Photo: The National Assembly Building in Abuja — Wikimedia Commons
The Federal Government is set to drop 269 obsolete, spent or repealed laws from Nigeria's statute book, in the first comprehensive review of the Laws of the Federation since 2004.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) announced the outcome on Thursday in Abuja while receiving the final report of the Committee on the Review, Update and Consolidation of the Laws of the Federation.
- The committee examined 932 federal enactments and 731 subsidiary legislations
- 663 enactments will be included in the proposed Laws of the Federation 2025; 269 will be excluded
- The review found outdated provisions, overlaps and fines as low as 10 and 50 naira
What the laws review found
The committee, chaired by former Ekiti State Attorney-General Olawale Fapohunda (SAN) and constituted on October 24, 2024, spent over two years examining federal enactments and their subsidiary legislation.
It produced a draft 20-volume compilation of the Laws of the Federation 2025, clearing 663 enactments for inclusion and identifying 269 as obsolete, spent or already repealed. Fagbemi noted the figures presented by the committee chair and the ministry differ by one in each column, a detail the final draft will reconcile.
Fapohunda said the review exposed conflicting provisions, outdated language and statutory penalties as low as 10 and 50 naira, and recommended a central digital platform for accessing federal laws and regular future reviews.
Why this review matters
Nigeria's laws were last officially consolidated in 2004. Two decades of constitutional, technological and institutional change have happened since, leaving courts, businesses and citizens to work from an outdated compilation.
An authoritative, current edition is the reference every other reform depends on.
What happens next
Fagbemi said the report will be presented to President Bola Tinubu for onward transmission to the National Assembly, where the legislative steps to give the revised edition effect will be considered.
Credit: Voice of Nigeria, Channels Television reporting via syndication, and Punch, November 12-13, 2026.
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