Help

Getting started

isabilaw is a legal research assistant for Nigerian law. Open the home page, type your question in the box at the bottom, and press Enter or tap the send button. Answers appear in plain language and are linked to the sources used to prepare them.

You can use isabilaw without an account in many deployments, but guest use may be limited to a small number of questions. Sign up or sign in for free to unlock conversation history, document review, document draft, voice input, localized summaries, sharing, and other account features.

Each visit starts a fresh chat session unless you open a saved conversation from your history. You can ask follow-up questions in the same chat. Use New Chat in the sidebar when you want to switch topics without leaving the page.

Sign in and your account

Click Log In / Sign Up to create an account with email and password or, where available, continue with Google or Microsoft. Email/password accounts may need email verification before full access is granted.

When you are signed in, you can:

• View History in the left sidebar and return to past conversations
• Review documents you upload against Nigerian law
• Draft documents such as employment letters, tenancy agreements, or NDAs as editable starting templates
• Get localized summaries of answers in Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, or Nigerian Pidgin
• Dictate questions with voice input where your browser supports it
• Share individual answers or whole conversations (signed-in users only)
• Manage settings from your account menu in the top right

Open Settings from your account menu to see your profile, change your answer tone or response language, or update your password (for email/password accounts).

Asking good questions

You do not need legal training or special wording. Write the way you would ask a knowledgeable friend. The clearer your question, the more useful the answer tends to be.

Tips for better results:

• Be specific. “What is the penalty for driving without a licence in Lagos?” works better than “Tell me about traffic law.”
• Name the topic or law when you know it—for example “Companies and Allied Matters Act” or “minimum wage.”
• Say who it applies to when it matters—individual, company, employee, tenant, and so on.
• One main question at a time. Long, multi-part questions can be split into separate messages for clearer answers.
• Use follow-ups to narrow down: “What about for a small business?” or “And the fine?”

Example questions:

• What is the current minimum wage in Nigeria?
• How do I register a business name with CAC?
• What does the Constitution say about freedom of expression?
• What are a tenant’s rights if a landlord wants to evict them?
• What is the difference between a felony and a misdemeanour?
• Does Nigeria have a data protection law for businesses?

Questions can be up to 1,200 characters. The question box grows as you type so longer questions stay visible. Press Shift + Enter in the question box if you want a new line without sending.

Follow-up questions, history, and new chats

After your first answer, you can keep asking in the same conversation. isabilaw remembers earlier questions and answers within that session, so you can say things like “What about companies?” or “Explain that penalty in simpler terms” without repeating everything.

If you are signed in, completed conversations also appear under History in the left sidebar so you can reopen them later. Use the search box above the list to find conversations by title.

When you start a completely different topic, click New Chat in the sidebar (or the + icon when the sidebar is collapsed). That clears the conversation and gives you a new session.

Managing conversation history

Signed-in users can manage saved conversations from the History list in the left sidebar (or mobile menu). Each conversation has a ⋯ options menu with:

• Share — copy a link to the whole conversation (signed-in users only)
• Rename — set a custom title so the conversation is easier to find
• Pin — keep important conversations at the top of your history list
• Archive — remove a conversation from your active history list without deleting it permanently from our systems
• Delete — permanently remove a conversation from your history (this cannot be undone from the app)

If you delete or archive the conversation you currently have open, isabilaw clears the chat and returns you to a new session on the home page. Pinned conversations show a pin marker and stay above unpinned items until you unpin them.

Document review

Signed-in users can upload a document and ask isabilaw to review it against Nigerian law. Use Review document below the question box, choose a document type, then upload your file.

Supported formats: PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, JPG, PNG, and WebP. Photos and scans are supported; text is extracted automatically, including from images where possible.

How it works:

• Pick a category such as employment documents, tenancy agreements, NDAs, loan agreements, or wills
• Upload your file (up to the size limit shown if upload fails)
• Submit without typing a question to run a standard review, or type a specific follow-up after the document is attached
• Read the answer and check the cited sources like any other response

Document review is informational only. It does not replace review by a qualified lawyer. Extracted text and OCR from photos may miss content or misread words, especially on poor scans, handwriting, or complex layouts—always compare important points with your original file.

