Nigerian Notaries Public, Their Rejection Experiences And Distress By Anthony S. Aladekomo, PhD
The business of a Notary Public of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a serious business. It is established and regulated by the Notaries Public Act 2023. Section 28 of the Act defines a Notary Public as “an individual commissioned or appointed to perform notarial act.” They are appointed by no less an authority than the Honourable Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, though, in practice, he or she delegates their swearing-in to the Chief Judges of the various States of the Federation. Unlike most of the non-lawyers who are officially tagged Commissioners for Oath in our courts and ministries of justice by virtue of being public officers, Notaries Public of Nigeria are painstakingly appointed and made to undergone a short course or orientation by the Chief Judges swearing them in.
Unfortunately, despite all such statutory, judicial and administrative importance attached to the office of the Notary Public of Nigeria, many of Nigerian banks and educational institutions have been in the habit of downplaying or rejecting outright Nigerian-notarised documents. The usual basis of the rejection of the affidavits sworn to before Nigerian notaries public and documents certified by them is that they did not emanate from the court of law. In other words, they will only accept such documents if they are stamped or certified by the court of law.
Recently, I had another of such experience. A friend, who is a father of a young man seeking admission to a Federal university, told me that he needed an affidavit stating that he was the owner of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) results having different ordering of his first name and middle name. Just to prevent the young man from facing a likely rejection of the affidavit that I (being a Notary Public) might have done for him, I directed them to the oath section of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice. It was receipted and well done. But, lo and behold, I was later told that it was rejected. Reason: The guideline of the educational institution expressly stated that the affidavit must be sworn to at the “High Court,” indicating that they would reject affidavits sworn to before a Notary Public, a Magistrate’s Court, the Court of Appeal or the Supreme Court!
Ironically, such Nigerian-notarised documents are honoured and accepted without reservation when they are required by foreign government agencies and overseas universities. For how long shall we continue to allow the concerned Nigerian banks and tertiary educational institutions to reject affidavits sworn to before Nigerian Notaries Public and documents duly certified by them? For how long shall the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) watch while the labour space of Nigerian legal practitioners is consciously or unconsciously compressed by such ignorant and overzealous bankers and educators? The NBA needs to officially converse with the legal departments of Nigerian banks and educational institutions on the need to begin to enlighten their employers on the infractions that they have been committing regarding the Notaries Public Act. As for me, I do not want to see those that I train to be jobless. Should we keep on churning out lawyers without catering for their post-call welfare? In fact, just this week, over 5,000 (five thousand) lawyers were added to the membership of the Nigerian Bar. In the light of the foregoing, I hereby use this medium to call on the NBA Executive, Body of Benchers, Attorney-General of the Federation and the Supreme Court of Nigeria to rise to the occasion. They are all stakeholders in the Notaries Public Act 2023; they should see to it that no bank, educational institution, entity or individual treats the Act with disdain or levity again. We need to have a mode for reporting and punishing anyone who henceforth rejects documents notarised under the Act.
Dr. Anthony S. Aladekomo is a law lecturer, Notary Public and public affairs analyst.
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