NNAMDINMA™

Stay Positive, Zero negativity. Legally minded.
Cat😺 Lover #EndSARS #Ohafia Aviation✈ x Cybersecurity💻⚖️

[Nigeria Stories @NigeriaStories]

BREAKING : FIFA has confirmed that Super Eagles legend Austin “Jay Jay” Okocha holds the record for the most successful dribbles in a single FIFA World Cup match, underlining his enduring status as one of the most skilful footballers the game has ever produced. 🇳🇬🇳🇬🇳🇬💯

[Fabian Sani Esq @FabianSani8]

To whom it may concern as copied from Taiwo Aromolarn on LinkedIn.

Young lawyers, if you walk into court with these 7 authorities, no objection will take you off guard:

1. Atanda & Ors v. Ajani & Ors (1989)

When to use this:

Opposing counsel tries to introduce evidence or elicit testimony on facts not pleaded in the statement of claim or defence.

Your response:

“My Lord, this evidence goes to no issue. The facts it seeks to establish were never pleaded. We urge the court to discountenance it as it is inadmissible.”

2. Section 1(1) of the Evidence Act

Torti v. Ukpabi (1984), citing Kuruma v. The Queen (1955)

When to use this:

Opposing counsel objects to your evidence on the grounds of how it was obtained e.g., arguing it was improperly or illegally obtained.

You respond:

“My Lord, relevance is the basis of admissibility. Once the evidence is relevant to the matters in issue, it is admissible.

How it was obtained is of no moment at this stage.”

3. Ndu v. State (1990); FRN v. Saraki

When to use this: Opposing counsel discloses information not contained in his pleadings or affidavit from the Bar.

Your response: “My Lord, the law is trite. No matter how brilliant Counsel’s oral address is, it cannot take the place of evidence.

The court of law is a court of facts and facts are established when supporting evidence is adduced.

4. Akpan v. Bob & Ors (2011)

When to use this:

The opposing counsel suggests that your brief is defective and should be struck out.

Your response:

“My Lord, even where a brief is alleged to be bad, the only consequence the court may visit upon it is an adverse comment.

It has no jurisdiction to regard such a brief as no brief at all… It cannot strike it out on the premises of being bad.”

5. NNPC v. Clifco Nig. Ltd. (2011)

When to use this: After winning, opposing party resists a costs order;

Your response:

“My lord, costs follow the event in litigation. A successful party should not be deprived of the fruits of litigation unless there are specific reasons why he should be deprived of his entitlement.”

6. Sodipo v. Lemminkainen & Anor (1986)

When to use this:

Opposing counsel objects to an affidavit because it was deposed to by a lawyer.

How to respond:

“My Lord, an affidavit sworn by counsel is not objectionable in principle.

It is only improper where the subject-matter involves privileged client communication or places counsel in a position of being cross-examined. Neither condition is present here.”

Which of these stood out to you?

P.S: Lawyers, what case law will you recommend as no. 7?👇👇

Save this post for later
Repost for other lawyers

Best legal write up I’ve seen all week.

[The law guy. @Chibuik57080063]

DAY 16 SUPREME COURT DECISION
Ugbah v Ugbah (2026) 4 NWLR Pt 2035@NWLRonline
Family Law lawyers gather, the SC has something for you
The appellants via a writ of summons sue the respondent for maintenance of herself, her children, and for upkeep and education of the children
1/5

[Foundational Nupe Lawyer @egi_nupe]

The case of “Mumu v Agor” which is on judicial notice and judicial discretion.

I can never forget that case😂the day I cited it in Court, almost everybody, including the judge, did not believe it existed until I provided the full citation 😂

Mumu means a foolish person

Agor as pronounced also means foolish person

[Ogundipe, Esq. @The_Ogundipe]

Excessive alcohol and a life of drugs have snatched some of our greatest potentials from the path of greatness.

Genius has never been lacking in the legal profession. If you pay attention, you'd catch the glimpse in many lawyers. However, people buy habits that kill genius, way before genius begins to sprout.

