LAW
Statute of Limitations
‘A court of equity which is never active in relief against conscience, or public convenience, has always refused its aid to stale demands where the party has slept upon his right, and acquiesced for a great length of time. Nothing can call forth this court into activity, but conscience, good faith and reasonable diligence; where these are wanting, the court is passive and does nothing.’ – Lord Camden, Smith v. Clay (1767)
Recently, I read of a dispute between two big names in the Yoruba film industry. In an interview granted by one of them, he said that he was not ready to go to court but that their children may decide to do that in the future. While that might work under some customary law, the said children may face some difficulty if they take the matter to court.
Under common law legal systems like Nigeria, there are laws that specify the length of time within which certain actions can be brought to court. The length of time will depend on the cause of action and the place where the cause of action arose. The rationale behind limiting the period to take action is that over a long period of time, the claim becomes stale and with the passage of time people may lose the memory or documentary evidence required to defend a stale claim. The result would be injustice visited on the defendant. But underlying all of that is the duty of every person with a valid cause of action to pursue it with reasonable diligence. Every person with a right to protect is expected to be vigilant and to take prompt action when that right is infringed upon. The law will not allow you to wake up from your slumber and pursue a defendant who has long forgotten that he had any dealings with you.
When you hear that a matter is statue barred it means that the claimant has lost the opportunity to get relief from the courts. The courts cannot hear that matter because the time within which it should have been brought to their attention has passed.
So, in this case, whether the children have locus standi (the right to bring the action to court) or not, the issue is in the length of time that has passed between when the cause of action arose and when the matter is coming to court. The limitation laws of the different states prescribe the limits. For instance, in Abuja, under the Limitation Act, the limitation period is six years for contract matters. For a claim to damages as a result of personal injuries, nuisance, slander and breach of duty, the period is three years. An action by State authority to recover land in Abuja must be done within two years. And for some other actions the time allowable could be much less. For instance, under the Criminal Code which applies in the States in the South of Nigeria, a case for having unlawful carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of thirteen or attempting to have carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of thirteen, must be prosecuted within two months after the offence is committed. Yes, you read that right. The offender must be prosecuted within two months after the crime, not within two months after he is caught. It is difficult to reconcile this with the reality that sometimes, child victims do not make a report until many months after the crime.
In essence, the law is reminding you not to sleep on your rights. Take action as soon as possible. See a lawyer to advise you on your options.