Only upload documents you are allowed to share. Do not upload unlawful content or material you are required to keep confidential unless you accept that it will be processed by our systems.

Document draft

Signed-in users can ask isabilaw to generate a draft legal document for common document types. Open Document Draft in the tools sidebar, choose a document type, and submit your request.

Supported document types include employment letters, tenancy agreements, deeds of assignment, NDAs, CAC MEMARTs, loan agreements, wills, and powers of attorney—the same categories used for document review.

How it works:

• Pick a document type from the Document Draft panel
• Submit to generate a draft aligned with Nigerian law sources in the answer
• Read the draft in the chat, then use Download to save a Word copy you can edit
• Upload the edited file back through Document Review if you want a compliance check

Document drafts are starting templates only. They are not legal advice and may not fit your exact situation. Always review and adapt a draft with a qualified Nigerian lawyer before signing or relying on it.

Voice input

Signed-in users can dictate a question using the microphone button in the question box, where supported by the browser and device. Your browser will ask for microphone permission the first time.

isabilaw transcribes your speech to text before sending it as a question. Review the transcript in the box before submitting, especially for names, statutes, or numbers.

Tools sidebar

On desktop, the right sidebar gives signed-in users quick access to Document Review and Document Draft. Eligible plans may also include Compliance Co-Pilot tools. You can collapse this sidebar to save space and expand it again from the edge of the screen.

Answer tone, response language, and settings

Signed-in users can choose how isabilaw writes answers from Account → Settings → Preferences:

• Everyday — plain-language explanations for general readers
• Legal — more formal style with stronger emphasis on legal framing and citations

You can also set a response language preference:

• English — answers in English only
• Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, or Nigerian Pidgin — the main answer stays in English, with an automatic plain-language summary in your chosen language after each new answer

Your preferences are saved to your account. Guests receive English answers in the everyday tone only.

Localized summaries

Signed-in users can read a Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, or Nigerian Pidgin summary below any completed English answer. Summaries explain the same points in simpler language while keeping statute names and legal terms in English.

Automatic summaries: If your account preference is set to Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, or Nigerian Pidgin, a summary is generated automatically when a new answer finishes.

On-demand summaries: On any completed answer, use the language dropdown and translate button in the action row (next to Copy, Share, and feedback) to pick a language and generate or refresh a summary.

Summaries stream in like the main answer and are saved with your conversation history when you reopen a past chat. If you ask a question in Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, or Nigerian Pidgin, isabilaw translates it to English internally so it can search legal sources accurately—the answer itself remains in English unless you rely on the summary.

Summaries are a convenience translation. For legal substance, rely on the English answer and the cited sources.

Reading answers

Answers are written for everyday readers, not lawyers. You may see:

• Bold text for important terms or act names
• Italic text for emphasis
• Underlined text for key points
• Numbered citations like [1], [2] pointing to sources

Answers stream in as they are generated so you can read along. If you scroll up while an answer is still writing, the page will not force you back to the bottom unless you are already near the end of the conversation.

Sources and citations

isabilaw grounds answers in retrieved source material rather than guessing. Legal facts are drawn primarily from:

• Official publications — including Federal Government Gazette material in our database
• Nigerian government websites — .gov.ng, .mil.ng, and selected legacy official pages such as inecnigeria.org and nerdc.org.ng, when relevant and up to date
• Reference sources — such as Wikipedia for general background only, not as a substitute for official legal text

How to check sources:

• Click a citation number [1] in an answer to open the sources panel and highlight that passage
• Click sources under an answer to see every passage used
• Use Show sources in the sidebar to open or close the sources panel (available when at least one source exists)

On mobile, sources open as a bottom sheet you can swipe away or close with the backdrop. On desktop, they appear in a panel on the right.

Source excerpts are shown as complete sentences where possible. PDF titles are simplified so they are easier to read. Always verify critical details against the original publication or a qualified professional.

Actions on answers

When an answer has finished, you can use the buttons below it:

• Copy — copy the question or answer text to your clipboard
• Share — copy a link to that specific question and answer so someone else can read it (signed-in users only)
• Helpful / Not helpful — rate the answer to help us improve the service
• Summarize — pick Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, or Nigerian Pidgin and tap the language icon to generate or refresh a localized summary (signed-in users only)

Shared links open a read-only view of that exchange. The other person can ask a follow-up from there to start their own session. Only signed-in users can create share links; guests can still copy answer text using the Copy button.

