FG Reviews 932 Laws, Drops 269 Obsolete Enactments From New LFN

The Federal Government has reviewed 932 federal enactments and 731 subsidiary legislations, identifying 663 enactments for inclusion in the proposed 2025 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), while 269 were classified as obsolete, spent or repealed.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, disclosed this in Abuja during the presentation of the final report of the Committee on the Review, Update and Consolidation of the Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.

Fagbemi said the exercise was necessary to ensure that federal laws remained coherent, up to date, accessible and responsive to the country’s evolving needs.

He explained that the next phase would involve presenting the report to President Bola Tinubu for onward transmission to the National Assembly for legislative consideration and action.

The AGF called for the cooperation of the National Assembly to ensure the timely consideration of the proposed legislative measures.

He also stressed that the exercise should not end with the production of the 2025 edition but should establish a sustainable mechanism for the regular review and updating of federal laws.

Earlier, the committee’s chairman, Olawale Fapohunda, SAN, described the presentation of the final report as the culmination of a rigorous national exercise and the beginning of a new phase in law reform.

Fapohunda said the committee was mandated to examine federal statutes enacted up to 2025, harmonise related provisions, identify obsolete, redundant, repealed and spent legislation, incorporate laws missing from the 2004 edition, and ensure conformity with constitutional developments and relevant judicial decisions.

He said 14 working groups and supporting technical teams were established to conduct the review, with particular attention to drafting accuracy, consistency, consolidation of amendments, correction of errors in numbering and cross-references, and standardisation of commencement dates and legislative headings.

The committee chairman disclosed that the review identified several challenges, including archaic statutory language, complicated cross-references, inconsistent numbering and outdated statutory fines and fees.

He noted that some fines and fees had remained as low as ₦10 or ₦50 despite prevailing economic realities, and called for legislative intervention to address the outdated provisions.

The committee also recommended that the AGF issue an advisory note to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) outlining established procedures for reviewing their enabling laws and subsidiary legislation.

According to Fapohunda, the recommendation followed recurring deficiencies in legal drafting observed in several statutory instruments initiated by MDAs.

He further advocated the establishment of a centralised national repository of federal legislation to improve access to existing laws and facilitate continuous revision.

Fapohunda said the absence of a consolidated and easily accessible platform for sourcing federal statutes had significantly complicated the committee’s work.

He added that digital tools, including cloud-based document management systems, shared working platforms and virtual meetings, were deployed to facilitate collaboration among members working from different locations.

The committee also consulted the National Assembly, Nigerian Law Reform Commission, National Institute for Advanced Legal Studies, Lagos State Law Reform Commission, Law Commission of England and Wales, LexisNexis South Africa and LawPavilion for technical and comparative perspectives.

Fapohunda urged the Federal Ministry of Justice to establish a process for receiving and addressing errors or omissions that might be identified after publication, stressing that maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the Laws of the Federation would require continuous attention.

He said the committee had recommended a structured mechanism for continuous law revision to prevent lengthy gaps between consolidation exercises.

Fapohunda formally 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 consideration and further executive action.