NIGERIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Abubakar Anafi, Larry Nkwor, Justice Uka-Ofor and Ayomide Abiodun, G. Elias
2.7 Time Limit for Obtaining Third-Party Funding Third-party funding is prohibited except in arbi- tration. There are no applicable time limits on this point.
• negligence suits – three years; • actions upon instruments under seal – 12 years; and • actions for recovery of land – 12 years. Further, actions against public officers must be instituted within three months from the date when the cause of action accrued. A limitation period is triggered by the accrual of a cause of action. A cause of action accrues when the events to enable a claimant to maintain an action are complete. 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant For a court to have jurisdiction in a suit or over a defendant, the following conditions must be present: • the plaintiffs must have locus standi (stand- ing) to sue; • the action must not be statute-barred; • the proper parties must be before the court; • the subject matter must fall within the juris- diction of the court; • the composition of the court as to members and qualifications is in accordance with the law; and • the suit is commenced by due process of law and upon fulfilment of any condition prec- edent to the assumption of jurisdiction. These jurisdictional requirements apply across
3. Initiating a Lawsuit 3.1 Rules on Pre-action Conduct
Some court rules require the parties to try to seek settlement before filing an action. For example, a party cannot institute an action in the High Court of Lagos State, until the expiration of seven days after delivery of a memorandum of claim set- ting out their claims and proposed settlement to the other party. The laws establishing some statutory bodies usually require that a pre-action notice must be served on the bodies before suits are commenced in court. There are no requirements for the potential defendant(s) to respond to the pre-action pro- tocol or pre-action notice. If a claimant fails to comply with a pre-action protocol or pre-action notice requirement, the court may accept the originating processes for filing and may strike out the suit. 3.2 Statutes of Limitations Limitation laws differ from state to state in Nige- ria. For instance, the applicable law in the Fed- eral Capital Territory is the Limitation Act, 1966 while in Lagos State, the applicable statute is the Limitation Law of Lagos State, 2015. In the Federal Capital Territory and Lagos State (and most states of the federation), the limitation periods are as follows: • actions founded on simple contracts – six years;
various courts in Nigeria. 3.4 Initial Complaint A civil lawsuit may be commenced by: • a writ of summons; • originating summons; • an originating motion; or
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