A marriage has broken down and the question is no longer whether it ends but on what terms, and who the children live with. A record has been released and the person who wrote the song is not named on it. An athlete has signed something at a training ground that turns out to bind them for four years. These look like three different practices, and in a sense they are — but they share a common feature. In each, the outcome is usually decided by a document signed long before anyone thought there would be a dispute, and by what the law will read into that document.
The law
What the law provides
Family. Nigeria recognises marriage under the Marriage Act, marriage under customary law, and marriage under Islamic law, and the route out of each differs. A marriage celebrated under the Marriage Act is dissolved by the High Court under the Matrimonial Causes Act, and there is only one ground — that the marriage has broken down irretrievably. That ground is proved by establishing one or more of the facts the Act specifies, and a petition may not ordinarily be presented within two years of the marriage without leave. A customary marriage is dissolved according to the custom applicable to the parties, in the Customary Court with jurisdiction.
In every question of custody, access, upbringing or maintenance, the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration — not the conduct of the parents, not who petitioned first, and not who pays for what. The Child's Rights Act 2003, and the child rights laws enacted by the states that have domesticated it, set the framework for custody, guardianship, adoption and the protection of children.
Entertainment. Copyright arises automatically in an original work once it is fixed; registration at the Nigerian Copyright Commission is evidence of a claim, not the source of the right. The Copyright Act 2022 governs ownership, duration, assignment and licensing, and it matters greatly that an assignment or an exclusive licence must be in writing. The Act also recognises the moral rights of an author and the rights of performers in their performances. Where a work is made in the course of employment or on commission, ownership turns on the terms agreed and on what the Act provides in the absence of agreement.
Sport. A player, coach or club is governed by the ordinary law of contract and, in addition, by the regulations of the relevant federation and international body. Those regulations commonly require disputes to be resolved by an internal body and then by arbitration, and they can restrict recourse to the ordinary courts. Image and endorsement rights are contractual, and their scope is exactly as wide as the words used to describe them.
The process
What happens in practice
In a matrimonial cause, a petition is filed in the High Court with the particulars the Matrimonial Causes Rules require. Ancillary relief — custody, access, maintenance and settlement of property — is claimed in the petition or applied for separately. Where the parties are in agreement, terms can be reduced to writing and placed before the court to be entered as a consent judgment, which is very often quicker and less damaging than a contested hearing. Where they are not, evidence is heard.
Applications concerning children can be made and varied at any stage, and an order for interim custody or maintenance may be sought at the outset where the position on the ground requires it.
In entertainment work, the greater part of the exercise is documentary and happens before anything is released: identifying who owns what, putting the assignment or licence in writing, recording the split, and registering marks and works where registration assists. Where infringement has already occurred, proceedings for copyright infringement are brought in the Federal High Court, which has exclusive jurisdiction over copyright, trade mark and patent matters.
In sports matters, the first question is almost always which forum has jurisdiction, and whether the internal procedures of the federation have been exhausted. Time limits under federation rules are short and are enforced strictly.
Nothing in this description should be taken as an indication of the outcome or duration of any particular matter.
Our role
How the firm acts
We take instructions in matrimonial causes and act in petitions for dissolution, nullity and judicial separation, and in the ancillary claims for custody, access, maintenance and the settlement of property. We prepare terms of settlement where the parties are able to agree, and we act in contested proceedings where they are not. We also act in customary dissolution proceedings and in adoption and guardianship applications.
On the entertainment side we draft and negotiate recording, publishing, management, production, distribution and endorsement agreements, we advise on ownership and splits before a work is exploited, and we act in copyright and trade mark proceedings in the Federal High Court.
In sports matters we advise players, coaches and clubs on playing and transfer contracts, image and endorsement rights, and disciplinary and eligibility proceedings, and we act in federation and arbitral proceedings where a matter goes that way.
Questions
Questions clients commonly ask
How long does a divorce take in Nigeria?
It depends entirely on whether the matter is contested and on the list of the court seised of it. A petition supported by terms the parties have agreed proceeds very differently from one in which custody and property are both in dispute. No estimate of duration can properly be given without the facts.
Who gets custody of the children?
There is no automatic answer and no rule that awards children to one parent by reason of sex. The welfare of the child is the paramount consideration, and the court weighs the child's age, needs, existing arrangements, and the capacity of each parent to meet them. Orders can be varied if circumstances change.
I wrote the song but the label registered it. Who owns the copyright?
Ownership begins with the author of the work, but it can be assigned or exclusively licensed — and under the Copyright Act 2022 an assignment or exclusive licence must be in writing. What the label registered is evidence of a claim, not proof of one. The answer turns on what, if anything, was signed.
Do I have to register my copyright?
No. Copyright arises automatically once an original work is fixed. Registration at the Nigerian Copyright Commission does not create the right, but it does create a dated record of the claim, which is useful when ownership is later disputed.
Can a player take a contract dispute straight to court?
Often not, at least not first. Federation regulations commonly require internal procedures to be exhausted and disputes to go to arbitration. Whether the ordinary courts can be approached, and when, depends on the regulations that govern the relationship and on the terms of the contract itself.
What is an image rights agreement?
It is a contract governing the use of a person's name, likeness, signature and associated attributes, usually for endorsement or merchandising. Its value lies almost entirely in its drafting: the territory, the media, the term, the exclusivity and the permitted uses are only as wide as the words used.
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