FACULTY OF LAW (2025

The concept of Copyright has its foundational purpose on the reward for hard work, that oneshould reap where he sows and vice versa. However the achievement of this purpose has provento be more challenging than envisaged. Ever since 1988, the Copyright has made provisions forbodies known as collective societies to go about this function of Protection of copyright, but it might be too generous to say they have done a job well done. A comparison of the Copyright enforcement in Nigeria with that of other foreign states liketheUS would see that these foreign states have higher cases of litigation for copyright. This might beg the question of why this is the case in the first place. Nevertheless the challenges still persist in these foreign states. As far as Nigeria is concerned, would the Copyright Act, 2022helptoameliorate these challenges, giving us better results in terms of enforcement or is this just another chapter from the past? Supposedly, the advent of the internet would no longer be a burden on the administrrabilityandenforcements of copyright in Nigeria, especially with the newly promulgated Copyrights Act of2022. However will this be a conclusion too early made? On the surface level we canseethesteps being made by the Copyrights Commission in collaboration with the Nigerian legislaturetoensure that these rights are better protected, a critical look will also show that the basic problemsmight still remain unsolved. Could it be that these laws along with the functions of the NCCandthe Collective societies , even go against the wishes of the artist they claimto protect?Inasmuch as the purpose for copyright is to reward creativity, these creatives can only be rewardedwith respect to their popularity, but if the Copyrights Act works against this popularity howthencan we achieve the aim of reward?

The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) made the theory of separation of powers a fundamental principle of state governance. This essay examines the doctrine of separation of powers under the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria with a view to critically assessing the challenges facing same in Nigeria. The 1999 Constitution in different sections vested the powers of government in separate organs of government as follows: section 4 deals with the legislative powers; section 5 deals with the executive powers, while section 6 is concerned with judicial powers. This kind of separation of powers is known as the horizontal separation of powers. It has been discovered, by the adoption of doctrinal methodology as well as comparative research methodology, that a water-tight application of the doctrine of Separation of Powers is not possible. It is in recognition of this fact that the founders of the doctrine developed the principle of checks and balances which empowers each arm of government to serve as a check on the others to ensure that they do not go out of their constitutionally assigned roles. This concept of checks and balances is as well provided for in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended). Despite these provisions of the constitution, there are presently in Nigeria disputes and controversies concerning the meeting points of the powers allotted the various arms of government. The executive arm of government by virtue of the amplitude and plentitude of powers allotted to them by the constitution. The judicial arms of government appear to be at the receiving end of this power tussle. There are however certain salient areas in the interplay of powers where the three arms of government must converge or meet for the orderly regulation or governance of Nigerian society. This long essay reviewed the hallowed concept of separated 15 powers of government, the doctrine of checks and balances as well as the Independence of judiciary, the meeting points of the powers and their areas of dislocation. Some recommendations that will uplift the law and practice of sep rated powers in Nigeria were made.