The most brilliant of the bar often take to alcohol and grow lower and lower as the year runs by, till they end in rehabs or the gutter.

Lawyers, more than any other professional need to control their appetite. Drink less, pick your food, avoid drugs, moderate sex, take very little of free things, be careful of gifts you cannot pay back, and open yourself and space to limited people, as associations can poison the mind and thoughts

[Foundational Nupe Lawyer @egi_nupe]

Had a sweaty minute in court today 😂 the judge took me up again on why I brought an application to serve a company through its director when the Defendant is a company. Can you serve a company through substituted means? I said no my lord, I am not serving the company through substituted means but I am serving the director as provided by the rules, since it’s impossible to deliver to the director personally. I need a court order to send to him through WhatsApp and which does not mean serving the company through substituted means as forbidden in Mark v Eke.

Moreso, I didn’t bring my application under the provision for substituted means as contained in the rules. Then she said Oya tell me the difference between personal service and substituted service. Na so I begin dey lecture dey cite authorities. I opened my rules and I submitted to allow me move my application. Added that if the director comes out to now say it’s improper service, I can just hand the processes over to him and that will constitute good and proper service. She just smiled 😀 and said counsel: proceed to move your application. I moved and she granted it.

[Ogundipe, Esq. @The_Ogundipe]

In answering this, I want to acknowledge that I might speak from a place of privilege on certain things, so pardon me.

1. Read wide. Read like your life depends on it. At the close of work every day, I spend 2 hours reading. The books I read in those 2 hours are not law books, but the motive is that things picked in them will advance my life and practice. They do.

Reading builds your mind and makes you a very flexible writer. Yesterday, I was writing a final address on a defamation suit. Without any effort, the words of Lago in Othello, by William Shakespeare came to me, verbatim. I read the book over a decade ago: "Who steals my purse steals trash... but he that flinches from me my good name robs me of that which not enriches him and makes me poor indeed". I used it as foundation for my address.

2. Try to seek out mentors in law. Try your best to get close to some of the best drafters. Look out for authors whose drafts focus more on "whys" of law, than what. Many of them are up there, but if you get close to their firms, you might have access to some of their works. Study them.

Are you also aware that you can apply for CTC of a process filed in court? They're public documents.

3. Avoid overreliance on precedents. Except it is very urgent, I pick all my drafts from the beginning. I realise that every drafting process is another learning process. You are able to measure your progress when you compare the process you drafted last November with the one you drafted on the same point this year. Overreliance in precedents won't allow you really do that. Law is dynamic, so should your approach to drafting.

4. Build a network of friends who actually love law. I have friends whose calls are ALWAYS to discuss law. Some have become so neck-deep in it that their lives are sold to it. I was asking one about marriage just last week, his response was that: "There are some housekeeping applications that need to be taken, so that leave may be obtained".

5. You can only get better at drafting by drafting. If you work in a law firm, ensure that you consistently take on drafting challenges. Each time you do it, you keep a token in the piggybank. One day, you will reap it.

6. Try to get into a firm where learning is pushed through doing. I generally don't think any lawyer should be in a law firm where at 6 months, 1 year or more, you are still "appearing with" on house-keeping applications. When exactly would you have the opportunity to have your confidence and standing tested? Judges are tolerant of rough edges in younger lawyers than in older ones. Take the "knock" early and get in the line. The courage you need to address a court can only be built when you address a court - often.

My style is to leave every preliminary applications in any matter I am handling for fresh lawyers in the firm. If you fare well in that, you'd have an Originating Summons matter to deal with in a few weeks.

Why is appearance in court relevant here? It is relevant because your draft should reflect the reality in practice.

7. Own a style and develop it. I have a style and it reflects my learnings and the things I've taken in. Every drafter deserves his own style. Like I once said, your drafts are like samples of your blood. When people come across it, they should have an idea of what is happening in your mind. If you keep relying on precedents, that uniqueness won't come.

