The Portal To —
Law of NigeriaNigeria
A federation of states with a written Constitution, a common-law inheritance from England, customary law and Islamic law as parts of the national order, a National Industrial Court, a Land Use Act that vests land in the Governor, and a petroleum industry that was reorganised in 2021. How the system works, how to live, work and buy there, and why the Governor’s consent matters. Free articles, organized by subject, growing every week.
New portal — the first articles are on their way.
Who This Page Is For
This portal collects material on Nigerian law, a federal common-law system with a complex heritage: English law was received and still shapes private law and procedure, customary law governs the personal and community affairs of many Nigerians, and Islamic law applies to Muslims in personal matters, and in certain northern states in criminal matters, through the Sharia courts. Not all Nigerians share the same rules: the law depends on the state, the kind of marriage and the community, and the Constitution is supreme over all of it. It is written for readers who visit, live, work, study, buy property or do business in Nigeria or who want to understand its legal system, and it explains laws, institutions and procedures without giving legal advice or opinions on individual cases. Everywhere else on this site, content reflects US law unless a page says otherwise.
Course · 8 modules and a capstone · $15 · Module 1 free
Nigerian Law
A first course in Nigerian law: English law and customary law and Islamic law and the colonial and independence history, constitutional supremacy and the President and the National Assembly and federal character, the federation and the states and the local governments and the Sharia and Customary Courts of Appeal, the Supreme Court and the Federal High Court and the National Industrial Court and the legal profession, Chapter IV rights and citizenship and foreigners and administrative law, contract and the Land Use Act and the Governor’s consent and marriage and succession, companies under CAMA 2020 and the Labour Act and the tax reform, and criminal procedure and the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and host communities and arbitration.
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This portal fills in automatically, subject by subject, as new articles on Nigerian law are published — check back shortly.
Legal documents
31 legal documents in English
Leases, loan and sale agreements, powers of attorney, family documents, letters and more, ready to fill in and sign, in English, with the English translation alongside for the other party. PDF and Word. 6 € for a document in the language, 9 € with the English translation. Included in the individual All-Access plan, in the language you choose.
- • Residential Lease Agreement
- • Freelance Services Agreement
- • Loan Agreement
- • Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
- • Sale Agreement for Movable Goods (including a used vehicle)
- • Parental Consent for a Child to Travel Abroad
These are general templates for use in any country, each with a ‘check in your country’ list. They are not drafted under Nigeria law, and they are not legal advice.
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The Common Law Tradition
Where Nigerian contract, tort and equity come from and what they share with England, India, Malaysia, South Africa and the other legal systems of the common law world: the king’s courts, precedent and equity.
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