Should Startups and Innovators be Concerned About the Proposed National Information Technology Development Agency (“Nitda”) Act 2021?
The National Information Technology Development Agency Bill 2021 (the “Bill) which suddenly came into circulation in the past week, has raised concerns amongst industry stakeholders. Although it is presumed that this Bill emanated from NITDA itself, we are not certain of this fact. World over, the exponential growth of the digital economy has stirred up […]
Review of the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021 – Part Three
Establishment and Objectives Section 29 (1) of the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021 establishes the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (the “Authority”) to oversee and regulate the technical and commercial aspects of both the midstream and downstream operations in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Much like the Commission established to oversee upstream operations, […]
Review of the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021- Part Two
In the first instalment of our series on the review of the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021 (“PIB”, “Bill”), we focused briefly on ownership of petroleum, objectives and the extent of the powers of the Minister under the PIB as opposed to the subsisting provisions under the Petroleum Act (“PA”) under Chapter One, Parts I and […]
Review of the Petroleum Industry Bill 2021- Part One
After almost two decades, the long and protracted reform process of the Petroleum Industry Bill 2020 (“PIB”, “Bill”) culminated in the splitting of the Bill into four smaller legislations for quicker passage covering industry governance, fiscal management, industry administration, and host and impacted communities development. These various segments have now been merged into one cohesive […]
Intellectual Property as Collateral- A Review of the Stma Act
It is, indisputable that intellectual property (IP) rights represent important assets for companies within the innovative ecosystem and often comprises the foundation for market dominance and continued profitability. The value of these companies are mostly built on intangible assets, that can be used as collateral to obtain financing. For the last 25 years, the world […]
Administration of Copyright Royalties: The Legal Quagmire of Collective Management Organizations in Nigeria.
Collective Management Organization’s (“CMO”) or Collecting Societies serve as an intermediary between owners of copyrighted works and users of such works. A CMO’s primary function is to negotiate, grant copyright licenses and collect royalties on behalf of copyright owners. It is not possible for a copyright holder to effectively monitor all avenues where the work […]
Highlights of the New Companies and Allied Matters Act (Cama) 2020
On August 7th, 2020, President Muhammadu Buhari assented to the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (“the New Act”) which now repeals the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990 (‘Old Act”). The New Act seeks to address the regulatory bottlenecks and onerous legal requirements found in the Old Act which has overtime hindered the ease […]
Overview of Central Bank’s Circular on Operational Guidelines of Global Standing Instruction (Gsi) for Individual
In 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria issued a directive mandating banks to increase their loan portfolios. This was further to the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting held on 19th and 20th of September 2019 where members lamented the significantly low credit to the private sector relative to the absorptive capacity of the economy and […]
Crowdfunding in Nigeria – Review of the Securities and Exchange Commission Proposed Rules
Crowdfunding, also known as “online financing,” is defined as raising funds to finance a project or business from the public using an online platform. A crowdfunding platform could be a website portal, intermediary portal, mobile application, or other similar medium of exchange employed to facilitate interaction between fundraisers and the investing public.[2]The concept of crowdfunding […]
The Jurisprudence of Non-Conviction Based Asset Forfeiture (Civil Forfeiture) in Nigeria: Constitutionality of the New Knight-Errant Innovated Under the UNCAC
Research shows that between 1980 and 2018, African countries received close to $2 trillion in foreign direct investments and development assistance but recorded over half of that sum, about $1.3 trillion, in illicit financial flows (outflow). Nigeria, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia collectively accounted for more than 50% of illicit outflows from […]
