Know Your Rights (KYR)

Today let's talk briefly about marital rights which are the rights enjoyed by spouses in a legal marriage (not mere dating relationships). These rights include: 1) Right to consummation, that is sexual intercourse. However, this right does not justify or permit forced/non-consensual sexual intercourse. 2) Right to maintenance, that is the right to be taken care of by the breadwinner of the family which in few exceptional cases could be the woman. 3) Right to protection: it naturally falls on the head of the house to protect his family but this must be done within the boundaries of the law. 4) Right of residence/cohabitation: spouses have the right to live together and to enjoy each other's company. As a matter of fact, prolonged separation between spouses is a valid ground for divorce in Nigeria. However, the right of cohabitation does not automatically confer joint ownership. 5) Right to use your spouse's name. 6) Right to not testify in court against y...

Today let's talk about the rights of Nigerian citizens in relation to our security agencies. Firstly, you have to know that security is the collective responsibility of everyone and not just our security agencies. This entails that as patriotic citizens, it is our duty to not commit or assist in committing or assist in covering up the commission or encourage the commission of crimes. Rather we should all be diligent in reporting crimes to the police whether as a victim or simply as a concerned citizen. As a matter of fact it is your right to report crimes and after reporting, it is your right to be given proper and adequate attention by our security personnel with regards to your case.  However, your report should be made in good faith. In other words, do not supply false information to the police out of malice just to get another person in trouble because by doing so you are committing a serious offence for which you will be punished. They are several security agencie...

Communication has been made a whole lot easier thanks to the invention, affordability and popularity of mobile phones. Telecommunications is definitely now an important aspect of our lives because everybody now uses phone. In Nigeria the popular telecoms companies are arguably: MTN, AIRTEL, GLO and 9mobile. As their consumer you are entitled to certain rights in your business relationship with these companies so today let's quickly talk about a few of these rights: 1) Right to minimum standards of quality of service. Your service provider should be able to satisfy your basic telecommunication needs. 2) Right to information and consumer education. You should be properly educated on the terms and conditions of your phone services before you pay for it. 3) Right to protection from fraudulent, misleading and deceitful information, advertisement or labelling. 4) Right to safety and a healthy environment, especially from radiations and other hazards from telecommunication ...

Today I'm going to talk about an area of our law that is still developing and still largely unknown to most people. Nevertheless, it is a very important area of law which creates and protects several rights. I'm talking about cyber law which basically deals with all your online and offline activities that involve computers. And by computers I'm not just talking about laptops and desktops but I'm referring to computers in the broader sense which includes electronic devices such as mobile phones, ATM machines, POS machines etc. They are several laws which cover different aspects of cyber law but for the purpose of our discussion today I'll be focusing on the rights and protections provided by the Nigerian Cybercrime Act. This law talks about so many things that are useful to every Nigerian but I'll only be mentioning just a few. For more information, please consult your lawyer. Without further ado, some of your cyber rights are: 1) right against unlaw...

It's been awhile. Let's briefly talk about the issue of manufacturers and vendors liability. As a human and citizen of Nigeria you have the right to life. Flowing from this right to life is your consequential entitlement to safe  consumable products that will not harm or jeopardize your health in anyway. Apart from your right to safe products, you also have the right to get products of approved/acceptable standards (in Nigeria the government has bodies which determine what standards are acceptable for different products). The crux of our discussion today is this: when you pay for goods, you should get exactly what you pay for. Applying this principle to real life it means that if a manufacturer produces substandard or fake products and you unknowingly consume such, you have the right to sue. Your right to sue even extends to the vendor(s) who sold the defective product. Considering that they are so many fake products flooding our markets today, this legal right is very...

