LEGALSYSTEM I
I
A.I
NTERNALCONFLI
CTOFLAW
Engl
i
shl
awandcust
omar
ylaw
Mat
ter
sbet
weennat
ivesandnat
ives.
Mat
ter
sbet
weennat
ivesandnon-
nat
ives
LexSi
tus.
B.JUDI
CIALI
NSTI
TUTI
ONS
Ther
oleoft
hej
udi
ciar
y
Thehi
stor
yanddev
elopmentoft
hecour
ts
C.TYPESANDJURI
SDI
CTI
ONSOFCOURTS
Cust
omar
yandAr
eacour
ts
Magi
str
ateandDi
str
ictCour
ts
Cour
tsofr
ecor
d
Speci
alCour
ts
Shar
iaCour
tofAppeal
Cust
omar
yCour
tofAppeal
Tr
ibunal
s(excl
udi
ngCommi
ssi
onsofI
nqui
ry)
D.JUDI
CIALPERSONNEL–APPOI
NTMENTANDTENURE.
E.LEGALPROFESSI
ONANDLEGALEDUCATI
ONI
NNI
GERI
A.
, CONFLI
CTOFLAW
Confl
ictoflawi ssai
dt obeasetofr ul
esofpr
ocedurall
awswhichdeter
mi nesthelegalsyst
em
andthelawofj uri
sdicti
onapplyingtoagi
venlegal
disput
e.Al
soiti
sregardedasat er
m usedin
theconsiderat
ionoft he“Chall
engeofhav
ingsever
allawsappl
yi
nginagivenl egal
issue,t
hat
aff
ecttwodi ff
erentnations’
state.
Thisisother
wiseknownaspr i
vat
einternati
onallaw.Theref
ore,
confl
ictoflawsnarr
owlyunder
theNigeri
aLegalSystem i
ster
med“ I
nternalConfli
ctoflaw.
”Havingknownt hatNi
geri
ahas
vari
oussourcesoflawsunderit
slegalsystem,thereareboundtobeconf l
i
ctsbetweenthese
vari
ouslaws.
Thefoll
owingar
ethepr
edicat
ionsofconf
li
ctoflaw,t
hati
s,t
heint
ernal
conf
li
ctofl
aw.
Predi
cati
onscanbebet
terputascausesofint
ernal
confl
i
ctofl
aw.
Pr
edi
cat
ionsofI
nter
nal
Conf
li
ctofLaw:
Thepl
ural
i
tyofl
awsgui
dingt
hegener
alaspectofourl
i
ving.
Mul
tiet
hni
c,Mul
tiLi
ngual
orMul
tiCul
tur
alnat
ureofNi
ger
ia.
Par
ti
eshav
inganopt
ionoft
hei
rtr
ansact
ionbei
ngr
egul
atedbydi
ff
erentl
aws.
Anon-
Niger
ianhav
ingat
ransact
ionwi
thaNi
ger
iawi
thoutst
ati
ngt
hel
awt
hatwi
l
lbeappl
i
cabl
e.
I
nconsi
stencyofot
herl
awswi
tht
hepr
ovi
sionoft
heNi
ger
ianconst
it
uti
on.
THELAW BETWEENPEOPLEOFNI
GERI
ADESCENT/BETWEENNI
GERI
ANS
Thegener
alr
ulewithr
egardstodisputebetweenpersonswhoar eNiger
iani
sthatcust
omary
l
awshouldappl
y,t
hatis,
thelawoft heland.Thevari
oushighcourtl
awsenjoi
nsthecourtt
o
obser
veandenfor
cetheobserversofcustomarylaws.Secti
on26ofLagosStateHighCourt
LawCapH3,LawsofLagosSt ate2003pr ovi
des:
,1.Thehighcourtshal
l observ
eandenforcetheobser
ver
sofcustomaryl
awswhi chisappl
icabl
e
andisnotrepugnanttonaturalj
ust
ice,
equit
yandgoodconsciencenori
ncompatibl
eeit
her
di
rectl
yorbyimplicat
ionwi t
hanylawfortheti
mebeinginf
orceandnothingi
nthislawshall
depri
veanypersonoft hebenefi
tofcustomaryl
aw.
