NEWS
Lawyers Want ”Archaic, Obolete” Laws Reviewed to Reflect Current Realities
Some Abuja-based lawyers on Monday called for review of laws which provisions no longer reflect realities to advance justice administration in Nigeria.
The lawyers made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria.
They said that provisions of some laws had been overtaken by societal development.
Mr Friday Abu, a lawyer said some laws are obsolete, particularly in terms of the circumstances or situations they intend to regulate.
Abu said that for people to consider as adequate, laws that regulate their conduct and activities, such laws must be at par with the occasion it was provided for.
“ The law is made for the people and not the people for the law. Therefore, any law regulating the conduct and activities of the people in a particular area must be such that the people will regard as adequately meeting the occasion in order for such law to attain the desired effect or efficacy as the case may be.
“There are several obsolete laws in Nigeria that require either a total repeal or amendment to bring them in line with the current reality as regards the situations they are meant to regulate.
“One example of such obsolete laws requiring substantial amendment is the Entertainment Tax Act CAP 498 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.
“A closer look at this Act (Law) will reveal that the Law must have been passed during the colonial era because the Act mentioned entertainment centers like casinos, gaming events, horse racing events and the likes.
“In addition to the fact that this Law mentioned archaic places of entertainment, the fees specified as entertainment fees/tax are so extreme that if the government is to embark upon collecting the fees as mentioned in the Act, the cost of collecting the fees will be much higher than the fees collected at the end of the day.
”This law which is applicable in the FCT, Abuja and the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), headed by the Minister of the FCT ran into difficulties when it attempted to use the said Law (Act) to start charging and collecting tax from entertainment centers in the FCT including clubs, casinos, Bars and events centres.
“The former Minister of the FCT, Senator Bala Mohammed attempted to include events centers and gardens and halls in the Act by passing The Entertainment and Events Centers Regulations Act in 2014
“This action by the FCT administration was challenged by some hotels and events centers who dissected the law and realized that the Act did not mention Halls within hotels, Gardens and events centers/Halls”, Abu added.
Another legal practitioner, Seprebofa Oyeghe said “Sales of Goods Act (SOGA), which is about 128 years old was fashioned along the Britain, Scotland, Ireland commercial climate and being a Statute of General Application, was received upon our independence and is the extant law that governs commercial transactions bordering on sale of goods.
“This ancient law Act which is a relic of our colonial history is totally out of touch with modern realties and the dynamics of the commercial world.
”The place of e-Commerce, cyber laws and the various rights, liabilities of buyers, sellers and principles that applies in commercial transactions is totally out of touch in the old Sale of Goods Act
According to Oyeghe, “ another law that needs urgent amendment that readily comes to mind is the Hire-Purchase (Amendment) Act 1970”.
”This is the law that governs Hire-Purchase transactions. It was enacted in 1965 and amended in 1970.
“In spite of the far reaching changes and advancement in commerce and industry, the extant still remain the 1970 Act which was only recompiled in the 2004 Laws of the Federations as Cap. H4, LFN, 2004.
”The implication, even without saying is that, a lot of problems confront hire-purchase transactions.
“The introduction of technology, the dynamism in the business environment coupled and the increasing globalisation of businesses/transactions and new models of commercial transactions have nearly rendered the Hire-Purchase Act irrelevant, archaic and outdated piece of legislation that cannot fix the challenges in the modern business world.
“Section 1 of the Act provides that: all hire-purchase agreements and credit-sale agreements, other than agreement in respect of motor vehicles, does not exceed two N2,000
“This monetary fixation as well as others like twenty-kobo for expenses on memorandum or note from hirer to the owner now sounds ridiculous owing to the current value of money.
”One can only but imagine how anyone will undertake hire-purchase agreements other than motor vehicle, valued at not more than N2,000.
”he monetary limit is strange, offensive, unrealistic”, the legal practitioner opined.
Another grouse Oyeghe had with this Act was also in the requirement of personal signature of the hirer (while the owner can sign himself or by an agent) otherwise the owner would be unable to enforce the transaction.
”The different treatment of the parties on the issue of signing the hire-purchase agreement or note or memorandum appeared unfair, according to him.He also faulted that the Act did not take into account the place of online transactions relating to hire-purchase.
“The National Assembly and the National Law Reform Commission need to embark on a comprehensive review of the Act”, Oyeghe added.
