NIGERIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Adeyinka Aderemi, Omono Blessing Omaghomi and Ibukun Enigbokan, Streamsowers & Köhn
Streamsowers & Kӧhn Plot 852B Bishop Aboyade Cole Street Victoria Island Lagos Nigeria
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1. Policy Development of Collective Redress/Class Action Mechanisms 1.1 History and Policy Drivers of the Legislative Regime Class actions have evolved in Nigeria through court rules and judicial decisions. However, the concept is still evolving in Nigerian jurisprudence and is restric- tive in nature. Historically, the class action procedure existed under Order 13 Rule 15 of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules of 1972 (the “Lagos 1972 Rules”) and continues to be retained in subsequent re-enactments of the Lagos Rules in later years. Order 15 Rule 13 (1) of the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019 (the “Lagos 2019 Rules”), which are the extant rules, provides for class action in various areas of law (see 2.2 Scope of Areas of Law to Which the Legislation Applies and for details). Other High Courts in the various states in Nigeria also mirrored the Lagos Rules by providing for class actions in their various rules of court. The emergence of the class action framework at the federal level in Nigeria can be traced back to the Fed- eral High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2009 (the “FHC Rules 2009”), which provided for a class action pro- cedure specifically for IP rights cases. The Federal High Court (Civil Procedure) Rules 2019 (the “FHC Rules 2019”), which are the extant rules, provide for class action with a limited scope – namely, only for disputes involving trade marks, copyright or patents and designs. This is in line with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)
(the “Nigerian Constitution”), which vests the Federal High Court with the exclusive jurisdiction to entertain IP-related actions. Order 13 Rule 11 (5) of the National Industrial Court Civil Procedure Rules 2017 provides for class actions in terms that are in pari materia with the rules of the various High Courts of the Nigerian states and those of the Federal High Court. The major policy drivers/reasons for class actions in Nigeria have been aptly identified by the Supreme Court in the case of Adedeji v CBN (2022) LPELR – 57809 SC. Although the action is a representative action, the rationale proffered by the Supreme Court of Nigeria is apposite to the discourse concerning class actions. The apex court held that it is a salutary and common-sense provision (in the rules of court in Nigeria) that, where there are numerous parties, it will be extremely cumbersome and frustrating if all those interested parties are joined as a named party. The Supreme Court of Nigeria held in this case that it would be difficult to determine a case justly by insist- ing that everyone interested should be named on the writ as a party. For the sake of convenience, the courts in Nigeria therefore approve of representative actions. Thus, given a common interest or a common grievance, a representative action is in order if the relief sought is in its nature beneficial to all whom the named plaintiffs propose to represent. Class actions enjoy a broader perspective, as class members need not have the same interest.
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