HIRE PURCHASE AGREEMENT

The word ‘hire purchase is not unknown to us all as it has found its way into our system and became popular as it allow to credit to someone who is unable to pay for the goods he wants and who would be happy to pay some deposit and thereafter pay balance install mentally at a stipulated rate of interest.

Hire purchase agreement is an agreement by an owner of goods to hire them   to a hirer and to give the hirer an option to purchase conditional on his completing the necessary payments for the goods and complying with the terms of the agreement.

The law governing hire purchase agreement in Nigeria is THE HIRE PURCHASE AGREEMENT ACT,1965The purpose of enacting the act is to regulate the hire purchase transactions which has hitherto has been executed under the ordinary law contract, and under which some owners have exploited the ignorance of the people to enforce oppressive agreements. the legislation is to strike root of many justices which were highlighted during the debate on parliament.

This agreement can be done orally or by writing, but because of the details of agreement involved it is advisable it is in written form so as to avoid any misunderstanding or misrepresentation of facts. it must contain a clause which says the owner agrees to let and the hirer agrees to hire the good to the hirer, this is an offer and acceptance between parties, a clause to determine hiring and return of goods and an option to purchase good for a nominal sum at the end of the hiring for the hire purchase agreement to be valid.

This contract of agreement is solely determined by the terms of agreement between the parties; it is what they agree on to guide and governs their transaction that becomes binding under law. 

it is the obligation of the owner to make delivery of good to the hirer which are the subject matter of the hire purchase agreement, the breach of these entitles the hirer t repudiate the agreement, physical transfer of the good is sufficient and it must be exactly the way the owner described the good to the hirer, it must be fitness for purpose as it was held in AMUSAN&THOMAS V. BENTWORTH FINANCE (NIG)LTD

it is also the duty of the hirer to take delivery of goods hired he will be liable in damage if he fails to take delivery within a reasonable time after he had been duly requested to do so i.e. he will be bound to pay installments for the period he failed to take delivery, a duty to make all necessary payment agreed by parties on the good hired, a duty to be in custody of the good for the purpose it was hired for.

The hirer has the right to terminate the agreement before the agreed period but a limit must be set to in agreement in order to ensure that justice is done among the parties to the hire purchase agreement, for a hirer to terminate he must have at least paid half of the hire purchase price and the hand the good over to the owner.

The injustice of retaking goods by the owner has been remedied by the restriction on the right of repossession by the owner other than by action after relevant proportion has been paid or tendered, particularly where there is minor slip in paying the installments.

The hire purchase agreement need to be properly handled so as not to fall victim by entering into an agreement that will be binding on the parties. Consult us for a proper review of hire purchase agreement before entering into one.

Thank you.

Oyenike ALLIYU-ADEBIYI LLB (hons)BL

CYBER SQUATTING ;KONGA V. JUMAI

There is this rumor everywhere that the fast growing online retailers in Nigeria are at war over cyber squatting rights, it was gathered that JUMAI has hijacked all the look alike names KONGA might want to use in the nearest future, they used its business name and added few names, this is most likely going to send a wrong signal to its prospective clients that they are dealing with KONGA .

Aside this fact they will not be able to use their business name where they intend to open an online shop in the affected countries.

This is called cyber or domain squatting, it is the use, registering of a domain name that belong to another with the intent to make profit from the good will of a trademark belonging to someone else, one of the effect this usually have on the affected company or individual domain name is that when they intend to use the names the cyber squatters then offer to sell to them at an inflated price because the name has already been registered.

if you must do anything make sure you do it well, regstration of its business name under Trademark is an added advantage to pursue the case against a squatter to get one's domain name back.

The law governing cybersquating in the United State of America is the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act.

Cyber squatting is an illegal act and also a trademark infringement that is frown at,it is as good as registering a name that is likely to confuse or defraud customers of the rightful owner of a name,.

Take this company law famous case in Nigeria, NIGER CHEMIST V. NIGERIA CHEMIST  where it was held that the name is very close and can confuse outsiders to think they are dealing with the same company, it was decided in this case that the party that first registered the name should retain it while the other should drop the name. This is one of several advantages of registration; we help in registration of companies, varying from Private, Public, Companies limited by guarantee etc.

