Terms of Service

Welcome to Northern Hibiscus ("Northern Hibiscus", "NH", "we", "our" or "us"). Northern Hibiscus is a media and digital platform covering news, politics, governance, business, entrepreneurship, culture, lifestyle, relationships, opportunities and other topics relevant to our audiences.

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of our website, content, accounts, interactive features and other services we make available through the platform.

By accessing or using our website, you agree to comply with these Terms and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these Terms, please discontinue use of the website. If you use the website on behalf of an organisation, you confirm that you are authorised to accept these Terms on its behalf.

You may browse publicly available areas of the website without creating an account. Certain features may require registration or additional information. When creating or using an account, you agree to:

• Provide accurate information where requested.
• Keep your login credentials confidential.
• Take reasonable steps to protect your account.
• Notify us if you suspect unauthorised access.
• Avoid impersonating another person or organisation.
• Avoid creating accounts for fraudulent, deceptive or unlawful purposes.
• Keep your account information reasonably up to date.

You are responsible for activities carried out through your account, subject to applicable law and circumstances outside your reasonable control. We may suspend or restrict accounts that violate these Terms, threaten platform security or are reasonably suspected of being used for fraud or abuse.

You may use Northern Hibiscus to access information, read and share content, participate in permitted discussions, submit feedback and engage with features made available on the platform. You agree not to:

1. Use the website for unlawful purposes.
2. Publish threats, targeted harassment or abusive material.
3. Impersonate individuals, organisations or public authorities.
4. Spread malicious software or attempt unauthorised access.
5. Interfere with website operations or security.
6. Attempt to access restricted accounts, systems or data.
7. Collect personal information about other users without lawful authority.
8. Publish confidential information that you are not authorised to disclose.
9. Submit content that infringes copyright, trademarks, privacy rights or other legal rights.
10. Use bots, scraping tools or automated systems in ways that violate applicable law, these Terms or reasonable technical restrictions.
11. Manipulate engagement metrics, submit spam or conduct fraudulent promotions.
12. Use our content or platform to facilitate fraud, scams or other unlawful activities.

We may take reasonable action to protect users, the platform and the integrity of our services.

Northern Hibiscus publishes editorial material for general informational and educational purposes. Our content may include news reports, interviews, commentary, analysis, opinions, explainers, features, user submissions and links to external sources.

We aim to publish information responsibly and make reasonable efforts to assess accuracy. However, information can change, sources may be incomplete, and errors may occasionally occur. Unless expressly stated otherwise:

• News reports are not professional legal, medical, financial or investment advice.
• Commentary and opinion pieces may reflect the views of their authors and do not necessarily represent the views of Northern Hibiscus.
• Forecasts, projections, proposals and political promises are not guarantees of future outcomes.
• Information about jobs, scholarships, grants, investments and business opportunities should be independently verified before you act on it.

You should verify important information with the relevant official source or qualified professional before making decisions based on it. Where we identify a material error, we may correct, update, clarify or remove content in accordance with our editorial standards and applicable law. Nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude rights or remedies that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Northern Hibiscus may publish political news, interviews, policy discussions, election-related information and paid political advertising, subject to applicable law and our editorial and advertising standards.

The publication of a paid advertisement does not, by itself, mean that Northern Hibiscus endorses the advertiser, candidate, party, policy or position. Where appropriate, paid promotional content may be identified as advertising, sponsored content or promotion.

Political advertisements must comply with applicable electoral, advertising and other legal requirements. We may request supporting information, decline advertisements or remove material that violates our policies or the law. Editorial decisions remain separate from advertising arrangements. Purchasing advertising does not guarantee favourable editorial coverage, a particular news outcome or control over independent reporting.

The website may allow users to post comments, submit articles, provide news tips, upload photographs or videos, participate in discussions or contribute other material ("User Content"). You are responsible for the User Content you submit. By submitting User Content, you represent that:

• You have the necessary rights, permissions or lawful authority to submit it.
• The submission does not knowingly infringe another person's rights.
• You have not knowingly included materially false information presented as verified fact.
• The submission does not unlawfully disclose confidential, private or personal information.
• The submission does not contain unlawful threats, harassment, malware or other prohibited material.

You must not submit fabricated evidence, impersonate another person, manipulate photographs or recordings to mislead readers, or present unverified allegations as established fact. We may review, moderate, decline, edit for clarity or length, restrict access to, or remove User Content where reasonably necessary for editorial, safety, legal or operational reasons. We do not guarantee that any submission will be published, retained or promoted.

You retain ownership of User Content to the extent that you own the relevant rights. By submitting User Content to Northern Hibiscus, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, format, edit for length or clarity, publish, display, distribute and promote that content in connection with operating, reporting through and promoting Northern Hibiscus and its services.

This licence includes the right to distribute published content through our website, newsletters, social media accounts and other NH-controlled media channels. We may allow service providers acting on our behalf to process the material as necessary to provide these services.

Where practical and appropriate, we will respect attribution and any valid restrictions agreed with you in writing. This licence does not transfer ownership of your work to Northern Hibiscus. It does not authorise uses unrelated to our services or override rights that cannot lawfully be licensed.

If you do not have the necessary rights to submit material, do not upload it. If you want to request removal of material you submitted, contact us. We will assess the request in light of our legal obligations, editorial interests, other users' rights and any applicable licence.

Unless otherwise stated, the Northern Hibiscus name, logo, visual identity, original articles, photographs, videos, graphics, designs and other original materials produced by or for Northern Hibiscus are owned by or licensed to us and are protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

You may access and share links to our content for personal, non-commercial purposes, provided you do not misrepresent the source or alter the material in a misleading way. You must not reproduce, republish, commercially exploit, systematically copy or distribute substantial portions of our content without permission, except where permitted by law.