8. Read judgements.

Finally, let me reproduce the words of J.W Donovan again:

"A lawyer of men must know much of life and human nature. He should be a novice in nothing and wide-minded in all things. He may not necessarily be a genius, but he must be ripe in broad knowledge and general experience. If he is these, it will be no fault of his own".

I came across the comment in a firm at Adamasingba where I was interning as a 200l law student. It has become my compass.

You should also do with Judge Donovan's counsel as you deem fit.

[BSAT Properties @BSAT_Properties]

Important Documents you must ask for before buying land in Nigeria

1. If the person says that the land was gifted to him, ask for a Deed of Gift.

2. If the person says that he bought the land, ask for Deed of Assignment, Deed of Conveyance or Irrevocable power of Attorney.

3. If the person says the land was shared between him and someone else, ask for Deed of Partition.

4. If the person says that he is holding the land in trust for a minor, ask for Deed of trust.

5. If the person says that the land is a family land, ask for written consent of the family head and principal members of the family or the family resolution.

6. If the person says he inherited the property without a Will, ask for the Letters of Administration.

7. If the person inherited the land from a late person who made a Will, ask for the grant of probate or Deed of Assent.

Buying land is not something you should do in a hurry, ensure that you conduct due diligence before you make payment.

All the best.

© Emmanuella Ojialor

Which of these documents does your land have?

Which of them have you not heard of before?

[Adepeju Jaiyeoba @pjlalah]

Let me tell you about the picture in Frame 1.

In August 2017, as a litigation lawyer in Lagos, I had work to do that required me to be at the office during the weekend.

There was only one problem that weekend.

I had a 16 months old son, no nanny and no one to leave him with at home so I asked my boss if I could bring him with me and she was gracious enough to agree. While I was working, my son fell asleep and I had to lay him down on the floor beside my table.

In that moment, I took a picture of him sleeping and made a promise to myself that if I ever had my own firm, at some point in that journey, no woman working with me who had a caregiver emergency and needs to be at work will have to lay her baby on the floor.

That same day, I thought of my struggles as a breastfeeding mother in the workplace and promised again that no woman working with me who had a baby will ever have to struggle for a private space to use her breast pump at work, relieve her aching breast to focus and save some quality milk for her baby.

Frame 2
Today, we finished the renovation of our office building complete with a nursing room.

Litigation is tough for women.

The firm should not make it tougher.

Strichland LP has a nursing room and today, by the grace of God, I kept that promise.

❤️

#WomenInLitigation

[Theprolificthobby @TobiAjayi15]

This is the simple trick I’ve been using for years to verify land status with my smartphone, even when there’s no survey plan yet.

Most people think once a land doesn’t have a survey, there’s no way to check its status. That’s not really true.

Let’s assume your siblings or friends brings you an opportunity to buy land in a particular location, but the land doesn’t have a survey yet, so you can’t immediately confirm the status.

Here’s the simple thing I usually do.

Go and inspect the location, once you get to the exact location of the land, open Google Maps on your phone.

1.First, turn on your phone’s location so the map can detect your exact position.

2.When the map shows where you are standing, press and hold that spot on the map for a few seconds.

3.Immediately, some numbers will appear on your screen.

The numbers usually look something like this👇🏾

6.53244, 3.46872

Those numbers are called coordinates. Just copy them and save them somewhere.

That location coordinate is like the exact digital address of that land.

Now you can take those numbers to the state land registry or give them to a surveyor to run a proper check on the land.

Once the search is done, you’ll be able to know things like👇🏾

Whether the land is free from government acquisition.

Whether it falls inside committed government land.

Or if it’s safe to buy.

So even if a land doesn’t have a survey plan yet, the location coordinates alone can still help you verify the status of the land.

Very simple trick, but it can save you from several land problems.

For any Real Estate consultation, reach out to me 🤝🏾

[Andrei @leoandrevic]

A couple of in-house job opportunities for lawyers that I’ve come across recently:

[Andrei @leoandrevic]

In-house Job opportunity: Startbutton is hiring a Legal and Compliance Associate.

Application link - Send CV and Cover Letter to: https://t.co/VxME5cdVGy

[Andrei @leoandrevic]

A collection of Job opportunities: In-house, law firm, and non-legal roles.

[Aspiring Billionaire SAN⚖️ @UsmanAbidemiEsq]

The case of Olaniran v. Adebayo (2025) NWLR (Pt. 1984) is relevant here.

If you enter into an agreement to buy a property from a property owner but time was not stipulated.The law implies that you shall pay within a reasonable time or else the landlord has right to repudiate.🤍

[God's Magnum Opus™ @israeloflife]

Lol. Not Denning actually.

The dictum is attributed to CJ Abbott in Montriou v Jeffreys,172 Eng Rep. 51(NP. 1825):

“No attorney is bound to know all the law; God forbid that it should be imagined that an attorney, or a counsel, or even a judge is bound to know all the law…”

[Akpor Ikogho @legal_padi]

Just to be clear, ALL Land purchase documents aren’t created equal.

Some prove ownership.
Some show the property location.
Some merely prove payment of purchase sum.

Every buyer needs to know this hierarchy before they buy.

STRONGEST ( 1 & 2)

1) Certificate of Occupancy (C of O)

• it is Issued by government
• ⁠Confirms legal right of occupancy
• ⁠Recognized by Banks & institutions

2) Governor’s Consent

• it is required when transferring land under C of O
• ⁠Legalizes ownership transfer
• ⁠Strengthens title.

3) Gazette (Excision Gazette)

• This only confirms that the government released the land.
• Shows official coordinates of the land
• ⁠Foundation for future title

4) Excision (Approved Excision)

• it is a Government approval to release land in principle
• ⁠Comes before Gazette

Without a Gazette, excision is incomplete.

5) Registered Survey

• Shows boundaries
• ⁠Shows coordinates
• ⁠Defines land location

6) Deed of Assignment

• Records transfer between buyer & seller
• ⁠Shows ownership history

• ⁠The government must consent to it for legal title to pass

7) Receipt / Allocation Letter

• Evidence of payment
• ⁠Shows transaction

NEVER rely on this alone.

IN SUMMARY

A C of O & Governors consent are the strongest documents you can have.

The weakest document is a purchase receipt.

A Survey plan ONLY proves location

Charting shows the status of the property.

[Foundational Nupe Lawyer @egi_nupe]

1. Don’t ask too many questions

2. Don’t ask questions you don’t have the answers to.

3. Ask closed-ended questions more.

4. Pay attention to the emotional and attitudinal reactions of the witness.

5. Do not argue with the witness.

6. Make sure the court records answers relating to your questions only.

7. Don’t intimidate the witness.

8. When the witness has been exposed, don’t overdo it.

9. Don’t ask questions that will make the witness explain, if the witness attempts to explain, know when to interrupt,

10. Know when to stop.

[Senior Man @KingEsene]

₦1 million even go too far. There are people languishing in our prisons bcos they are unable to pay fines as low as 10k, 20k, 25k etc.

[The Banking Law Attorney ❤️ @ataweweattorney]

Bank Liability and Customer Responsibility in Electronic Fraud: A Review of NWACHUKWU v. U.B.A (2023) LPELR-60847 (CA).

[Adepeju Jaiyeoba @pjlalah]

Appellant’s Brief gets me every time cos you are basically doing shaolin with everything 😂

You are checking for record transmission date.

Checking to be sure the person who compiled the records was the right person to so compile at the time it was compiled.

Checking the grounds from which your issues flow.

Checking to ensure no leave was required to file the appeal.

Checking to see if you have grounds of mixed law and facts.

Checking to see if your brief is out of time.

Checking to ensure your issues are not more than your grounds of appeal.

You go check tire before you now start battling the drafting of the brief itself 😂

#WomenInLitigation🔥