Nigerian Legal System I

1. Understand the structure and function of the Nigerian Legal System.
2. Identify and analyze the various sources of Nigerian Law.
3. Apply principles of statutory interpretation to legal problems.
4. Evaluate the role of equity in the Nigerian Legal System.
5. Assess the impact of military rule on the legal framework.
6. Appreciate the interplay between law and morality.

13 weeks, about 55 hours in total. Yours will differ.

1. Week 1Module 1:

   • Unit 1: Idea of Law · 3 hours

     Read Unit 1: Idea of Law, focusing on the definitions of law and the components of a legal system.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1 to reinforce understanding of legal system components.. Reflect on the discrepancies in defining law across different countries..

2. Week 2Module 1:

   • Unit 2: Positivist School of Thought · 3 hours

     Study Unit 2: Positivist School of Thought, paying attention to the key tenets of positivism and its criticisms.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, stating the criteria for a valid law from a positivist perspective.. Compare and contrast positivist views with your own understanding of law..

3. Week 3Module 1:

   • Unit 3: Other Schools of Thought · 3 hours

     Examine Unit 3: Other Schools of Thought, focusing on traditionalist and environmentalist perspectives.. Complete Self Assessment Exercises 1 and 2, comparing customary law and natural law.. Reflect on the influence of political, social, and economic orders on the idea of law..

4. Week 4Module 1:

   • Unit 4: Nigeria Legal System under the Military Rule · 3 hours

     Study Unit 4: Nigeria Legal System under the Military Rule, focusing on the duties and powers of the armed forces.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, listing the duties of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.. Consider the implications of military rule on the administration of justice..

   • Unit 5: Nigeria Legal System under the Military Rule cont'd · 3 hours

     Continue with Unit 5: Nigeria Legal System under the Military Rule cont'd, focusing on the legislative, executive, and judicial authorities.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, defining 'Military Government'.. Analyze the legal basis of military intrusion and its impact on the legal system..

5. Week 5Module 2:

   • Unit 1: The Nigerian Legal System under the Military Government cont'd · 4 hours

     Study Unit 1: Nigeria Legal System under the Military Rule cont'd, focusing on legitimatization of military power and ouster clauses.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, accounting for changes in the court system by the military government.. Analyze the operation of the Nigerian Legal System during the war years..

6. Week 6Module 2:

   • Unit 2: Functions of Law in the Society · 4 hours

     Study Unit 2: Functions of Law in the Society, focusing on the protection of interests and social welfare.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, describing a state without law.. Evaluate the purpose and functions of law in society..

7. Week 7Module 2:

   • Unit 3: Classification of Law · 4 hours

     Study Unit 3: Classification of Law, focusing on imperative, physical, natural, conventional, customary, and technical law.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, listing the features of imperative and customary laws.. Trace the source of law and distinguish legal rules from non-legal sources..

8. Week 8Module 2:

   • Unit 4: Classification of Law cont'd · 4 hours

     Study Unit 4: Classification of Law cont'd, focusing on public and private international law, positive and municipal law, and public and private law.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, comparing public and private law.. Compare and contrast each class of law with the law in pre-modern and modern Nigeria..

9. Week 9Module 2:

   • Unit 5: Laws and Morals · 4 hours

     Study Unit 5: Laws and Morals, focusing on the definition of terms and the relativity of morality.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, describing the morality of theft in different situations.. Follow the trends and be able to decide whether law should correspond with morals..

10. Week 10Module 3:

    • Unit 1: Laws and Morals cont'd · 4 hours

      Study Unit 1: Laws and Morals cont'd, focusing on natural law and analytical positivism.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, listing Lon Fuller's criteria for law.. Determine whether or not and to what extent the law should be used to enforce private morality..

11. Week 11Module 3:

    • Unit 2: Sources of Law · 4 hours

      Study Unit 2: Sources of Law, focusing on the meaning of 'source' and the classes of sources of law.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, accounting for the autochthony of the Nigerian constitution.. Understand the meaning of terms used, the classes, and the theories of sources as well as the autochthony of law..

12. Week 12Module 3:

    • Unit 3: Meaning of Statute · 4 hours

      Study Unit 3: Sources of Law Statutes, focusing on the meaning of statute and the creation of statute.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, differentiating between statute, decree, edict, and subsidiary legislation.. Be acquainted with statutes as a source of law and the different statutes that have formed our law since colonial times..

    • Unit 4: Statutes of General Application · 4 hours

      Study Unit 4: Statutes of General Application, focusing on the literal rule of interpretation and generality as to geographical coverage.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, accounting for statutes of general application in terms of territorial coverage.. Identify the different foreign statutes that form part of Nigerian law..

13. Week 13Module 3:

    • Unit 5: Received Law · 4 hours

      Study Unit 5: Received English Law: Common Law, focusing on the content of reception enactments and the nature of judicial precedent.. Complete Self Assessment Exercise 1, explaining the term 'Received English Law'.. Trace the history of Common Law and its reception into the Nigerian Legal System..