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Review of Kalio v. Benjamin (2018) 15 NWLR (Pt. 1641) 38. Author: Yemi Gomes, Ayodele Adeyemo, Yinka Ajose-Adeogun, and Feyisikemi Adeagbo. Publisher: Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore Decision: The Supreme Court, sitting as a full court, in a unanimous decision, dismissed the appeal. In resolving the sub-issue, the Court considered the effect of section 20 of the Land Instruments (Preparation and Registration) Law, Cap. 74, of the 1999, Laws of Rivers State together with Item 23 of the Exclusive Legislative List and the provisions of sections 4(3) and (5) of the 1999 Constitution as amended. In this regard, the Court pointed out that the State Houses of Assembly are precluded and prohibited from enacting any laws on evidence law and/or admissibility of evidence in the proceedings before the law courts in the Federal Republic. Hence, the Court considered the enactment of section 20 of the Land Instruments (Preparation and Registration) Law, Cap. 74, of the 1999 Laws of Rivers State by the Rivers State House of Assembly, as a clear act of legislative trespass into the exclusive legislative terrain of the National Assembly. The Court emphasised that an unregistered “registrable land” instrument is admissible in evidence to prove, not only the payment and receipt of the purchase price, but also the equitable interest of the purchaser in the subject land. See Okoye v. Dumez (Nig.) Ltd (1985) 1 NWLR (Pt. 4) 783; Obijuru v. Ozims (1985) 2 NWLR (Pt. 6) 167 etc. In considering the admissibility/inadmissibility of documents made inadmissible/admissible by state laws or rules of court, the case of Dunalin Investment Ltd v. BGL Plc & Anor (2016) 18 NWLR (Pt. 1544) 262, is instructive. In that case, the Court of Appeal considered the issue whether documents not frontloaded, as provided by the Lagos High Court Rules, are inadmissible. In resolving this issue, the Court noted that parties to an action are bound to obey and comply with the rules of court. But, it pointed out that it is the Evidence Act, and not the rules of court, that governs the admissibility of evidence. Hence, since there is no provision in the Evidence Act that states that a document which is not front-loaded is inadmissible, the rejection of the pleaded and potentially-vital document because it was not front-loaded was wrongful and would cause a miscarriage of justice. See Ogboru v. Udiaghan (2011) 17 NWLR 

Freedom Of Information Act, 2011 Author: Yinka Ajose-Adeogun Publisher: Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore The recently passed Freedom of Information Act has been said to be the right, that enables members of the Nigerian public to have access to information held by government bodies, because of this, it is now recognized as a fundamental human right to which Nigerians are entitled to. The public is entitled to the truth, and only correct information can form the basis for sound journalism and ensure the confidence of the people.   Sadly, 7 years down the line, the FOIA has been grossly under-utilized. Apart from the fact that many Nigerians are not aware of the existence of the FOIA and their rights under it, the Nigerian press and civil society groups seem to care less about the existence of an Act that should be a veritable tool for investigative journalism.   The Nigerian Press is far from being the fourth estate of the realm. Most Nigerian journalists have rather embraced the practice of ‘feeding-bottle-journalism’ where they are fed with stories, quotes, and gossips. There is little or no culture of investigative journalism for which the FOIA is a weapon in more advanced climates

THE PRESIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE ORDER ON THE VOLUNTARY OFFSHORE ASSETS REGULARISATION SCHEME “VOARS”. Author: Koha S. Okukulabe Publisher: Sofunde Osakwe Ogundipe & Belgore Although the Scheme primarily aims to encourage voluntary compliance with the tax laws and to generate revenue for the state, the identified grey areas may affect compliance negatively. From the provisions of the Order, it can be inferred that further regulations are to be issued. It is thus hoped that these regulations will provide clarity to these grey areas and that Practice Directions detailing the procedure for compliance with the Scheme will be issued.  

Author: CCI Publisher: CCI ICC FraudNet’s newly-appointed co-Executive Directors Babajide O. Ogundipe and Michele Caratsch speak to Commercial Crime International about their plans for FraudNet, trends in asset recovery and the importance of knowing the industry your clients are in. FRAUD *Tech Support Fraud continues to be a growing problem, warns the FBI while cautioning that Business Email Compromise (BEC) is evolving and remains a risk. CORRUPTION *A Hogan Lovell’s report indicates that businesses are finding that new technology such as chat apps are making it harder to monitor bribery and corruption. *The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority has sanctioned private bank Julius Baer over the PDVSA and FIFA scandals. MONEY LAUNDERING *The European Banking Authority has published its first Report on competent authorities’ approaches to the anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism supervision of banks COUNTERFEITING *The demand for authentication devices are set to drive holography use. CYBERCRIME *2019 was the biggest year for cryptocurrency scams yet, according to Chainalysis’ 2020 Crypto Crime Report. *ICC Commercial Crime Services is organising an Internet Intelligence Course How to Find, Manage and Use Online Information More Effectively.

In the public interest? Attorney general receives backlash for confirmation appearance Author: Babajide Ogundipe Publisher: International Law Office Introduction More than two months after the inauguration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is currently in his second term in office, his ministers’ portfolios were announced. Of particular concern to the legal profession was the re-appointment of first-term Federal Attorney General Abubakar Malami to the Ministry of Justice. 

Court issues forfeiture orders against property belonging to alleged corrupt public official Author: Olamide Aleshinloye Publisher: International Law Office In July 2020 the Federal High Court ordered the interim forfeiture of assets allegedly belonging to former Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Chair Ngozi Olejeme. The NSITF is an employer and federal government-funded scheme which provides compensation to insured employees who suffer from occupational diseases, sustain injuries or acquire disabilities from accidents in the workplace or during the course of employment. Under the current legislation, the administrators of the cumulative contributions received into the fund must invest monies not being paid out in benefits in safe, liquid and profitable investments to generate income for the payment of benefits. Olejeme was chair of the NSITF from 2009 to 2015. During that time, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) received numerous reports that she had diverted public funds, laundered money and abused her office. When the EFCC began to investigate the reports in 2016, Olejeme disappeared and was declared wanted. She is alleged, along with former NSITF Managing Director Umar Munir Abubakar, to have mismanaged and diverted more than N69 billion (approximately $180 million) into their personal accounts through the award of spurious contracts to proxy companies. Some three years after declaring her wanted, the EFCC obtained from the Federal High Court the interim forfeiture of real estate located in various parts of Nigeria which allegedly belonged to Olejeme. This recovery step came after the EFCC froze more than 30 bank accounts alleged to be linked to the former chair, only to discover small sums in the accounts. Despite this step, the question remains as to why it took the EFCC so long to discover Olejeme’s alleged connection to these particular assets. Since she left office, the NSITF has allegedly been deprived of more than N69 billion that could have been invested for the benefit of insured employees.