The remedy available to KONGA in this case is to proof beyond reasonable doubt that JUMAI squat their business in bad faith, this can simply be proved by stating they are their major competitor in Nigeria and their domain me will revert back to them without having to pay so much as this has happened to a lot of celebrities in the past, celebrities like Madonna, Julia Robert’s names were hijacked but they were able to get their domain name because the man who used their names claim he did to get their attentions in other to get them to read a document he has written on rain forest and then use their status to shed light on the situation.

They can also follow the laid down procedures by the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDP), this can also be handled by us if your domain name has been hijacked based on our experience in the area of internet and intellectual property.

Thank you.

Oyenike Alliyu-ADEBIYI LLB(hons)BL

HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN NIGERIA

Human trafficking is not unknown in our environment, most of us are traffickers but we will not agree, why did I say so, we keep under age children in our homes to be used as slaves for our own children, if that is all it would have been better older men around us abuse them sexually, most of them are not bold enough to tell their ‘boss’ because they are afraid of what will become of them if they ever do.

If you are  the type that gives out ladies to men to sleep with in exchange for money ,you are a trafficker, morally this is wrong ,spiritually it is unacceptable and legally it is a criminal offence.

What is human? Human trafficking is the trade in humans, mostly for the purpose of sexual slavery, forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation purposes for the benefit of the trafficker. Trafficking in children involves recruitment of children for child labor, transfer ,harboring or receipt of children for the purpose of exploitation while sexual trafficking include coercing a migrant into sexual act as a condition of allowing or arranging migration.

Taking people into brothel where they are used as sexual workers is a form of human trafficking as an offence known to law. 

Nigeria has been referred to as a source, transit and destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking based on the high level of child slavery, sexual slavery which we have see as a major source of acquiring wealth. Nigeria traffickers recruits women and children from rural areas and parts of West African countries for involuntary domestic servitudes and forced commercial sexual exploitation and boys for forced labor in street vending and begging.

The federal government through its agency National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Person and other Related matters (NAPTIP)  criminalize the offence with a penalty of 5 years imprisonment for offenders in Nigeria , the act is Trafficking in Person Law Enforcement and Administration act 2005 and 10 years imprisonment for sex trafficking.

This same agency provide assistance to victims of trafficking from sheltering them and providing them with necessary assistance required.

We can all say no to human trafficking by assisting the relevant authorizes by providing them with information on potential trafficking activities in our society. As a student you can take action on your campus against human trafficking.

You can reach NAPTIP via email on info@naptip.gov.ng , infolagos@naptip.gov.ng  also via a letter addressed NO.2028 Dalaba Street,Wuze zone 5 FCT,Abuja Nigeria .Their toll free lines are 07030000208 and 08002255627847.

Let us help our government so that they can help us.

Thank you.

Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB(hons)BL

NOISE POLLUTION IN NIGERIA; LAW & SCIENCE

The Transfiguration and Solution Bible church Sebanjo Mushin area of Lagos state, was accused of noise pollution and closed down by the Lagos state Environmental protection Agency after residents complained of sleepless nights due to the church’s frequent vigil, and that they disturb them with musical instruments and piercing electronic gadgets- CULLED

We shall have a general overview of what noise pollution is, its effect on the society and health of its people.

Noise pollution is an unpleasant sound that disrupt human or animal life, this is not unknown world over but how this is controlled and managed by the government through relevant agencies is what differs, Nigeria should not be left out of this ,as a lot of people are been disturbed based on uncontrolled noise from industries due to failure to comply with the  master plan in our states by building industries around residential areas, the noise from musical instruments and loud speakers from our churches and mosque cannot be underestimated.

This has lead to health problem for some people, after a long day at work and traffic they get home to face noise pollution in their areas, those who cannot move their houses from these affect areas remain to live there, in some instances tenants move out for these reasons.

