EGBASE V ORIAREGHAN (1985) EFFECT OF NON EST FACTUM ON CONTRACT
Man is by nature a social animal. An individual who is unsocial naturally and not accidentally is either beneath our notice or more than human.
Anyone who either cannot lead the common life or is so self-sufficient as not to need to, and therefore does not partake of the society, is either a beast or a god.1
This quote by Aristotle poignantly points out the fact that interactions with ourselves as human beings is a must, and the need for this interactions often lead to the necessity of an agreement based on a contract. However, owing to human foibles, there are times when this
agreement is different from the intention either party had as regards the contract.
This study therefore examines the effect that law, especially the doctrine of NON EST FACTUM has on a contract.
It further examines the principle of MISTAKE which is a precursor to NON EST FACTUM, the effect of consent, which is central to the world of contracts and most especially the plea of NON EST FACTUM.
It also takes a look at its applicability in criminal cases and whether or not the plea itself can be used as a sword or a shield by either party.
Finally, this essay gives recommendations as to how the plea of NON EST FACTUM can be improved upon.
Table of Content
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
1.0.0: INTRODUCTION
1.1.0: BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
1.2.0: OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
1.3.0: FOCUS OF THE STUDY
1.4.0: SCOPE OF THE STUDY
1.5.0: METHODOLOGY
1.6.0: LITERATURE REVIEW
1.7.0: CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 2
DOCTRINE OF MISTAKE
2.0.0: INTRODUCTION
2.1.0: MEANING AND EFFECT OF MISTAKE IN LAW
2.2.0: COMMON MISTAKE
2.3.0: MUTUAL MISTAKE
2.4.0: UNILATERAL MISTAKE
2.5.0: MISTAKE IN EQUITY
2.6.0: CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 3
SCOPE OF NON EST FACTUM
3.0.0: INTRODUCTION
3.1.0: NON EST FACTUM AND THE ILLITERATE
3.1.1: NON EST FACTUM AND THE OLD
3.1.2: NON EST FACTUM QAND THE INSANE PEOPLE
3.1.3: NON EST FACTUM AND INFANTS
3.2.0: APPLICABILITY OF THE PRINCIPLE TO CRIMINAL MATTERS IN NIGERIA
3.3.0: CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 4
DOCUMENTS MISTAKENLY SIGNED
4.0.0: INTRODUCTION
4.1.0: CHARACTER AND CONTENT
4.2.0: NEGLIGENCE
4.3.0: PLEA OF NON EST FACTUM
4.0: THE NIGERIAN SITUATION (EGBASE V ORIAREGAN)
4.5.0: CONCLUSION
CHAPTER 5
GENERAL CONCLUSION
5.0.0: CONCLUSION
5.2.0: RECOMMENDATION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ARTICLES ON THE INTERNET
BOOKS
 CHAPTER 1
GENERAL INTRODUCTION
 1.0.0: INTRODUCTION
Every contract springs from a legally enforceable agreement between the parties. According to Okany M.C.,2
First there must be an agreement between the parties. The parties
must be certain as to the terms of their agreement.
Stating further, he said;
A contract must of necessity involve two parties…3
Of the two parties, there must be an offeror; while the other party will be the offeree. It can therefore be inferred that for a contract to come into fruition, there must be an offer, an acceptance and a consideration which must move from the promise.
Therefore, according to Sagay4:
 For a contract to exist there has to be an offer by one party to another and an acceptance by the person to whom the offer is addressed5.
Succinctly captured by Okany he posited:
One of the parties will make an offer and the other will indicate its acceptance. Secondly, there must exist an obligation which is reciprocated by the other party to the contract. The parties to the contract are obliged to perform their respective promises or
obligation under the contract.
An offer is then defined as
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Okany M.C., Nigerian Commercial Law,( Africana-Fep Publishers, Onitsha 1992) P. 39
Ibid. P 41
4Sagay I.E. Nigerian Law Of Contract (2nd Ed Spectrum Law Books, Ibadan 2000) P. 8
5 Ibid. P. 8
 A definite undertaking or promise made by one party with the intention that it shall become binding on the party making it as
soon as it is accepted by the party to whom it is addressed.  It
must therefore be precise and unequivocal6.
 An acceptance can be seen from the view point of an agreement to receive that which is offered. This view point is supported by Tobi J.C.A. in Orient Bank V Bilante Int’l Ltd7 when he said:
Putting it in another language, acceptance is the act of compliance
on the part of the offeree with the terms of the offeror.
 The third party of this contract trinity is consideration, which in simple language is an exchange of anything which is of value in the eye of the law. The basic feature of this doctrine is reciprocity.
 However, even though the above explained terms are sine qua non in the law of contract, seemingly much more important is the idea of the meeting of the minds, generally referred to by the Latin phrase Consensus Ad Idem
 If either or both the parties to the contract err in the understanding of any of the terms, (much more; essential terms), of the contract, apparently, there will not be any consensus. To have a blanket rule automatically and categorically rendering such agreements unenforceable will trigger more problems than it aims to solve by the blatant abuse of the rule with impunity.
 To prevent such abuse of the legal provisions, the common law has evolved some rules dealing with mistakes.
One kind of Mistake that gives the courts difficulty of interpretation is that which involves a party who mistakes the kind of contract being signed. Suppose a person signs away the deed to a house, thinking that the document signed was only a guarantee for another person‟s debt
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Nigerian Commercial Law, P. 39
 (1997) 8 N.W.L.R. (PT 515) 37