(
1)2Goahead:
Cust
omar yl
awshal
lbedeem appl
i
cabl
eincausesandmat
ter
swher
epar
ti
est
her
etoar
e
nat
ives….
(
Ami norbyi
nfantr
eli
efacti
ssomeoneunder21y
ear
sol
d;ani
nfanthasnocapaci
tyt
oent
er
i
ntocontr
act
).
Thereforeinresolv i
ngconf l
ictoflawswhenpar tiesarenati
ves(Niger
ians),
thegener alrul
ei s
thati
fther eisanat ivelawandcust om appli
cablet othematteri
ncontroversyandi fsuchl aw
andcust om isnotr epugnantt onatur
aljust
ice,equityandgoodconscienceori ncompat i
ble
withanyl ocalordinanceandi fitshal
lnotappeart hatitwasint
endedbyt hepar t
iesthatthe
obli
gationundert het ransacti
onshouldber egulatedbyEngli
shlaw.Themat t
erincont r
ov ersy
shallbedet er
mi nedi naccordancewithsuchnat ivelawandcustom.Thi sposit
ionhasbeen
rei
nforcedi nthefollowingcases:
1Lewi
sVBankol
e(1908)NLR81
Agi
bigbi
V.Agi
bigbi
(1992)2NLRpt
221
AghenghenV.Waghor
eghor(
1974)ALLNRpt
74
EXEMPTI
ONSTOCUSTOMARYLAW APPLYTONI
GERI
ANSORNATI
VES
Asagainstt
hegeneral
rul
ethattr
ansact
ionordi
sput
ebetweenNigeri
ansshoul
dbegov
ernedby
cust
omar yl
aw,ther
eareatl
easttwosit
uati
onsi
nwhichcourtmayrefuset
heappl
i
cabi
li
tyof
thecustomar
ylawandtheseare:
, Whent
hepar
ti
esei
therexpr
essl
yori
mpl
i
edl
yagr
eet
hatcust
omar
ylawshoul
dnotappl
yor
Wher
ethet
ransact
ioni
sunknownt
ocust
omar
ylaw.
Not
e:I
fthecont
ractisbet
weenaNigeri
an&For ei
gner
,Engl
i
shlawwi
l
lbeappl
i
ed.Howev
eri
f
t
hefor
eignerwi
l
linduceEngl
i
shlawforinj
ust
ice,i
tmaynotappl
y.
Sect
ion26(
3)ofHi
ghCour
toft
heLagosst
atut
epr
ovi
des;
“Nopartyshallbeentit
ledt ocl
aimt hebenefitofanycustomarylawifi
tappearsf r
om either
expr
esscont ractorfr
om t henatureofthet r
ansacti
on,outofwhichanysuitorquestionmay
havearisenthatsuchpartyagr eedthathisobli
gati
oninconnectionwit
hsucht ransacti
onshall
beexclusivel
yregulat
edot herwisethanbycust omaryl
awort hatsuchtransact
ionare
tr
ansactionunknownt ocust omarylaw.”*(notewhenaquest i
onbothersonexempt ion,use
sect
ion26( 3)ofLagosHi ghCour t
).
Asbet
weenanati
veandnon-
nati
ve,anydi
sputet
hatmayar i
sei
ntheli
ghtoft
ransact
ion
bet
weent
hem,shal
lasamatterofgener
alr
uleberegul
atedbyEngl
i
shlaw.
I
nthecaseofSal
vageV.Macmoy(
1909)REN504.
Thedeceasedhusbandofthedef
endantwasanon-
Niger
ia,
heconduct
edamar
ri
ageunder
nat
iveandcust
om withthedef
endant
.
Thecourthel
dthatthedeceasedhusbandbei
ngaSi er
raLeoneanlackscapaci
tyt
ocontr
acta
marri
ageinNiger
iaundernati
velawandcustom andther
efor
et hemarri
agewasconsequent
ly
voi
d.
Theonl
yexemptiontothisi
nwhichEngl
ishlawwoul
dnotapplybutr
athercust
omar yl
aws,i
s
wher
esubstant
iali
njust
icewoul
dresul
t,i
fther
eisst
ri
ctadher
encetoanyotherrul
esoflaw.
