Friday, May 1, 2026
FB X LI YT
Breaking
Tinubu appoints Gbajabiamila, Masari to oversee APC NASS primaries ATTEMPT 🇳🇬⚠️: B-Red Narrowly Escapes Alleged Assassination Plot in Osogbo – Osun Govt Orders Manhunt True State Police Decentralization Is the Role of Federal Legislators, Not the IGP — TYF LAGOS 2027: Hamzat Presented to Remi Tinubu as APC Consensus Governorship Candidate Supreme Court nullifies PDP Ibadan convention, deals blow to Makinde-backed faction BREAKING 🇳🇬⚖️: Army Exposes Alleged Coup Plot – Financial Trails, Secret Meetings Uncovered Jandor withdraws from Lagos 2027 guber race, aligns with Tinubu’s endorsement of Hamzat Tinubu approves N2 billion relief for victims of Jos killings — Presidential intervention intensifies after Palm Sunday massacre
BUSINESS

FG Makes U-turn, Says UK Lawyers Can’t Practise in Nigeria

February 14, 2024 • 2 min read

The Federal Government has backtracked on its earlier statement on the legal aspect of the Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership signed with the United Kingdom on Tuesday.

This development comes after criticism from Nigerians over the nature of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the UK.

The Nigerian Minister for Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite, in a statement on her X handle, retracted her earlier statement, emphasising that there was no such legal agreement between Nigeria and the UK.

Uzoka-Anite said, “Earlier today, Nigeria signed a far-reaching MoU with the United Kingdom for Enhanced Trade and Investment Partnership.

“Regrettably, our earlier report erroneously suggest that Nigeria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding that allows lawyers licensed in the United Kingdom to practise in Nigeria.

“We wish to state emphatically that there is no such provision or agreement in the MpU.”

The minister reiterated that Nigeria did not have a Mutual Recognition Agreement with the UK and made no commitment under the MOU or elsewhere, to allow UK-licensed lawyers practise in Nigeria.

“As it currently stands, foreign licensed lawyers (including those licensed in the UK) cannot practise in Nigeria, as categorically stated in the MoU.

“We recognise that cross jurisdictional practice between Nigeria and the United Kingdom is still an on-going conversation amongst relevant stakeholders within the legal practitioners community in Nigeria, and this was reflected in the MoU,” she added.

On Tuesday, a statement by the UK’s Department of Business and Trade, and a tweet from Nigeria’s Minister of Trade and Investment disclosed that Nigeria was signing a deal to remove barriers preventing UK lawyers from practising international law in Nigeria.

The Nigerian Bar Association had also condemned the purported agreement, stating that the statement credited to the minister was “ridiculous, unpatriotic, and uninformed.”