FG scraps 269 obsolete laws, consolidates 663 enactments in proposed LFN 2025

The Federal Government has concluded a comprehensive review of 932 federal enactments and 731 subsidiary legislations, recommending 663 enactments for inclusion in the proposed Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2025, while declaring 269 obsolete, spent or repealed.

The exercise, which seeks to modernise Nigeria’s federal legal framework after more than two decades without a comprehensive consolidation, is expected to improve the administration of justice, strengthen legal certainty and make applicable laws more accessible to judges, lawyers, government institutions and the general public.

Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja while receiving the final report of the Committee on the Review, Update and Consolidation of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

Fagbemi said the review was necessary to ensure that federal laws remained coherent, current, accessible and responsive to the country’s evolving constitutional, economic and social realities.

He explained that the report would be presented to President Bola Tinubu for onward transmission to the National Assembly for legislative consideration and action.

The AGF consequently solicited the cooperation of the National Assembly to facilitate the timely consideration of the report, stressing that the exercise should also establish a sustainable framework for the regular updating of federal legislation.

He said the more than 20-year gap between the last consolidation and the current exercise should not be allowed to recur.

“The gap of more than twenty years between the last consolidation and the present exercise should not be repeated,” he said.

The significance of the exercise to Nigeria’s justice system lies in the need to eliminate uncertainties arising from outdated, conflicting, repealed or inaccessible legislation.

For judges, an updated and properly consolidated body of laws would provide a more reliable reference point for adjudication, reduce the difficulties associated with identifying applicable statutory provisions and minimise the risk of relying on laws that have been amended, repealed or overtaken by subsequent legislation.

For legal practitioners, it would simplify legal research, improve the preparation of cases and reduce disputes arising from uncertainty over the current state of the law.

It would also strengthen the rule of law by ensuring that citizens, businesses and public institutions can more easily identify the laws governing their rights, obligations and conduct.

The exercise is particularly significant in a justice system where the proper administration of justice depends not only on the independence and competence of the courts but also on the clarity, consistency and accessibility of the laws they are required to interpret and apply.

Chairman of the committee, Olawale Fapohunda, SAN, described the presentation of the report as the culmination of a rigorous national assignment and the beginning of another phase of law reform.

He said the committee was mandated to examine all federal statutes enacted up to 2025, harmonise related provisions, identify obsolete, redundant and repealed laws, incorporate enactments omitted from the 2004 edition and align the consolidated laws with constitutional developments and judicial decisions.

To accomplish the assignment, Fapohunda disclosed that 14 working groups and technical teams were established to address issues relating to drafting accuracy, consistency, consolidation of amendments, correction of numbering and cross-references, as well as the standardisation of commencement dates and statutory headings.

He said the committee recommended 663 enactments for inclusion in the proposed 2025 edition, while 269 were identified for exclusion on account of being obsolete, spent or repealed.

Fapohonda, however, identified several challenges encountered during the exercise, including archaic statutory language, complicated cross-references, inconsistent numbering and outdated fines and fees.

Some of the monetary penalties, he noted, were as low as N10 and N50, making them grossly inadequate in contemporary circumstances and requiring legislative review.

He recommended that the Attorney-General issue an advisory to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) outlining appropriate procedures for reviewing their enabling laws and subsidiary legislation.

The recommendation followed the discovery of deficiencies in the quality of legal drafting by some government institutions.

He also advocated the establishment of a centralised national repository of federal legislation to improve public access to laws and facilitate their continuous review and updating.

According to him, the absence of such a repository significantly complicated the committee’s work.

Fapohonda disclosed that the committee deployed cloud-based document management systems, shared digital platforms and virtual meetings to facilitate collaboration among its members and technical teams.

It also consulted relevant institutions and stakeholders, including the National Assembly, Nigerian Law Reform Commission, Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Lagos State Law Reform Commission, Law Commission of England and Wales, LexisNexis South Africa and LawPavilion.

To safeguard the integrity of the proposed LFN 2025 after publication, he urged the Federal Ministry of Justice to establish a mechanism through which errors and omissions could be reported, examined and corrected.

He further recommended the institutionalisation of a structured and continuous legislative revision process to prevent another prolonged interval between comprehensive consolidations.

Fapohonda subsequently presented the committee’s final report and draft copies of the proposed 20-volume Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2025 to the AGF for further executive action.