The Federal Government has reviewed 932 federal enactments and identified 268 as obsolete, spent or repealed.
The affected laws are expected to be excluded from the proposed 2025 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN).
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, disclosed this on Thursday in Abuja. He spoke during the presentation of the final report of the Committee on the Review, Update and Consolidation of the Laws of the Federation.
According to Fagbemi, the committee examined 932 federal enactments and 731 subsidiary legislations. It identified 664 enactments, alongside their relevant subsidiary legislation, for inclusion in the revised edition.
He described the exercise as significant progress towards creating an updated and accessible collection of Nigeria’s federal laws.
Nigeria’s laws undergo first major consolidation since 2004
Fagbemi explained that Nigeria’s last official consolidation of federal laws took place in 2004.
More than two decades later, new laws, amendments and constitutional developments have made another comprehensive review necessary.
He said he established the review committee on October 24, 2024. Its responsibilities included identifying obsolete laws, resolving inconsistencies and overlaps, and producing an authoritative edition of federal legislation.
The committee was chaired by Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Olawale Fapohunda.
Fagbemi said the team used 14 thematic working groups, technical engagements and extensive legal research to complete the assignment.
The exercise also received support from organisations including the Law Commission of England and Wales, LexisNexis South Africa, the Lagos State Law Reform Commission and Law Pavilion.
Committee identifies outdated fines and legal provisions
Fapohunda said the review went beyond compiling existing legislation. The committee also examined whether laws remained relevant and identified provisions requiring further legislative attention.
Some problems included archaic legal language, complicated cross-references, outdated chapter numbers and inconsistencies in the arrangement of certain Acts.
He also highlighted statutory fines and fees that no longer reflect current economic realities.
Some penalties, he noted, remain as low as ₦10 or ₦50.
“The need to review certain statutory fines and fees which have not kept pace with prevailing economic realities—some as low as N10 or N50,” he said.
The committee recommended that the Attorney-General issue guidance to ministries, departments and agencies on reviewing their enabling laws and subsidiary legislation.
It also called for a centralised national database of federal legislation. Such a platform would make existing laws easier to access and support regular updates.
Report to go to Tinubu and National Assembly
Fagbemi said the final report would be presented to President Bola Tinubu before transmission to the National Assembly for legislative consideration and action.
The committee also submitted draft copies of the proposed 20-volume Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2025.
Fapohunda stressed that Nigeria needed a permanent system for reviewing legislation rather than waiting decades between consolidation exercises.
He said the committee recommended a structured process for continuous law revision to prevent another prolonged gap.
The proposed consolidation is expected to improve access to federal legislation and help legal practitioners, courts, public institutions and citizens work with updated laws.
However, the report and draft volumes still require further executive and legislative action. The identification of the 268 laws does not, by itself, mean a new law has already been enacted to repeal them.
