Money Lending Law and Regulation of Consumer Credit in Nigeria

Abstract

Money lending is an indispensible consumer credit device in Nigeria as it is elsewhere. At the outset of the practice it was rift with abuses on the part of the lenders as desperate borrowers had no choice but to accept oppressive terms. The Moneylenders Ordinance 1927 was enacted at the federal level to check these abuses. Subsequently, the various States of Nigeria enacted their own Moneylenders Laws, all of which are a virtual reproduction of the Moneylenders Ordinance. This article examines the adequacy or otherwise of the Moneylenders Laws of Nigeria as consumer credit laws, and opines that not only do the laws sufficiently protect the consumers (borrowers), but that they also unduly fetter the lenders, which development is bad for modern business efficacy. This article concludes with recommendations for review of the Moneylenders Laws.