Private Equity Exits in Nigeria: A Primer on Preemption, Drag-along and Tag-along Rights
...As NMLA proposes reform to aid judiciary in admiralty matters
The Nigerian Maritime Law Association (NMLA) has said it is proposing certain reforms to the Federal High Court in a bid to aid the judiciary and practitioners in handling Admiralty matters.
This is as Foundation Chambers, one of the leading law firms in the areas of Maritime Law, Oil and Gas, International Trade, and other related areas welcomed the incoming executive members of the Nigerian Maritime Law Association to a Cocktail Party at the W-bar, 5 Cowries Jetty, Falomo, Ikoyi and marked the induction of a new Partner to the firm, Kashimana Tsumba.
Speaking at the event, Funke Agbor, SAN the newly inducted President of the NMLA told Legal Business that NMLA is proposing certain reforms that it thinks would aid the judiciary, the practitioners and the general people handling admiralty matters in the law court.
Agbor, SAN assured that these reforms will help stakeholders involved in maritime such as freight forwarders, ship owners, people who make supply to vessels in Nigeria and people who deal with the sea farriers, amongst others.
“We are proposing some reforms which have been submitted to the Federal High Court and we intend to make some submissions to the national assembly as well. As things arise, we try to deal with them.
“We are maritime lawyers, and a lot of our work has to do with training and educating younger lawyers. Admiralty law is quite technical, and people could also learn on the job. People can also go for further training to solidify their knowledge,” the president said.
She explained that Admiralty Court is the Federal High Court, and they have a very big jurisdiction in terms of the subject matters that they deal with and admiralty is just one of them; so, they are overburdened with the work.
“Admiralty matters are very expensive and capital intensive in the sense that the vessels that ply the waters in which the Court has jurisdiction are very expensive. So, jurisdiction of the court in arresting vessels all over the world is done very speedily.
“In Nigeria, we find that it takes too long. The court knows that they are overburdened. There are not enough judges with the knowledge. We also want to assist the court by suggesting some reforms to the legislation to make it easier for them to do their work,” she further explained.
Also speaking at the event, Chidi Ilogu, SAN, senior partner, Foundation Chambers and immediate past President of the Nigerian Maritime Law Association (NMLA) said NMLA tries to do more of continuing education, which means having interaction with the younger ones to help them understand the fundamental principles of admiralty practice.
Ilogu, SAN disclosed that one of the problems in the industry is that a good number of times, lawyers do not quite have a good understanding of what is involved in the admiralty practice, adding that some make mistakes and do not protect the interest of their clients as effectively as they should.
He said as a result, a series of seminars conducted by the association are designed to improve the knowledge of its colleagues.
“We take time to take part in the maritime seminar for judges to help them improve the quality of delivery in admiralty matters. This is very fundamental because admiralty is not a common area in Nigeria. Many judges did not study admiralty and many judges know little about laws guiding carrying of goods by sea. So, we have tried to improve on these areas,” he added.
Speaking shortly after her induction as a partner to Foundation Chambers, Kashimana Tsumba said she would like to expand the firm and see a lot of growth.
“We would like to see a lot of continuing professional development. We are keen to train more talents in shipping law and expand the frontiers of Transport Law as a whole. Currently, I am quite involved in partnerships and I’m also serving as an officer in relevant institutions that relate to that.
“I am a member of the young Nigerian Maritime Lawyers Association and I often present papers there and do some teaching and webinars. Also, I am serving as the secretary of the Maritime Committee Section of Business Law. We have had two webinars this year; one on Marine insurance and the other on Ship Building,” Tsumba said.
She said these webinars help spread the word and increase knowledge about the technicality of Maritime law.
She noted that Foundation Chambers is currently reviewing the Merchant Shipping Act and that is something that is important because the law touches on how cargo is brought into this country, adding that it is important that Nigeria is brought up to speed in the area of law making and regulations.