Sidebar, menu, and more

Desktop: The left sidebar shows the isabilaw brand, source controls, New Chat, History (when signed in), and More. The right sidebar shows your account menu and signed-in tools such as Document Review and Document Draft. You can collapse either sidebar to give more room to the conversation.

Mobile: Tap the menu icon (☰) to open navigation for sources, New Chat, History, tools, and More.

More (⋯ icon) includes:

• Appearance — switch between light and dark theme
• Links to this Help page, About, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service

Your theme and sidebar preferences are saved in your browser for next time. Account settings such as answer tone and response language are saved to your signed-in account.

What isabilaw can help with

• Explaining Nigerian statutes, regulations, and constitutional topics
• Describing common procedures (registration, compliance, rights)
• Clarifying legal terms in plain language
• Pointing to official sources you can verify
• Follow-up questions within the same chat session
• Reviewing documents you upload for key terms, risks, and how they relate to Nigerian law sources
• Drafting starter templates for common legal documents you can edit and refine
• Summarizing English answers in Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, or Nigerian Pidgin for easier reading

What isabilaw cannot do

• Give personal legal advice tailored to your exact situation
• Replace a qualified lawyer for court cases, contracts, or high-stakes decisions
• Guarantee completeness — our database is growing and some topics may have limited source coverage
• Access private records — court files, police reports, or confidential documents you have not provided
• Answer every current-affairs question with legal authority — when official sources are thin, isabilaw will say so
• Perfectly read every uploaded file — OCR and text extraction can miss or misread content
• Guarantee draft enforceability — generated documents are templates that need professional review
• Replace verified legal text with summaries — localized summaries may simplify or omit nuance from the English answer

If an answer says the sources were unclear or insufficient, try rephrasing, naming a specific law or agency, or asking about a narrower part of the topic.

Privacy and your data

Questions, uploaded documents, extracted document text, voice transcripts, localized summaries, document drafts, feedback, history titles, pin/archive status, and usage data may be logged to operate and improve the Service. Signed-in users can rename, pin, archive, or delete conversations from the history menu. We do not sell your personal information.

Read our Privacy Policy for full details, including document review, document draft, localized summaries, voice input, cookies, and how to request deletion of account or chat data. By using isabilaw you also agree to our Terms of Service.

Important disclaimer

isabilaw provides legal information for general understanding, not legal advice. Laws change, cases depend on facts, and official sources should be checked before you act. Document review, document drafts, voice transcripts, and localized summaries are aids only—verify important details against your original documents, the English answer, and official sources. For matters affecting your rights, money, employment, property, or criminal liability, consult a qualified Nigerian lawyer.

Troubleshooting

• Answer is slow or empty — wait for streaming to finish. If you see an error, try again or shorten your question.
• No sources shown — some conversational messages or very broad questions may not retrieve documents. Ask a more specific legal question.
• Document upload failed — check that the file is a supported format (PDF, DOC, DOCX, TXT, JPG, PNG, or WebP) and under the size limit. Scanned images need readable text; try a clearer photo or a PDF export if OCR struggles.
• Review document is unavailable — sign in first. Document review requires an account.
• Document draft or summary controls missing — sign in first. Document draft and localized summaries require an account.
• Summary did not appear — wait for the English answer to finish streaming, then use the language dropdown and translate button below the answer. Check that you are signed in.
• Microphone or voice input missing — sign in and allow microphone access in your browser. If the button still does not appear, try a supported desktop browser.
• Share or feedback buttons missing — they appear only after an answer has fully completed and been saved. Share is available to signed-in users only.
• Share link missing from history menu — sign in first. Sharing conversations and answers requires an account.
• Cannot find an archived conversation — archived items are hidden from the active history list. Contact support if you need help recovering account data.
• Guest question limit reached — sign up or sign in to continue chatting and use account features.
• Page looks wrong on mobile — try rotating the device or closing the sources panel and menu overlays.

Still need help?

Email us at support@isabilaw.com. For background on the product and team, see the About page.