Brief quotations and other uses permitted by applicable copyright law must not be treated as automatically prohibited by this clause. Third-party names, trademarks, photographs and other materials remain the property of their respective owners. To request permission to reproduce NH content, contact us using the details provided below.

Where comments, forums or community features are available, users must engage respectfully and lawfully. Prohibited conduct includes:

• Targeted harassment, threats or intimidation.
• Unlawful hate speech or discriminatory abuse.
• Doxxing or the unauthorised publication of private information.
• Defamation and knowingly false allegations presented as fact.
• Fraudulent offers, phishing, spam or deceptive promotions.
• Unlawful content or content that infringes third-party rights.
• Deliberate disruption of discussions or platform operations.

We may moderate discussions, remove content, limit posting privileges or suspend accounts where reasonably necessary. Moderation does not mean that Northern Hibiscus endorses every statement that remains visible on the platform. Users should report concerning content through available reporting features or by contacting us.

Where Northern Hibiscus offers anonymous submission features, anonymity means that your name may not be displayed publicly. It does not necessarily mean that no identifying information is collected or that identification is technically impossible.

We may need to review submissions before publication and may decline content that presents unacceptable legal, safety, privacy or editorial risks. Do not use an anonymous submission feature to make knowingly false allegations, threaten others or disclose information unlawfully. We will handle any personal information associated with submissions in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable law.

Northern Hibiscus may publish or link to job vacancies, scholarships, grants, events, business listings, investment opportunities, products, services and other third-party offers. Unless we expressly state otherwise, such opportunities are provided by independent third parties. We do not guarantee that:

• An opportunity remains open or available.
• A listing is complete or current.
• A third party will respond to an application.
• An advertised business or service will meet your expectations.
• An investment will generate a return.
• A third-party offer is suitable for your circumstances.

You should independently verify the identity of providers, eligibility requirements, fees, deadlines and relevant terms before submitting documents, transferring money or entering into an agreement. Exercise particular caution where an offer requests payment, sensitive information or urgent action. If you believe a listing is fraudulent or misleading, please notify us.

Northern Hibiscus may earn revenue through advertisements, sponsorships, paid placements, affiliate arrangements, partnerships and other commercial activities. Advertisements may be supplied by NH or by third-party advertising providers.

Advertisers are responsible for the legality, accuracy and substantiation of their advertising claims. We may review, decline, label or remove advertisements in accordance with our policies and applicable law. An advertisement appearing on the website does not constitute a guarantee, endorsement or independent verification of the advertised product or service. Where applicable, sponsored or affiliate content will be identified in an appropriate manner.

Our collection and use of personal information are governed by our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms. By using features that require personal information, you acknowledge that the information will be handled as described in that Policy and as otherwise permitted by law. You should not publish another person's personal information unless you have a lawful basis to do so.

We aim to keep Northern Hibiscus available and functional, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access. We may modify, suspend, discontinue or restrict any feature, service or part of the website for maintenance, security, operational, legal or business reasons. Where reasonably practicable, we may provide notice of significant changes, but we are not required to maintain every feature indefinitely.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the website and its content are provided on an "as available" basis. We do not guarantee that all information will always be complete, accurate, current, available or suitable for every purpose. We do not guarantee that the website will be free from every technical defect, interruption or security risk. Nothing in these Terms excludes any statutory guarantee, consumer right or other protection that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Northern Hibiscus will not be responsible for indirect or consequential losses arising from your use of the website, including losses relating to business interruption, loss of data, lost opportunities or reliance on third-party content.

This clause does not exclude or limit liability where doing so would be unlawful, including liability that cannot legally be excluded for fraud, wilful misconduct or other non-excludable matters. Nothing in these Terms prevents you from exercising any rights or remedies available under applicable law.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, you may be responsible for losses, claims or reasonable costs arising directly from your unlawful conduct, your material breach of these Terms or your infringement of another person's rights. This clause does not apply to the extent that the relevant loss was caused by Northern Hibiscus's own unlawful conduct or where imposing such responsibility would be prohibited by law.

We may suspend, restrict or terminate your access to particular features or your account if we reasonably believe that you have breached these Terms, endangered other users, compromised platform security or exposed Northern Hibiscus to legal or operational risk.

Where appropriate and practicable, we may provide notice and an opportunity to address the issue. You may stop using the website at any time. If account deletion is available, you may use the relevant feature or contact us to request deletion. Termination does not automatically remove content already lawfully published, information retained for legal purposes or material independently copied by third parties.

We may update these Terms to reflect changes in our services, business practices, platform features or applicable law. The revised version will be published on this page with an updated date. Where legally required or appropriate, we will provide notice of material changes.

Your continued use of the website after revised Terms take effect constitutes acceptance of those changes to the extent permitted by law. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you should stop using the affected services.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, subject to any mandatory legal protections that apply to you. If a dispute arises, the parties should first attempt to resolve it through good-faith communication. Nothing in this clause prevents either party from seeking urgent legal relief or exercising a right to bring a claim before a court or authority with appropriate jurisdiction.

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unlawful, invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue to apply to the extent legally possible.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any additional terms expressly applicable to a particular service, form the agreement governing your use of the website. If additional terms apply to a specific product, service, promotion or commercial arrangement, those terms will govern the relevant activity to the extent of any inconsistency.

For questions about these Terms, reports of prohibited content, copyright concerns, advertising enquiries or other website matters, contact Northern Hibiscus at info@northernhibiscus.com or visit https://www.northernhibiscus.com. For privacy-related enquiries, please refer to the contact details in our Privacy Policy.