
3. SEARCH AT PROBATE REGISTRY – This is a search conducted to reveal whether or not probate has been granted and who are the personal representatives. This is important in a situation where the owner of the property is deceased and a Letter of Administration has been obtained or is being processed.
4. TRADITIONAL EVIDENCE – This is a search conducted on the principal members of a family land or on the community and heads of the community where the property is not subject to family or community ownership, to confirm that all relevant consents were obtained and that the title is neither void nor voidable.
5. PHYSICAL INSPECTION – This is a personal visit to the property in question in order to find out from neighbours if there is any issue, or to find out for yourself the actual size of the land and whether it conform to the dimensions of the land registry or survey plan if any.
6. COURT JUDGMENTS OR PENDING LITIGATION – This is a search conducted at the Court Registry to see if the land is subject to any court litigation, and if any, the outcome of the dispute.

DOCUMENTS REQUIRED FOR LAND PURCHASE IN NIGERIA.
During the process of purchasing a land, there a number of crucial documents required from the seller in order to effectively validate the transaction. These documents are necessary as they are evident of title which the buyer possesses in relation to the land. It is important to note that there are different types of land documents in Nigeria. These documents include:
i. Approved survey plan: This is an important title document that helps to reveal the true ownership status in any land and landed properties’ transactions. It also helps to reveal if such land is not under any government acquired or committed lands/area.
ii. Approved layout:
iii. Title Documents such as; Deed of Assignment/ Land Sale Agreement/C of O, Deed of Gift, Deed of Conveyance etc: These are very important documents that must be demanded and given to a purchaser after the conclusion of any land/property transaction between such purchaser/buyer and the owner/seller of the land/landed property in question.
iv. Purchase receipt: this is the evidence of due payment of the purchase of the land, it gives the vendor an equitable right on the land.
These documents are essential as they are necessary to process a search in the land registry and they are use during the registration of title, as well as registration of Certificate of Occupancy. It is equally important to note that these documents are to be registered in the land registry of various states but very few purchasers do register their title due to the cost effect. Non-registration of land documents makes them lose priority against registered ones affecting the same land.

TITLE DOCUMENTS IN LAND TRANSACTION
In the course of property transaction different kinds of documents are transferred from one person to another as title document. The most common of Title documents are:
A. Land Sale Agreement: Sale deed is the document prepared at the time of full payment made by the buyer and when the actual transfer of the property takes place.
B. Deed of Conveyance: The term conveyance refers to the act of transferring property from one party to another, so a Deed of Conveyance is an instrument that transfer ownership of land to another.
C. Certificate of Occupancy: A Certificate of Occupancy is a land title document issued to an individual by the Government as legal proof of land ownership in Nigeria. The Government can seize a plot of land or property without a C of O at any time without any compensation paid.
D. Deed of Assignment: This is common and vital document in property transaction, it is use to assign interest in land with a pact binding on the parties who entered into it.
E. Deed of Lease: It is use where one party gives out or lets out his/her property to another person to use for a period over 3 years in consideration of rent.
F. Deed of Gift: It is use to transfer an interest in land voluntarily to another without any consideration.
G. Power of Attorney coupled with interest in land: It is use to authorize another person as agent to pass title in land.
H. Deed of Mortgage: It is use where owner of estate in land uses the land as collateral to secure a sum of money majorly from banks.
The above documents must be registered within 60 days of ex*****on; it is amazing when people purchase property and neglect to spend on the registration of the document or processing for the Certificate of Occupancy as the case may be, most especially where the property is in a developed area.

3 MAJOR IMPORTANCE OF REGISTERING DOCUMENTS THAT ALIENATE LAND:
1. The presence and evidence of registration will put an intended buyer of land to be cautious and hint him/her on the identity of the real owner of the property.
2. Where such documents are not registered they are inadmissible in evidence in any court in Nigeria. The unregistered document can only serve as receipt of payment not title to land.
3. Where there are other rival Deeds that are registered in respect of the same property, the first in time will be reckoned with.
So, it is very essential and advisable to engage a lawyer when one intends to buy a land or acquire a property.

31/12/2021

Dear esteemed clients,

We sincerely appreciate the trust and confidence you have in us. Thank you for being part of our 2021.

We are committed to serving you professionally with dignity and respect.

Wishing you a more prosperous 2022!

25/12/2021

30/03/2021

COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION IN NIGERIA
Copyright is a form of intellectual property protection provided by law. Copyright protection is available for original works of authorship that are fixed in a tangible form, whether published or unpublished. The categories of works that can be protected by copyright laws include paintings, literary works, live performances, photographs, movies, and software.

A copyright is a legal right that grants the creator of an original work exclusive right to its use and distribution. In Nigeria, copyright is governed by the Copyright Act, and the body charged with the enforcement and protection of copyright is the Nigerian Copyright Commission.

ELIGIBILITY FOR COPYRIGHT PROTECTION
Copyright protects original creations in the literary and artistic fields, which are fixed in medium from which they can be reproduced, or otherwise communicated. Examples of works protected include; Artistic Work, Sound Recording, Literary Works, Musical Works, Cinematography Works.

