Publications
Big Capital, Bigger Questions: Reading Between the Lines of the SEC’s 2026 Recapitalisation Drive
The SEC’s January 16, 2026 Circular significantly increases minimum capital requirements across Nigeria’s capital market operators, marking a decisive recapitalisation drive. The move reflects market expansion, inflation, currency pressures, and new risks, particularly in digital assets. While higher thresholds clearly support systemic institutions like broker-dealers, exchanges, clearing firms, and underwriters, the application to agency-based intermediaries such as fund managers and advisers raises questions about proportionality. The reforms are expected to strengthen resilience and encourage consolidation, but may also affect competition and innovation.
The Lagos State Tenancy Bill 2025: Key Innovations and Challenges
The Lagos State Tenancy and Recovery of Premises Bill 2025 seeks to replace the 2011 law with a modern, statewide tenancy framework.
It removes geographic exemptions and introduces automatic tenancy expiration where rent arrears persist.
The Bill speeds up recovery of premises, regulates agents, and caps agency fees.
Tenants can challenge unreasonable rent increases, with mediation, virtual hearings, and deposit refunds included.
It also sets post-tenancy repair duties, abandoned-premises rules, and clearer sub-tenancy recognition.
Key gaps remain in rent control, data protection, enforcement clarity, anti-discrimination, and protections for vulnerable groups.
Overall, the Bill signals major reform but needs refinement to ensure fairness, efficiency, and balanced housing regulation.
It removes geographic exemptions and introduces automatic tenancy expiration where rent arrears persist.
The Bill speeds up recovery of premises, regulates agents, and caps agency fees.
Tenants can challenge unreasonable rent increases, with mediation, virtual hearings, and deposit refunds included.
It also sets post-tenancy repair duties, abandoned-premises rules, and clearer sub-tenancy recognition.
Key gaps remain in rent control, data protection, enforcement clarity, anti-discrimination, and protections for vulnerable groups.
Overall, the Bill signals major reform but needs refinement to ensure fairness, efficiency, and balanced housing regulation.
Corporate Rescue Under CAMA 2020: Rescuing Businesses, Not Just Liquidating Them
The Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (CAMA 2020) transforms Nigeria’s insolvency landscape by replacing the liquidation-heavy model with business rescue mechanisms such as administration and Company Voluntary Arrangements (CVA)—drawing on the UK’s Insolvency Act.
By empowering qualified insolvency practitioners to intervene early, the law aims to protect viable companies, preserve jobs and improve outcomes for creditors. While the statutory moratorium and rescue focus are major advances, the absence of cross-border insolvency provisions and weak enforcement of practitioner standards remain key challenges.
By empowering qualified insolvency practitioners to intervene early, the law aims to protect viable companies, preserve jobs and improve outcomes for creditors. While the statutory moratorium and rescue focus are major advances, the absence of cross-border insolvency provisions and weak enforcement of practitioner standards remain key challenges.
Open Banking in Nigeria: Legal Framework & Implications
Open banking is set to officially launch in Nigeria by August 2025, marking a new era for data driven financial services. With the Central Bank’s framework in place, the system promises innovation and inclusion but also raises questions around privacy, security, and compliance.
Balancing Patent Rights And Public Health: The Role Of Compulsory Licensing
This article delves into the role of compulsory licensing as a legal mechanism for facilitating access to patented pharmaceuticals in the context of public health emergencies. While patents are essential in fostering pharmaceutical innovation, they often impose barriers to access in low-income regions. International legal frameworks, particularly the TRIPS Agreement and the Doha Declaration, empower nations to issue compulsory licenses, enabling the appropriation of patented technologies without the holder’s consent to prioritise public health needs.
This discussion highlights the critical necessity for robust legal structures that balance the protection of intellectual property rights with the imperative to ensure that life-saving therapies are accessible during health crises.
This discussion highlights the critical necessity for robust legal structures that balance the protection of intellectual property rights with the imperative to ensure that life-saving therapies are accessible during health crises.
The Future of Green Bonds in Nigeria and Implications for Finance Lawyers
Nigeria, a trailblazer in African sustainable finance, has emerged as a key player in the global green bond market, with its sovereign green bonds being the first of their kind in Africa. This article examines the burgeoning green bond landscape in Nigeria, driven by government commitment, expanding institutional participation, and growing investor appetite for ESG-linked investments. It delves into the regulatory environment, highlighting the crucial roles of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX), and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Uncapped Fines Under Nigeria‘s Money Laundering Act 2022: A Threat To Business Growth And Ease Of Doing Business
Nigeria’s Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act 2022 introduces uncapped daily fines of ₦1,000,000 for non-compliance with suspicious transaction reporting requirements. While intended to strengthen anti-money laundering controls, these penalties disproportionately burden small and medium enterprises and threaten Nigeria’s business environment.