The Principle Of Tortious Liability In Nigeria

The Principle Of Tortious Liability In Nigeria: An Examination Of Negligence, Nuisance and Defamation 

Ekeminijah Ifon

University Of Uyo

Definition of Tort

Prof. Sir John W. Salmond in his book Salmond and Heuston, Law of Tort, defined tort as:

“A civil wrong for which the remedy is a common law action for unliquidated damages, and which is not exclusively the breach of contract or the breach of trust or other merely equitable obligation”.

Winfield’s definition of tort as;

“Tortious liability arises from the breach of a duty primarily fixed by law; this duty is towards persons generally and its breach is redressible by an action for unliquidated damages”.

Sources of Tort Law in Nigeria

1. Common Law (English Law)

2. Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (1999)

3. Tort Laws (e.g., Law of Torts, 1961)

4. Judicial precedents

Types of Torts

1. Negligence 

2. Intentional Torts 

3. Strict Liability 

4. Nuisance 

5. Defamation 

Elements of a Tortious Claim

1. Plaintiffs must prove duty, breach, and causation.

2. Defendant's conduct must be unreasonable or negligent.

3. Plaintiffs must suffer damage or injury.

Remedies in Tort

1. Damages (compensatory, punitive)

2. Injunctions

3. Specific Performance

In this article, we would examine negligence, nuisance and defamation as principles of tortious liability 

Negligence 

Odinaka V. Moghalu, Akpata JSC summed up negligence as;

“the omission to do something which a reasonable man under similar circumstances would do, or the doing of something which a reasonable and prudent man would not do”.

The Tort of Negligence is a legal wrong that is suffered by someone at the hands of another who fails to take proper care to avoid what a reasonable person would regard as a foreseeable risk. 

In Donoghue v Stevenson (1932) AC 562, It was held that, despite no contract, express or implied, an action for negligence could succeed. The claimant successfully argued that she was entitled to a duty of care even though the deficient goods (a bottle of ginger beer with a snail in it) were bought, not by herself, but by a friend, so that no contract existed between the manufacturer and the person suffering the damage.

From this case has evolved the principle of duty of care. This Duty of Care is the first element which must be established if a claim is to succeed. It will be appreciated that such a duty of care could be held to apply very widely and so case law has made it more difficult to establish that such a duty exists.

Nuisance 

The word nuisance has been derived from the French word ‘nuire’ which means, to hurt or to annoy. Ordinarily, nuisance means disturbances. According to Winfield, nuisance is incapable of exact definition. But for the purpose of the law of tort, it may be described as unlawful interference with a person’s use or enjoyment of land or of some right over, or in connection with it.

According to the Black’s Law Dictionary 9th Edition, Nuisance can be defined as:

“A condition, activity, or situation (such as a loud noise or foul odor) that interferes with the use or enjoyment of property”.

Types of Nuisance

A public nuisance is committed where a person carries out some harmful activity which affects the general public or a section of the public. It is both a crime actionable by the Attorney General and a tort actionable by an individual plaintiff where he can show that the defendant’s conduct has caused him particular damage over and above that suffered by the general public.

In Amos v. Shell B-P (Nig.) Ltd, the defendants constructed a temporary dam across a public navigable creek in the Rivers State. The plaintiffs representing the entire Ogbia community brought an action for damages alleging the erection of the dam had caused severe flooding on their land and obstructed the transport of goods to and from the market. The court held that an attempt by a section of the general public to sue generally in respect of losses suffered by them generally cannot succeed. For an individual to succeed, there must be proof of the plaintiff having suffered special damage peculiar to himself from interference with public right.

The law of private nuisance is designed to protect the individual owner or occupier of land from substantial interference with his enjoyment of land. A nuisance interferes with the right of a specific person or entity, it is considered a private nuisance. The remedy in an action for private nuisance is a civil action for damages or an injunction or both and not an indictment.

Defamation 

The area of law of tort that protects the reputation of an individual against harmful statements to such reputation is known as defamation. It is the act of communicating false statements about a person that result in damage to that person’s reputation.

Slander is a defamatory statement by word of mouth, or in a transient form. On the other hand, when a defamatory statement is documented in any form, it is known as libel. Audio recording shall be libel, by slander, because it exists in a permanent record. For a statement to be defamation, such a statement must be untrue. Such a statement must also negatively affect the reputation of the person who has been defamed.

A defamatory statement must do one of the following:

For a statement to be defamatory, it is not sufficient for it to disparage an individual in the eyes of a particular group of people. It is necessary for such a statement to act on the minds of right thinking members of the society. In the case of Bakare v Ishola, two persons were involved in a fight. In the heat of the argument, and in the presence of bystanders, the defendant called the plaintiff a thief, ex convict, and someone who just came out of prison. It was held that the words amounted to vulgar abuse.

In Bryne v Dean, the court held the defendant on the ground that the statement was only considered defamatory to the members of the golf community which both the plaintiff and defendant were part of.

Conclusion

Generally, each tort has its own principles in relation to liability. Tortious liability in Nigeria is based on the common law principles of tort, which provides remedies for individuals who suffer harm or injury due to the negligent or intentional acts of others.

Tort is concerned with the allocation of responsibility for losses which are bound to occur in our society and it aims to compensate persons harmed by the wrongful conduct of others. Tort is mainly based on case law and the substantive law of torts consists of the rules and principles which have been developed to determine when the law will and will not grant redress for damages suffered. Tort exhibits what the acceptable standard of behaviour in society is and it projects the expectations we have about life. 

References

https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/tort-law/tort-of-negligence.php