NNOLI Lawrence & Associates

11/03/2022

OFFICE RELOCATION ANNOUNCEMENT !
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We wish to inform our clients and the general public that effective from 1st April 2022, our office will be relocated to:

1st Floor, Capwire House,
19 Sinari Daranijo street,
Victoria Island, Lagos state.

Thank you.

03/02/2020

Police Brutality.......................
Lawrence C. Nnoli VERSUS Sergeant Sunday Shaibu & Two Others: Case Update...............................
CASE UPDATE & CONCLUSION

Following the demise of the first defendant, Sergeant Sunday Shaibu who was reportedly shot dead in a Police operation in Jos, Plateau State and who has since been buried, the claimant, Lawrence C. Nnoli today withdrew the case from the court against the defendants.

As it would be recalled, the facts of the case are that the claimant who is a lawyer visited the Nigeria Police Force AIG Zone 2 Zonal Intervention Squad (ZIS) located at Ikorodu, Lagos on the 29th September 2017. The visit of the claimant was premised on a frantic phone call he received from his client, Mr. Ralph Ihedioha (now deceased) who before his death was arrested by Policemen attached to the office of the AIG Zone 2 on allegations of fraud and was taken from his office at Oshodi, Lagos to the office of the Zone 2, Zonal Intervention Squad, Ikorodu, Lagos.

After receiving the phone call from his client, the claimant went to the office of the Zonal Intervention Squad in Ikorodu to put in legal representation for his client. At ZIS, the Investigating Police Officer, Sergeant Sunday Shaibu refused the claimant access to his client and further assaulted him and called him derogatory names. It took the personal intervention of the Commander of ZIS, CSP Gbenga Megbope before the claimant was allowed access to his claimant.

Following this incident, the claimant filed an action in tort for assault, battery and defamation against the Investigating police officer, Late Sergeant Sunday Shaibu and the Assistant Inspector General of Police Zone 2.

30/01/2020

Rent management principle for tenants............................
Never take up an accommodation or rent a property for which your rent per year is more than your two months’ total income.

28/01/2020

Did you know that tenants are not helpless!...........................
A tenant whose rent has been increased arbitrarily by his landlord can have such increment reversed by the court.

24/01/2020

23/01/2020

Police Brutality.......................
Lawrence C. Nnoli VERSUS Sergeant Sunday Shaibu & Two Others: Case Update...............................
The first defendant, Sergeant Sunday Shaibu is dead. It is reported that he was shot dead in Plateau State where he went for a police operation under the auspices of the commander, Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT), DCP Abba Kyrai.

As it would be recalled, the facts of the case are that the claimant who is a lawyer visited the Nigeria Police Force AIG Zone 2 Zonal Intervention Squad (ZIS) located at Ikorodu, Lagos on the 29th September 2017. The visit of the claimant was premised on a frantic phone call he received from his client, Mr. Ralph Ihedioha (now deceased) who before his death was arrested by Policemen attached to the office of the AIG Zone 2 on allegations of fraud and was taken from his office at Oshodi, Lagos to the office of the Zone 2, Zonal Intervention Squad, Ikorodu, Lagos.

After receiving the phone call from his client, the claimant went to the office of the Zonal Intervention Squad in Ikorodu to put in legal representation for his client. At ZIS, the Investigating Police Officer, Sergeant Sunday Shaibu refused the claimant access to his client and further assaulted him and called him derogatory names. It took the personal intervention of the Commander of ZIS, CSP Gbenga Megbope before the claimant was allowed access to his claimant.

Following this incident, the claimant filed an action in tort for assault, battery and defamation against the Investigating police officer, Late Sergeant Sunday Shaibu and the Assistant Inspector General of Police Zone 2. He is seeking an award of ten million naira as damages against the defendants jointly and severally and also a letter of apology from the defendants.

The matter was adjourned to February 3rd 2020 for adoption of final written address.

21/01/2020

Did you know.................
It is unlawful for a landlord or his agent to collect more than one year rent from a new tenant or a sitting tenant. Doing so attracts imprisonment.

16/01/2020

Can the Wives & Children of landlords collect rent?
……………………………………………………
Wives and children of landlords are not entitled to collect rents from tenants unless they have written permission from the landlords to do so and where a landlord is dead, whoever that wants to collect rent from the landlord’s tenants must present to the tenants a letter of administration authorizing him or her to do so.

14/01/2020

Landlords Beware!

Did you know:
Any attempt to cleverly evict your tenants from your property by intimidating them, insulting them or even attempting to renovate your property while they are still in occupation of that property is an offence in law and is punishable by imprisonment.

11/01/2020

Four (4) essential tips for Nigerian Landlords before renting property to tenants................................
1. Know your intending tenant.
2. Have a solid and well written agreement with the intending tenants.
3. All intending tenants must produce a guarantor.
4. Know what to charge tenants and what not to charge.

09/01/2020

Lawrence C. Nnoli Versus Lagos State Government and 3 others (SUIT NO: ID/3819GCM/17).................................................

JUDGMENT

A certified true copy of the judgment of the high court obtained today and signed by the judge showed that judgment was given in the above mentioned matter on 19th November 2019.

Honourable Justice T.A.O Oyekan-Abdullai of the High Court of Lagos State of Lagos judicial division in her judgment ruled in favour of the claimant, Lawrence C. Nnoli and held that the Lagos state government acting through its Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) does not have the power to prescribe, impose and collect Motor Vehicle radio license fees from vehicle owners.

It would be remembered that the claimant, Lawrence C. Nnoli who is a lawyer approached the High Court of Lagos state in 2017 challenging the action of the Lagos State Government in introducing and collecting motor vehicle radio license fees through its Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA). In his Originating Summons, he averred that the introduction and collection of the Motor vehicle radio licence fee by the Lagos State Government through the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency is a violation of Section 7 and the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which vest the introduction and collection of such taxes on the local governments.
In its reply, the Lagos State government averred that the Sole Administrators of the entire fifty-seven (57) Local Governments and Local Council Development Areas of Lagos State have already transferred to the state government their powers to impose and collect such taxes through a resolution dated 28th February 2017 and signed by the entire fifty-seven (57) sole administrators of the local governments and local council development areas and as such, it has the right and powers to prescribe, impose and collect such tax on behalf of the local governments and local council development areas.

In his reply on points of law, the claimant, Lawrence C. Nnoli replied that the sole administrators as appointed by the governor of Lagos state cannot legally administer the powers and authority belonging to the local governments. He further contended that all rights and authority vested on the local governments by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) are the exclusively preserved rights of the local governments as run by their democratically elected officials and that even Section 2 of the Taxes and Levies (Approved List for Collection)Act, Cap. T2, LFN, 2004 expressly prohibits any tier of government including the local government from delegating its powers and duties of collection of taxes to another entity whether it is to individuals or to another tier of government.
Agreeing with the submission of Mr Lawrence C. Nnoli, the court was of the opinion that “collection of the radio license by the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) on behalf of the local governments is illegal, unconstitutional, null and void and of no effect”.

https://www.excellawchambers.com/law/2020/01/14/court-bans-lagos-state-government-from-collecting-motor-vehicle-radio-licence-fee/