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Edited by Professor C. O. Okonkwo
[London: Sweet & Maxwell 1980]
xxxvi and 444 pp. Price: £14 net.
S.O.
IN his preface to this very
important book on Nigerian law,
Professor C. O. Okonkwo states:
“For long the need to have a basic
comprehensive introductory book to
Nigerian Law has been felt. What
books there are have either dealt
with only some aspects of the
subject or require updating.”
When your reviewer was asked to
review the book, it was thought it
being just an introductory book to
Nigerian Law, it might be of
minimal interest to a legal
practitioner. However, your
reviewer found himself deeply
engrossed in trying to acquaint
himself, with the Nigerian legal
system and the laws of the land.
The book will be of tremendous
help to students of Nigerian law,
who for the first time will find
in one book, a comprehensive
presentation of the various
branches of Nigerian law. The book
edited and compiled by Professor
Okonkwo also contains
contributions on various topics
from other faculty members of the
University of Nigeria at Enugu and
other legal writers. The book
commences with an interesting
presentation on the sources of
Nigerian Law and then goes on
chapter by chapter to treat vital
topics like the Administration of
Justice, the Legal Profession,
Constitution of Law, Criminal Law,
Law of Property, Law of Torts, Law
of Contract, Family Law,
International Law, Civil
Procedure, Trial Criminal
Procedure, Kinds of Proceedings,
Concept of Legal Personality and
Law and Society. Each of the
topics mentioned above is treated
with the requisite detail, to
acquaint the casual reader of
Nigerian law and also to meet the
academic demands of students who
need a basic but comprehensive
knowledge of Nigerian Law in
various disciplines and
professions. Like most law books,
the chapter on Law and Society
refrains from giving a definition
of law but nevertheless presents
the various theories on what the
definition of law is. Chapter 16,
also deals with the liberty of the
individual, which the reviewer
believes will acquaint readers
with the operation of the rule of
law under the Nigerian military
regime. The appendix deals with
the changes introduced by the
Constitution, 1979, and their
impact on the country's judicial
system.
Space prevents a detailed
discussion of all chapters in this
book. The book, has come at a time
when Nigeria with its immense oil
wealth and the largest population
in Africa is making its impact
belt in Africa and the world at
large, and the reviewer is of the
opinion that this book will be of
great help to those who require
some general knowledge of the
Nigerian legal system and the laws
of that awakening giant of Africa.
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