GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF INJUNCTIONS IN NIGERIA: AN OVERVIEW

An injunction is a legal and equitable remedy in form of a court order compelling a party to do or refrain from specific acts. Like other equitable remedies, it has traditionally been given when a wrong cannot be effectively remedied by an award of money damages. Hence, the concept of equity, through the remedy of injunction ensures equality of outcome in individual cases so that there is fairness between litigants. When deciding whether or not to grant injunctions, courts usually take into account the interests of litigants as well as general public interest. Also, in deciding the scope of injunction, courts give special attention to questions of fair ness and goodfaith. One manifestation of this is that injunctions are subject to equitable defenses, such as laches and unclean hands. Notably, the power to grant injunctions is extremely flexible and has been employed in a large variety of situations in order to do justice in different circumstances. Thus, injunctions are a particularly significant remedy in almost all areas of the law and therefore require special attention especially because it is also prone to abuse and may lead to injustice when granted arbitrarily or in undeserving situations. Against the foregoing background\ this paper gives an overview of the general principles of law relating to injunctions. Using content analysis of Nigerian statutes, case law, and other relevant literature, the paper discusses how this remedy has been comprehended by the courts in Nigeria and deployed in practice. Other related issues such as parties to injunctions, problems associated with the award of injunctions, and enforcement of injunctive orders of court were also duly considered. Although this paper does not represent a significant departure or development in the law, it usefully serves to reiterate the well-established principles applicable to the award of injunctions especially in Nigerian Courts.