SOLACE CHAMBERS BUK

“... it should be borne in mind that the test to be applied by the court in determining whether a publication is libelous or not is not that of highly educated and accomplished professors of various academic disciplines..., but that of reasonable man on the streets who comes into contact with the words in the publication.” — Walter Onoghenene, JSC This review is based on libel, a type of defamation and what test should be applied to determine if a publication would be said to be libelous. The court also went further to determine the defence of qualified privilege and whether it will avail the Guardian Newspaper. A short account of the fact of the case of Ologe v. New Africa Holdings Ltd.  (2013) 17 NWLR (Pt. 1384) 449 which are all workers in the University of Abuja filed a case against the Guardian Newspaper(Respondent) for publishing a column in their article which was a supposed verbatim reproduction of the press release. The University press explained to the reader...

"The fact that an employer is a statutory body does not automatically clothe the employment of its employees with a statutory flavour unless it is so stated in the employees’ contract of employment". The employment letter and other documents must be read in a whole vis-à-vis the statutory instrument in contemplation. The significance of the inclusion and exclusion of certain clauses (terms) and the similarities of the subject matter of the authority relied upon to the case in question in a contract of employment impact and influence the interpretation of law and resolution of dispute in Nigerian adjudication, and this has been judiciously expounded in the case of Gyubok v. Fedpoly, Bauchi (2024) 16 NWLR (Pt. 1965) 515. These two factors have their historical narrative in the legal maxim “Expressio unius est exclusio alterius or inclusio unius est exclusio alterius (the expression of one thing excludes others) and Statutes im pari materia (dealing with the same sub...

The position of the law is that once the defence of alibi is properly raised by an accused during investigations especially during the extraction of confessional statement, it is the duty of the Police to investigate it and for the prosecution to disprove it. However, for the defence of alibi raised timeously to equally be worthy of investigation, it must be precise and specific in terms of the place that the defendant raising it was and the person or persons he was with and possibly what he was doing there at the material time. Failure to satisfy the above affects reliance on the defence. The law has ever been that court must consider all possible defenses, including alibi, opens to a Defendant in a criminal trial though not specifically pleaded by the Defendant, but gleanable from the record of the Court. Alibi is one of the defenses to criminal responsibility a person standing criminal trial could put forward to get him exonerated of the offense(s) being charge...

The rule inscribed in the maxim “EX-IMPROVISO” is very limited and not applicable in all instances the court orders for recall of a witness, upon an application made to it or suo motu, nor does it ordinarily forecloses the chance of the Prosecution to call additional evidence after the close of the case of the Defence without giving credence to the surrounding circumstances. The normal order of giving evidence before a Nigerian Court, based on the circumstance of our adversarial system, is for the prosecution to call its witnesses to give evidence first before the Defence opens his case. However, there are instances where: (a) a witness can be recalled either with an application to the Court, (b) additional witness is/are called  by the prosecution Counsel or (c) a court suo motu called a witness. While the maxim “ex improviso” relates to the prosecution calling additional wAsitness after the close of the Defence purposely to rebut the the defence put forward by a...

When a person voluntarily joins a peaceful association, he did so with the full knowledge and freewill to adhere to the rules and regulations guiding such association. Therefore, it is not for such a person to pick and choose which aspect of the manual, constitution or guidelines of the association he has voluntarily join that suits him and vice-versa. To wish to so abide only to that which suits him is for him to first disengage from the association. He is bound wholly and entirely to what has been provided by the association’s constitution, guidelines or manual on how its operations are to be conducted . —The Contributor The law is trite that, in fundamental human rights enforcement, the rights of a person cannot be granted in isolation of the rights of other persons. This implies that where the rights of a person stop where that of others begin. So also the right to belong to a peaceful association. The right as guaranteed under Section 40 of the Constitution is no...

In this week legal publication, we presented the decision of the Court on: The Legal Effect of Dismissing an Application for Leave to Appeal: Is it a dismissal on Merit or that of Striking out? SHORT EXPLANATION : The well settled position of the law, as well captured in the attached flyer, is to the effect that an application for leave to appeal where so required by law, is a condition precedent to the initiation of a valid appeal, whether of an appeal within time or an appeal out of time. An appeal is within time where an appeal is brought within the statutorily prescribed period or time within which such an appeal should be filed against the decision of a lower Court. For instance, an appeal against the decision of a trial Court lying to the Court of Appeal, in a civil matter, is to be brought within three months. Where such appeal is brought before the expiration of the three months, it is an appeal within time. Otherwise, it is an appeal out of time. The law is, befor...