Sect
ion26(
2)oft
heHi
ghCour
tofLagosSt
ateear
li
eronr
efer
redt
opr
ovi
dest
hat
:
I
A.I
NTERNALCONFLI
CTOFLAW
Engl
i
shl
awandcust
omar
ylaw
Mat
ter
sbet
weennat
ivesandnat
ives.
Mat
ter
sbet
weennat
ivesandnon-
nat
ives
LexSi
tus.
B.JUDI
CIALI
NSTI
TUTI
ONS
Ther
oleoft
hej
udi
ciar
y
Thehi
stor
yanddev
elopmentoft
hecour
ts
C.TYPESANDJURI
SDI
CTI
ONSOFCOURTS
Cust
omar
yandAr
eacour
ts
Magi
str
ateandDi
str
ictCour
ts
Cour
tsofr
ecor
d
Speci
alCour
ts
Shar
iaCour
tofAppeal
Cust
omar
yCour
tofAppeal
Tr
ibunal
s(excl
udi
ngCommi
ssi
onsofI
nqui
ry)
D.JUDI
CIALPERSONNEL–APPOI
NTMENTANDTENURE.
E.LEGALPROFESSI
ONANDLEGALEDUCATI
ONI
NNI
GERI
A.
, CONFLI
CTOFLAW
Confl
ictoflawi ssai
dt obeasetofr ul
esofpr
ocedurall
awswhichdeter
mi nesthelegalsyst
em
andthelawofj uri
sdicti
onapplyingtoagi
venlegal
disput
e.Al
soiti
sregardedasat er
m usedin
theconsiderat
ionoft he“Chall
engeofhav
ingsever
allawsappl
yi
nginagivenl egal
issue,t
hat
aff
ecttwodi ff
erentnations’
state.
Thisisother
wiseknownaspr i
vat
einternati
onallaw.Theref
ore,
confl
ictoflawsnarr
owlyunder
theNigeri
aLegalSystem i
ster
med“ I
nternalConfli
ctoflaw.
”Havingknownt hatNi
geri
ahas
vari
oussourcesoflawsunderit
slegalsystem,thereareboundtobeconf l
i
ctsbetweenthese
vari
ouslaws.
Thefoll
owingar
ethepr
edicat
ionsofconf
li
ctoflaw,t
hati
s,t
heint
ernal
conf
li
ctofl
aw.
Predi
cati
onscanbebet
terputascausesofint
ernal
confl
i
ctofl
aw.
Pr
edi
cat
ionsofI
nter
nal
Conf
li
ctofLaw:
Thepl
ural
i
tyofl
awsgui
dingt
hegener
alaspectofourl
i
ving.
Mul
tiet
hni
c,Mul
tiLi
ngual
orMul
tiCul
tur
alnat
ureofNi
ger
ia.
Par
ti
eshav
inganopt
ionoft
hei
rtr
ansact
ionbei
ngr
egul
atedbydi
ff
erentl
aws.
Anon-
Niger
ianhav
ingat
ransact
ionwi
thaNi
ger
iawi
thoutst
ati
ngt
hel
awt
hatwi
l
lbeappl
i
cabl
e.
I
nconsi
stencyofot
herl
awswi
tht
hepr
ovi
sionoft
heNi
ger
ianconst
it
uti
on.
THELAW BETWEENPEOPLEOFNI
GERI
ADESCENT/BETWEENNI
GERI
ANS
Thegener
alr
ulewithr
egardstodisputebetweenpersonswhoar eNiger
iani
sthatcust
omary
l
awshouldappl
y,t
hatis,
thelawoft heland.Thevari
oushighcourtl
awsenjoi
nsthecourtt
o
obser
veandenfor
cetheobserversofcustomarylaws.Secti
on26ofLagosStateHighCourt
LawCapH3,LawsofLagosSt ate2003pr ovi
des:
,1.Thehighcourtshal
l observ
eandenforcetheobser
ver
sofcustomaryl
awswhi chisappl
icabl
e
andisnotrepugnanttonaturalj
ust
ice,
equit
yandgoodconsciencenori
ncompatibl
eeit
her
di
rectl
yorbyimplicat
ionwi t
hanylawfortheti
mebeinginf
orceandnothingi
nthislawshall
depri
veanypersonoft hebenefi
tofcustomaryl
aw.
