DISPUTE RESOLUTION PRACTICE (DRP) INSIGHTS, Q4, 2024

Welcome to our Q4 newsletter! This quarter has seen a series of impactful decisions that solidify recent legislative changes and introduce new principles on nuanced legal issues.

This edition contains novel decisions on various areas including gaming, fiscal autonomy, privacy and intellectual property.

JUDGEMENTS AND RULINGS - Nigeria

Appeal No. SC/01/2008 – Attorney General of Lagos State v. Attorney General of the Federation & Ors. (delivered on 22 November 2024) – Lottery and Gaming are matters that exclusively fall under the residual powers of states

The Lagos State Government instituted a suit at the Supreme Court in 2008 challenging the National Lottery Act, on the ground that lottery and gaming is a residual matter under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). Lagos State was later joined by other states and they jointly argued that lottery and gaming should be within the purview of states’ lottery and gaming authorities and not regulated by the Nigerian Regulatory Commission...Read more

OTHER AFRICAN JURISDICTIONS

Civil Appeal No. E014 of 2024 – Credit Watch Investment Limited v. Peter Mbugua & 2 Ors. – The act of contacting persons on a loan defaulter’s contact list is a violation of privacy rights

Peter Mbugua, Timothy Ngome and Aggrey Timothy (the Respondents) brought a complaint before the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) in September 2023. The Respondents alleged that Credit Watch Limited (CWL) had listed them as guarantors or emergency contacts of loan applicants without their respective consents. When the loan applicants defaulted, CWL’s agents sent several text messages and made several calls to the Respondents, asking them to ensure that the loan defaulters repaid the defaulted loans and notified them of impending unspecified consequences if the same was not done...Read more

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