The Federal Government has reviewed 932 federal enactments and 731 subsidiary legislations, identifying 268 laws as obsolete, spent or repealed and recommending their exclusion from the proposed 2025 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja during the presentation of the final report of the Committee on the Review, Update and Consolidation of the Laws of the Federation.
Fagbemi said 664 of the 932 federal enactments examined, alongside their relevant subsidiary legislation, had been identified for inclusion in the revised edition.
“I am informed that the committee examined 932 federal enactments and 731 subsidiary legislations. Of the 932 enactments considered, 664, together with their relevant subsidiary legislation, have been identified for inclusion in the LFN 2025, while 268 were identified as obsolete, spent or repealed,” he said.
He described the exercise as significant progress towards providing Nigeria with an updated and consolidated body of federal laws.
The minister explained that the review became necessary because the last official consolidation of the Laws of the Federation was conducted in 2004, leaving more than two decades of legislative and constitutional developments to be incorporated.
He said several new laws and amendments had accumulated since then, making it necessary to ensure that the country’s legal framework remained current, accessible and responsive to emerging realities.
Fagbemi disclosed that he constituted the committee on October 24, 2024, with a mandate to review federal enactments and subsidiary legislation, identify obsolete laws, resolve inconsistencies and overlaps, and produce an authoritative edition of the country’s laws.
He commended the committee, chaired by Olawale Fapohunda (SAN), for completing what he described as an extensive assignment involving legal research, legislative analysis and editorial work.
The committee adopted 14 thematic working groups, supported by technical engagements and retreats, to harmonise its findings and ensure quality assurance.
The AGF said the final report would be presented to President Bola Tinubu for onward transmission to the National Assembly for legislative consideration.
He warned against allowing another prolonged gap between comprehensive reviews of the country’s laws, urging the establishment of a sustainable mechanism for continuous updates.
“The gap of more than 20 years between the last consolidation and the present exercise should not be repeated. We must strengthen our capacity to track new enactments, amendments and subsidiary legislation so that our laws remain current and responsive to emerging developments,” he said.
Earlier, Fapohunda said the committee had completed its assignment after reviewing, harmonising and consolidating federal legislation.
He explained that the exercise went beyond reproducing existing laws, as the committee also assessed their continuing relevance and identified provisions requiring further legislative attention.
“Our primary objective was clear: to purge obsolete and redundant statutes, resolve conflicting provisions, and seamlessly integrate contemporary socio-economic and technological realities into our national legal framework,” he said.
Fapohunda identified several challenges requiring further legislative attention, including archaic statutory language, cumbersome cross-references, outdated chapter numbers and inconsistencies in the sequencing of some Acts.
He also raised concerns over statutory fines and fees that had not been reviewed to reflect prevailing economic realities, with some remaining as low as N10 or N50.
The committee recommended that the Attorney-General issue an advisory note to ministries, departments and agencies on established procedures for reviewing their enabling laws and subsidiary legislation.
It also called for a centralised national repository of federal legislation to improve public access and facilitate continuous updates.
Fapohunda subsequently presented the committee’s final report and draft copies of the 20 volumes of the Laws of the Federation 2025 to the AGF for further executive action.
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