Let's briefly talk about the hallowed principle of fair hearing. Every one is entitled to fair hearing whenever his/her civil rights and/or obligations are in question. But let's break this down a little further. First of all fair hearing simply means that in determining any dispute or conflict, both sides must be heard. In other words, both sides should be given equal opportunity to say their own side of the story. Fair hearing also requires that neither the accuser nor the defender should be a judge in his own case. This principle goes further to state that whoever is deciding or judging the dispute should be neutral, independent, unbiased and impartial. In other words, a person who stands to gain or lose something from the outcome of the case (that is, an interested person) should not be a judge either. The next thing to discuss is when and where this principle of fair hearing applies. Based on the wordings of the Constitution, fair hearing is mandatory whenever a p...

Today we will be discussing further on the relationship between banks and their customers. In today's society, almost everybody has an account with one bank or the other. But have you ever thought about the nature of the relationship between you and your bank?  Let's talk about it. Basically the relationship between banks and their customers is contractual. You see those forms they give you to fill when you are opening a new account, I bet you don't read everything written there especially the parts written in small fonts. But those forms contain important terms which define your entire contractual relationship with your bank as far as that account is concerned. So next time be diligent enough to read the fine print because once you sign and the account is opened, you and your money are bound by the terms on that form until whenever you choose to close the account. Don't forget, ignorance of what was written is not a valid excuse and will not save you in the event ...

In light of recent events in our beloved Nigeria I want to talk about the issue of protests, strikes, revolutions etc and the rights of persons in relation to such activities. Basically our Constitution provides the framework for people's rights in this aspect. First of all the Constitution says that we have the right to freedom of thought and conscience. Meaning that we are free to think as we like and to maintain whatever moral standards we choose. The Constitution goes further to say that we have the right to express ourselves freely and to have our opinions. We also have the right to receive ideas and information, and to also pass them on to other people without any interference. Our supreme law also says that we have the right to assemble/gather freely, and to associate with whoever we please. We can even form associations or groups to protect our interests. Finally on this subject, our Constitution says that as Nigerian citizens we can move freely throughout...

Today I will briefly be discussing the rampant issue of trespass to land. Trespass to land is any unlawful direct entry into the land of another person. Let me paint you a scenario - So you bought a land and paid everything required, maybe you have developed the land or maybe you haven't started using it yet, but then to your surprise you discover that someone has entered your land and is using your land one way or the other. What do you do? The above illustration is what trespass to land is all about and the law protects your rights as a land owner or legal occupier to use and enjoy your land without interference from any other person. This law protects your rights and interests over 3 main areas of the land namely: 1) the land surface itself, 2) the air space above your land up to such reasonable extent that is necessary for you to fully enjoy your land, and 3) the earth surface below the land. However, in Nigeria, all mineral resources belong to the Federal Govern...

As a special gift for the absence of our usual KYR articles for the past 2 weeks, today I'll be talking about (or you can say "shaking the table") of a very interesting legal issue which more than 50% of Nigerians do not know about. I am referring to Nigeria's power sector which deals with everything about electricity in Nigeria. The power sector which deals with electricity supply in Nigeria has experienced several changes over the years including privatization and every Nigerian is familiar with the numerous distribution companies (or DisCos) we have had with 'NEPA' being perhaps the most popular of them all. Everybody uses electricity but have you ever asked yourself: 1) What is the nature of the (legal) relationship between you as a consumer, the electricity (distribution) company and the government? 2) What are the terms and conditions of this relationship? In other words, what are my rights and obligations as a consumer? If you have been faith...

#Know_Your_Rights The issue of torture and abuse of powers (especially by public officers including our law enforcement agents) is a recurring problem that needs immediate attention. To address this issue, I'll be doing a piece on a law most people don't even know about called the Anti-Torture Act. Now this Act starts by saying that the Government has a duty to protect the rights of all persons including suspects, detainees and prisoners, and to ensure the condemnation and prohibition of all forms of torture as prescribed by all relevant laws applicable in Nigeria. It then defines torture as any intentional act that causes mental and physical suffering/pain. Physical torture is further defined as any cruel/inhuman/degrading act that causes pain, exhaustion, disability or dysfunction of one or more parts of the body while mental torture is further defined as any cruel/inhuman/degrading act that affects or confuses the mind or undermines a person's dignity or mo...