Scientist research has proven that in our actual noise situation, long exposure to constant high level of sounds, such as cars and high music, affect our health, noise can cause depression and disturbances that cause interruption of sleep, which is very important to human health. It has been proven that people living in areas with constant noise suffers from more emotional depression, frustrations  and as a result of these they are prone to using drugs due to these noise can affect their mental state to be inclined to depression and which people can get mentally ill.

People wonder if there are regulatory bodies or agencies in these regard, there are laws of the federation in these regard, the Federal EnvironmentalAgency(decree) no.52 of 1992 is one and for those of us in Lagos state, the Lagos State Environmental protection Agency is the body that handles the matter, they have been conferred with this duty, so don’t look elsewhere if you have been faced with this problem, there office is situates at Alausa, behind Ikeja Mall (shoprite) and they will take it up, you need not pay them money to carry out their duties but remember that this should not be done based on malice, read our topic on malicious prosecution to know the implication of setting the law in motion against an innocent party.

Section 33 and 34 of the constitution which guarantee fundamental human rights to life and human dignity respectively, have also being argued to be linked to the need for a healthy and safe environment to give these rights effect. Section7 of FEPA, provide authorities to ensure compliance with environmental laws, local and international, on environmental sanitation and pollution prevention and control through monitoring and regulatory measures, section 27 of FEPA also criminalize it as an offence punishable with a fine not exceeding one million naira only and an imprisonment term of five years and incase of a company,there is an additional fine of fifty thousand naira for each day the offence persists.

Thank you and have a beautiful Friday.

Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB(hons)BL

AMMUNITION ;BASIC RULES IN NIGERIA

One of the major ways of celebrities all over the world showing relevance is by putting on the faces of their fans their day to day activities. 

Nigerian stars are also not left behind in these and it is well accepted, it is also a way of bringing food to some tables and cure for unemployment that has eaten up our graduates but it becomes an offence when they show to our faces things that are considered morally wrong which Jude Okoye, manager and brother to the Nigerian music stars Paul &Peter Okoye, popularly known as PSQUARE did by posting on his instagram ammunitions, is this a way of showing affluence? Where has our morals gone.

First it was Tonto Dike, Nollywood actress and singer who posted Indian hemp on her instagram sometimes in year 2013, she was put to order by the Nigerian Drugs Law Enforcement Agency.

We shall be discussing the provision of the Nigeria Firearms Act (1990) , this law regulate the sale, use, transfer, repair of firearms in Nigeria .

The general rule by virtue of Licensing Firearms Act   is that right to possess firearms in Nigeria is not guaranteed by law. Section 3 of the firearms states that no person shall have in his possession or under his control any firearm of one category hereto except in accordance with a license granted by the president acting in his discretion.

Notwithstanding the provision of section 3 of the firearms Act, the following person shall not be granted license permit if:

(a)    Any person under the age of 17 years

(b)   A person of  unsound mind

(c)    An person on account of defective eye sight is not fit to be in possession of firearms

(d)   A person of intemperate habits

(e)   A person convicted of an offence involving violence of the threat of violence during the last five years.

No person shall by way of trade or business buy, sell, transfer any firearm unless he is registered as firearms dealer.

Where a license to use gun is granted to anybody, a license shall unless forfeited remain in operation until 31^st of December of the year in which it was granted. What this provision of the firearms is simply saying is that license to use gun is renewable every year.

Anybody who contravenes the provision of this act shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine, or imprisonment for 6 months or both.

In case of theft, loss or destruction of firearm, the owner shall notify such loss, theft or destructuction and circumstance thereof within 14 days of being aware to the authority that issue the license or permit and shall at the same time surrender the license or permit for such action as such authority may consider necessary.

In case of death of a person lawfully granted license, the gun does not form part the estate to be share d, it is the duty of members of his family who have knowledge of the gun to report to the relevant authority with 14 days of his death.

The following firearms are prohibited under the firearms.

(a)    Artillery

(b)    Apparatus for the discharge of any explosion of gas-diffusing projectile 

(c)     Rocket weapon

(d)     Bomb grenades

(e)    Machine guns/ pistol

(f)      Military riffles.

We assist in getting license for lawfully issued/registered ammunition.

Thank you.

Oyenike Alliyu-Adebiyi LLB(hons)B