(
1)2Goahead:
Cust
omar yl
awshal
lbedeem appl
i
cabl
eincausesandmat
ter
swher
epar
ti
est
her
etoar
e
nat
ives….
(
Ami norbyi
nfantr
eli
efacti
ssomeoneunder21y
ear
sol
d;ani
nfanthasnocapaci
tyt
oent
er
i
ntocontr
act
).
Thereforeinresolv i
ngconf l
ictoflawswhenpar tiesarenati
ves(Niger
ians),
thegener alrul
ei s
thati
fther eisanat ivelawandcust om appli
cablet othematteri
ncontroversyandi fsuchl aw
andcust om isnotr epugnantt onatur
aljust
ice,equityandgoodconscienceori ncompat i
ble
withanyl ocalordinanceandi fitshal
lnotappeart hatitwasint
endedbyt hepar t
iesthatthe
obli
gationundert het ransacti
onshouldber egulatedbyEngli
shlaw.Themat t
erincont r
ov ersy
shallbedet er
mi nedi naccordancewithsuchnat ivelawandcustom.Thi sposit
ionhasbeen
rei
nforcedi nthefollowingcases:
1Lewi
sVBankol
e(1908)NLR81
Agi
bigbi
V.Agi
bigbi
(1992)2NLRpt
221
AghenghenV.Waghor
eghor(
1974)ALLNRpt
74
EXEMPTI
ONSTOCUSTOMARYLAW APPLYTONI
GERI
ANSORNATI
VES
Asagainstt
hegeneral
rul
ethattr
ansact
ionordi
sput
ebetweenNigeri
ansshoul
dbegov
ernedby
cust
omar yl
aw,ther
eareatl
easttwosit
uati
onsi
nwhichcourtmayrefuset
heappl
i
cabi
li
tyof
thecustomar
ylawandtheseare:
, Whent
hepar
ti
esei
therexpr
essl
yori
mpl
i
edl
yagr
eet
hatcust
omar
ylawshoul
dnotappl
yor
Wher
ethet
ransact
ioni
sunknownt
ocust
omar
ylaw.
Not
e:I
fthecont
ractisbet
weenaNigeri
an&For ei
gner
,Engl
i
shlawwi
l
lbeappl
i
ed.Howev
eri
f
t
hefor
eignerwi
l
linduceEngl
i
shlawforinj
ust
ice,i
tmaynotappl
y.
Sect
ion26(
3)ofHi
ghCour
toft
heLagosst
atut
epr
ovi
des;
“Nopartyshallbeentit
ledt ocl
aimt hebenefitofanycustomarylawifi
tappearsf r
om either
expr
esscont ractorfr
om t henatureofthet r
ansacti
on,outofwhichanysuitorquestionmay
havearisenthatsuchpartyagr eedthathisobli
gati
oninconnectionwit
hsucht ransacti
onshall
beexclusivel
yregulat
edot herwisethanbycust omaryl
awort hatsuchtransact
ionare
tr
ansactionunknownt ocust omarylaw.”*(notewhenaquest i
onbothersonexempt ion,use
sect
ion26( 3)ofLagosHi ghCour t
).
Asbet
weenanati
veandnon-
nati
ve,anydi
sputet
hatmayar i
sei
ntheli
ghtoft
ransact
ion
bet
weent
hem,shal
lasamatterofgener
alr
uleberegul
atedbyEngl
i
shlaw.
I
nthecaseofSal
vageV.Macmoy(
1909)REN504.
Thedeceasedhusbandofthedef
endantwasanon-
Niger
ia,
heconduct
edamar
ri
ageunder
nat
iveandcust
om withthedef
endant
.
Thecourthel
dthatthedeceasedhusbandbei
ngaSi er
raLeoneanlackscapaci
tyt
ocontr
acta
marri
ageinNiger
iaundernati
velawandcustom andther
efor
et hemarri
agewasconsequent
ly
voi
d.
Theonl
yexemptiontothisi
nwhichEngl
ishlawwoul
dnotapplybutr
athercust
omar yl
aws,i
s
wher
esubstant
iali
njust
icewoul
dresul
t,i
fther
eisst
ri
ctadher
encetoanyotherrul
esoflaw.
Sect
ion26(
2)oft
heHi
ghCour
tofLagosSt
ateear
li
eronr
efer
redt
opr
ovi
dest
hat
:
