Nigeria: Contracts and Commercial Law

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signed the Nigerian Ports Economic Regulatory Agency (NPERA) Act, 2026, formally transforming the Nigerian Shippers' Council into an independent economic regulator...

Garnishee proceedings represent a specialized statutory mechanism for enforcing monetary judgments in Nigeria, operating outside the conventional pleadings-based civil litigation framework. Governed primarily by the Sheriffs and Civil Process Act, this procedure offers judgment creditors an expedited pathway to recover debts owed to judgment debtors by third parties.

On 6th August 2026, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (“NMDPRA”) launched a stakeholder consultation in relation to the proposed Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Prevention...

The first half of 2026 brought transformative changes to global sport, from FIFA's landmark transfer system reform and CAF's controversial AFCON Final reversal to strengthened maternity protections and eligibility frameworks. In Nigeria, record funding commitments, institutional restructuring, and diaspora talent recruitment initiatives marked a pivotal shift, while landmark court rulings clarified regulatory authority over betting operators and footballer employment rights.

Nigeria's Arbitration and Mediation Act 2023 fundamentally transforms West Africa's dispute resolution framework by introducing mandatory judicial stays, emergency arbitrator provisions, and third-party funding mechanisms. How do these reforms position Nigeria as a competitive arbitral seat for international commercial transactions, and what strategic considerations should global counsel evaluate when drafting dispute resolution clauses for Nigerian-connected contracts?

A Lagos off-plan property development appeared ready for market with printed brochures, active construction, and growing media attention. However, when a prospective buyer's lawyer reviewed the title documents, fundamental legal issues emerged that the developer had never anticipated, ultimately costing them the sale and revealing how inadequate legal foundations can undermine even the most promising real estate projects.

A surprising number of disputes that end up in arbitration are not, at their root, legal disputes at all. They are communication failures, project-management failures, governance failures, or breakdown in trust between people who once worked well together. The legal characterisation such as breach of contract, variation claim, or indemnity dispute, is often just the form the disagreement takes by the time lawyers are involved, not a description of what went wrong.

For generations, Nigerians have regarded land as the safest store of wealth. The prevailing investment philosophy has been remarkably simple: acquire land, hold it patiently, and allow appreciation to generate wealth over time. Across Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and other commercial centres, countless families have followed precisely that strategy.

When a marriage ends in Nigeria, the absence of a prenuptial agreement can turn asset division into a prolonged legal battle that destroys the very wealth couples fought to protect. While prenups are not illegal under Nigerian law, their enforceability depends on careful drafting and judicial discretion under the "just and equitable" standard of Section 72(2) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1970.