Nigerian legal education & awareness
Understand Nigerian law, protect yourself, protect your business, and know when professional legal help may be necessary.
Constitution 1999 · Chapter IV
Section 35 sets out when a person may be deprived of liberty, and what must happen next. We explain it in plain language, and say clearly where the official text ends and our explanation begins.
Read the plain-language guideLive sessions
Hiring your first employee: an open clinic
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Does the Data Protection Act 2023 apply to your company?
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Most people arrive with a situation, not a statute. Start from what happened and we will take you to the law behind it.
Pick the one closest to your situation — you can change it at any point.
Next live sessionKnow Your Rights Live
A session for founders on what changes the moment someone works for you — contracts, records, and the obligations that arrive with the first hire.
Your rights
Rights matter most in the moment they are tested. These guides start with the situation you are in.
You are stopped on the road or in a public place
The Constitution protects your dignity and personal liberty during any encounter. Understand what you can ask, what you should carry, and how to keep an ordinary stop from escalating.
SourceConstitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) — Chapter IV, sections 34 and 35
Read the guideA person has been taken into custody
Section 35 guarantees personal liberty and sets out when a person must be brought before a court. The Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 adds procedural safeguards worth understanding before you need them.
SourceAdministration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 — Read alongside Constitution 1999 (as amended), s. 35
Read the guideA person is in custody and release is being discussed
Bail is a conditional release while a case continues. It is decided by an authorised officer or a court, it is not a payment for freedom, and it is not a finding about guilt.
SourceAdministration of Criminal Justice Act 2015 — Read alongside Constitution 1999 (as amended), s. 35
Read the guideAn organisation is collecting information about you
Section 37 protects the privacy of citizens, their homes and their correspondence. The Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 builds on it with duties for anyone processing personal data.
SourceNigeria Data Protection Act 2023 — Read alongside Constitution 1999 (as amended), s. 37
Read the guideSomething has changed about your job or your pay
Your written contract, the Labour Act and workplace policy together shape what your employer may and may not do. Know which document governs which question.
SourceLabour Act, Cap L1 LFN 2004
Read the guideKnow the law
Every subject area of Nigerian law, each separating where the official text lives from the plain-language explanation.
The supreme law and the rights it guarantees
1 explainer
Chapter IV rights and how they are enforced
1 explainer
Offences, procedure and the ACJA 2015
1 explainer
Claims between people and organisations
In preparation
Contracts, wages, termination, workplace duties
1 explainer
CAMA 2020, company duties and governance
2 explainers
The Land Use Act, title and tenancy
1 explainer
The FCCPA 2018 and your purchases
1 explainer
Business & Enterprise
Not because the law is simple, but because the mistakes repeat. These guides sit at the decision points where they happen.
You are about to bring someone onto the payroll
Written terms, statutory deductions, record keeping and the difference between an employee and a contractor - settled before the first payday, not after a dispute.
Your product or shop is about to store personal information
What counts as personal data, why you are processing it, how long you keep it, and the duties the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 places on the organisation holding it.
A commercial agreement is in front of you
Payment terms, liability, termination, dispute resolution and the quiet clauses that decide what happens when a supplier fails to deliver.
You are going into business with someone
Ownership, decision rights, money in and money out, and what happens if one of you wants to leave. CAMA 2020 shapes the structures available to you.
A facility, an investor advance or a supplier credit line is on the table
What is actually secured, who is personally on the hook, what the covenants require of you, and what the lender can do on default.
You have decided an employment relationship has to end
Grounds, process, notice, final entitlements and records - the four things that decide whether a termination is defensible or becomes a claim.
You are about to start selling to the public over the internet
Entity and terms, consumer duties, payments, personal data and the online-conduct rules that apply the moment you trade at a distance.
You want to use a name, logo, image, track, font or piece of writing you did not create
Who owns it, what permission you actually need, what a licence really allows, and why attribution is not a substitute for a right.
Stay safe · Before You Sign
A recurring series on what to look for in everyday documents: the clauses that matter, the red flags, the questions worth asking, and the point at which you should stop and get professional advice.
Read the seriesLaw & Society
Every story is labelled — news, analysis, explainer, opinion or educational — so you always know what you are reading.
Twelve fundamental rights sit in Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution. We take each one in turn, in plain language, with the everyday situations where it matters most.
You collect phone numbers to confirm orders. Does the NDP Act 2023 apply to you? What it asks of an organisation, without the compliance jargon.
9 min read
Nine clauses decide most workplace disputes. Here is what each one does, and the questions to ask before anyone signs.
8 min read
Governors hold land in trust. That single principle explains consent requirements, certificates of occupancy and much of what buyers find confusing.
10 min read
Impersonation, fraudulent transfers, harassment: what the Act addresses, and the practical habits that keep ordinary users out of trouble.
7 min read
Watch & Listen
Explainers, documentaries, interviews and podcasts — the same knowledge base, in the format that suits you.
An open session on what the Constitution protects during a stop, a search or an arrest — with moderated questions from the audience.
The clauses tenants skip, the ones landlords rely on, and the questions worth asking before you pay anything.
A session for founders on what changes the moment someone works for you — contracts, records, and the obligations that arrive with the first hire.
A short explainer on single-member companies, filings and the duties that come with registration.
Law in plain language
Every term with a simple definition, a real example, and why it matters.
A written statement of facts that the maker swears to be true, used as evidence in a proceeding.
Someone confirming their date of birth for an official process swears an affidavit before a commissioner for oaths.
A court or authorised officer allowing a person to remain out of custody while their case continues, usually on conditions.
A person charged with a minor offence is released pending the next hearing, on conditions set by the court.
A statement published to others that injures a person's reputation, where the law provides a remedy.
A false claim about a business owner's honesty is circulated in a public group.
The rights guaranteed by Chapter IV of the Constitution, enforceable against the state through a dedicated court procedure.
A person held without being told why relies on the right to personal liberty.
An application asking a court to require that a detained person be produced, so the lawfulness of their detention can be examined.
A family applies to court because a relative has been held without being brought before any court.
A court order requiring a party to do something, or to stop doing something.
A court orders that building work stop until a dispute over the land is decided.
Business legal health check
Answer a short set of questions about how your business actually operates. You get a readiness picture across each area, the topics worth understanding, and a clear signal about where a qualified professional should be involved.
Legal help
We will never diagnose your legal position or present automated guidance as legal advice. What we can do is help you understand the situation and reach the right kind of help.
A guided pathway: what the law says, what to do, what to avoid, and when to seek qualified help.
ContinueFind legal professionals by state, practice area and language, with verification handled administratively.
ContinueSubmit a question. Every submission is moderated before publication, and privacy is protected.
ContinuePrintable checklists for the moments that matter — hiring, signing, buying, disputing.
ContinueLearn
Short, visual quizzes with an explanation and the relevant law behind every answer.
Ten situations, ten rights. How much of Chapter IV do you already know?
Start the quizOffer, acceptance, consideration - and the traps in everyday agreements.
Start the quizRegistration, duties and governance under CAMA 2020.
Start the quizScams, impersonation and staying on the right side of the Cybercrimes Act.
Start the quizStructure, registration, records and the first commercial agreements.
The read-through that catches most of what people later regret.
Title, searches, consent and the paperwork trail.
