Know Your Rights (KYR)

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...

In our Nigeria today, injuries and deaths caused by gunshots are rampant occurrences. Embarrassingly, some of these unfortunate instances involve trigger-happy law enforcement agents who decide to use their weapons without lawful justification but that is a story for another day. On this premise, our topic today will address the right of gunshots victims to adequate medical care. This right is now enshrined in the Compulsory Treatment and Care for Victims of Gunshot Act 2017. By virtue of the above law, all hospitals in Nigeria shall accept and treat without a police clearance any person with a gunshot wound. All security agencies are also mandated to render the necessary assistance to gunshot victims and ensure that they are taken promptly to a hospital for treatment. Furthermore, this law provides that all victims with gunshot wounds shall be treated without a request for initial monetary deposits and such persons shall not be victims of any inhuman or degrading treatment. ...

Today let's talk about our right to privacy.  As the Constitution puts it;  "The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed and protected." In my opinion, this right is one of the most important rights in human existence because it goes a long way to guarantee our independence and liberty as individuals. From the wordings of the Constitution, it clearly forbids spying and intrusions of any kind (or what we fondly call "busy body") by the government or security agencies or your employer or your educational institution or your bank or by anyone else at all. Your life, your home, your properties and your communications are all protected and the law is basically saying that everyone should just mind their own business. However, they are exceptions to this right. In other words they are instances when your privacy can be lawfully interfered with and these are: 1) in the in...

#Know_Your_Rights KYR has been absent for a bit because we have been working on some upgrades which are meant to make our blog bigger & better. As part of the upgrades, KYR is now accepting scholarly short articles from learned minds on legal analysis of trending societal issues. So if you wish to be published on our blog & other media outlets, kindly drop a message & I'll get back to you. Now to our gist today, we will be briefly discussing your right to peaceful assembly & association. Basically the break down of this right are: 1) You have the right to freely organize or partake in an assembly of your choice. This means a physical and voluntary meeting between persons. In view of advances in modern technology, this right to peaceful assembly now includes non-physical meetings such as webinars, social media groups etc. 2) You have the right to associate with any person or persons of your choice. 3) You have the right to form or belong to any politic...

Today I've decided to talk about a very tricky topic namely: the right to self defence. Before I go further let me just drop this disclaimer that this post does not in anyway support or promote violence. And now to our discussion. First of all self-defence as the name implies, is any act done to protect one's self or property from an unlawful attack or violence. The Constitution passively mentions this right when it talked about the right to life and it makes a lot of sense because there are certain urgent situations where it is not feasible to get the timely help of any of the various security agents when faced with imminent danger. However, this right must be exercised with great caution. Let's now proceed to the elements of a valid self defence. Based on several judicial authorities, a valid act of self defence should involve a process of reasoning. This implies that whatever you're doing in self defence must be reasonable/rational. Therefore unreasonable ac...

Today let's talk about your right to dignity, in other words, your right to be respected and treated accordingly as a human being.  Today's short post is meant to address the very common social media stories of brutality and oppression. For instance, you read stories of house helps maltreating their boss' children, or teachers maltreating students, or employers manhandling their employees especially maids, or security agencies brutalizing civilians, or acts of jungle justice or public executions/lynching, or sometimes unrelated persons inflicting brutal punishments on each other because of disagreements. In the eyes of the law such conducts are unjust, unlawful and punishable.  You will be liable for violating this right if you carry out these unlawful acts yourself or even if you get someone else to do it for you for example using the police or army or 'boys' to 'deal' with someone you are having issues with.  Please note that under the law, th...

#Know_Your_Rights Today we'll be discussing briefly about women's rights which is a very broad area of law. It's significance and impact on the society cannot be over-emphasized. This short piece is coined from a paper I delivered a while back so if you're interested in the complete copy just let me know. First of all, I believe we are all aware of the 'burdens' of being a woman in our Nigerian society. In light of these there are several safeguards in our laws for protecting the female folk. I prefer to classify these legal protections into two: a) General rights b) Gender specific rights. a) General rights refer to those rights that are enjoyed by all persons by virtue of being human beings. These include the fundamental human rights contained in the Constitution, as well as economic, social, cultural and political rights.  The fundamental rights are: Right to life, Right to dignity of human person, Right to personal liberty, Right...