Also, for a work to be eligible for protection, the work must be sufficiently original, and must be in a form which is expressed. e.g. in writing, a painting, a musical recording etc. Therefore, you cannot have copyright protection over something in your head that has not been expressed. Originality and expression are the key pillars for eligibility.

A COPYRIGHT OWNER'S RIGHTS
The primary goal of copyright registration is to protect the time, effort, and creativity of the work's creator. As such, the Copyright Act gives the copyright owner certain exclusive rights, including the right to:
1. Reproduce the work
2. Prepare "derivative works" (other works based on the original work)
3. Distribute copies of the work by sale, lease, or other transfer of ownership
4. Perform the work publicly
5. Display the work publicly

The creator of a copyright work, usually referred to as the “author” of the work owns the copyright in the work in the first instance. However, the copyright owner also has the right to authorize other people to do any of the rights mentioned above. The copyright owner has the option and ability to transfer his or her exclusive rights or any subdivision of those rights to others as well. If an author or artist creates a work for a company or in the course of his or her employment, the creator is usually not the copyright owner. This situation is known as a "work made for hire," and it gives copyright ownership to the employer or person who commissioned the work. A work made for hire situation can occur when an independent contractor is hired to create a particular work, or if the work is created by an employee while he or she is on the job. For example, if an employee writes articles for a company, the company is the copyright owner not the actual writer.
Normally, each work should have its own copyright registration. However, someone may register works as a collection on one copyright with one title for the entire collection, as in the case of a music album with several songs. A movie in parts will be treated as separate works.

DURATION OF COPYRIGHT PROTECTION
The rights enjoyed by the owner of Copyright are limited. The author of a work does not own his Copyright indefinitely. The author of a literary, artistic or musical work enjoys copyright throughout his lifetime and for 70 years after his death. In the case of films, sound recordings, performances etc., the owner enjoys Copyright for 50 years from the time the work was first published. The work goes to the public domain when the term of protection expires and third parties are allowed free use of it.

GLOBAL PROTECTION
Copyright protection is essentially territorial in nature. By virtue of membership of certain international copyright treaties and conventions, works of Nigerian citizens enjoy protection in territories of member countries of such treaties to which Nigeria is a party, including the Berne Convention.

12/05/2020

Dear esteemed client,

As we continue to serve you virtually, kindly note that you can now access us for physical meeting if the need arises.

Best regards.

22/04/2020

THE EFFECT OF COVID-19 ON EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES RELATIONSHIP

The educational system in Nigeria never taught people how to be an entrepreneur or a business owner. An average Nigerian graduate was taught to get high grade in school in order to get a good job since the jobs out there are limited. But, the reality of Covid-19 pandemic poses an imminent threat to the limited job in Nigeria as many contract of employment may be terminated due to the inability of some employers to pay their employees’ salary.

The effect of Covid-19 pandemic on global economy is real as over five billion people had been asked to work from home globally to curtail the spread of the virus and Nigeria is no exception. In the past few days in Nigeria some employers have laid off their staff while others have compelled their employees to accept salary reduction or deduction. In line with our Labour Act, employers are not permitted to make any deductions from an employee’s salary except the contract of employment permits it, any reduction on any employee’s salary outside the contract of employment should be based on mutual agreement vis-a-vis the employer’s economy reality.

Another trend at the moment in Nigeria is the employers compelling their employees to take annual leave rather than having it deferred, under our Labour Act employers cannot compel an employee to take annual leave as it is an entitlement which an employee has the sole discretion to exercise. Hence, unless it has been mutually agreed by the employer and the employee to take annual leave, compelling employees to do so would amount to a breach of employment contract which can be enforced in our National Industrial Court. Furthermore, any attempt by an employer to compel its employee to take unpaid leave will amount to a breach of Section 5 and 8 of the Labour Act.

At the moment many businesses and organisations have been forced to shut down while some are struggling to cope due to lack of business and this has resulted to some employees losing their job. Some jobs are service based which enables employees to work from home while some jobs require physical presence. Consequently, some employers may terminate their employees’ contract of employment due to the present reality.

The pertinent question that arises is whether an employer can terminate a contract of employment at this period in view of the harsh economic caused by Covid-19 globally.
It is an established principle of law that at common law, a master can terminate the employment of his servant at any time and for any reason or for no reason at all provided the appropriate notice was given to the employee. See the case of Olarewaju v. Afribank (2001) 6 MJSC 68 at 77, where the Supreme Court held that: “The law regarding master and servant is not in doubt under this class of employment; there cannot be specific performance of a contract of service. The master has power to terminate the contract with his servant at any time and for any no reason or for none.”

An employer can terminate a contract of employment without the required notice and make payment in lieu of notice. In addition, an employee is protected by law against unfair treatment and unfair dismissal as a result of Covid-19.

In a country with good governance the government steps in to support employers by reimbursing 80% of an employee’s salary or make provision for palliative that is able to ease the economy burden placed on the employers and the employees as a result of the pandemic.

In conclusion, employers are advised to continue to evaluate the effect of Covid-19 on their business and take lawful measures to protect their business while employees are advised to prepare for any eventuality as the economic hardship of Covid-19 is real on some employers.