In her opinion, Toyin Yimika said “the Land Use Act 1978 is one law too many that is outdated, obsolete, poorly drafted, poorly implemented and long overdue for an amendment.
“There is so much power granted to the governors which is unnecessary due to wide scale abuse. Sections 1, 34, 36 and several other provisions of the Act has been exposed to different interpretations.
“By Section 29, the governor who is expected to pay compensation upon revocation of rights in land. By Section 30, disputes with respect to dispute over compensation is referred to the Land Use and Allocation Committee, which is a Committee set up by the Governor, who equally appoints the members.
”That section of the Act contravenes natural justice which requires that no one should be a judge in his own case.
“The above provision is offensive, unconstitutional as it clearly ousts the power of court to entertain matters bordering on vesting of lands on governors.
“The above among several other defects, coupled the age of the Act, 43 years which to a large extent is no longer in consonance with modern reality, there is an urgent need for the National Assembly to embark on a comprehensive review of the Act”, she concluded.
Another lawyer, Josephine Ijekhuemen, said:”a clear example of an obsolete law is the criminalisation of bigamy in Nigeria”.
According to her, it is a criminal offence in Nigeria which is punishable by the criminal law.
“By law, bigamy, a by-product of polygamy, is a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment in Nigeria.
“It is an offence which arises from what is otherwise an incidence of marriage. You can see Section 370 of the Criminal Code,” she explained.
Ijekhuemen, a Principal Partner with Odikpo, Okpe and Associates, Lagos, however, said since the law was introduced in the criminal code, “I do not think that there has been a single case of conviction. It has simply become an obsolete provision.”
She said another obsolete provision due to lack of enforcement was Section 210 of the Criminal Code, Cap C38 of the Laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“This section provides that any person who is engaged in witchcraft practice as set out in subsections is guilty of a misdemeanor, and is liable to imprisonment for two years.
“There are also several other such legislations that are either outdated, unenforceable or not enforced,” she said.
The lawyer suggested that the only way to change the status of an obsolete law was to amend, repeal or expunge it from legislation.
“Remember the quarantine law has been in existence since the 1950s not enforceable until it was amended last year?
“This is because it was designed during the period of emergency and the situation then was more about public health than human rights and for many years, it wasn’t applied because there was no necessity until COVID-19 came.
“It was used to isolate people and was amended to allow it be in tune with today’s reality,” she explained.
Ijekhuemen stated that the amendment allows voluntary isolation rather than a near prison isolation for suspected cases.
“First Quarantine Act was in 1926 then amended in 1954 before the one amended last year.
“So from 1954 to 2020, it was obsolete,” she said.
According to her, another example is the Infectious Disease Act of 1908 which was obsolete until 2020 when coronavirus pandemic came.
“This law came alive when President Muhammadu Buhari signed the Infectious Diseases Regulations in 2020,” the Lagos-based lawyer said.(NAN)
By Laide Akinboade, Abuja
The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Chapter, has dissociated itself from the indefinite strike declared by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), FCT Wing, directing secondary school teachers and education officers to report to their classrooms and proceed with their normal duties.
The union’s stance was made public in a press statement issued on Wednesday by its State Executive Council (SEC) following an emergency meeting to review the industrial action called by the NUT FCT Wing.
Rejecting the stay-at-home order, ASUSS argued that the academic destiny of students should not be compromised over industrial disputes, describing the strike action as premature and detrimental to educational stability in the territory.
Addressing the specific demands raised by the NUT, ASUSS offered counter-positions on the three primary issues driving the dispute.
ASUSS stated that the vacancy requirement remains a statutory provision of the Public Service Rules (PSR) governing establishment control and financial planning, emphasizing that altering career structures requires administrative dialogue rather than coercion.
The union clarified that the administrative framework for affected teachers has already been resolved, noting that the 2025 promotion process is set to run concurrently with the 2026 promotion cycle under the FCT Civil Service Commission, as outlined in circulars released in September 2026.
ASUSS maintained that the redeployment of education agency directors to classrooms falls within management’s statutory prerogative to maintain administrative order.
ASUSS further alleged that the strike action was calculated to disrupt the scheduled 2025/2026 promotion examinations for FCT Education Officers.
In its final directive, the union urged all eligible Education Officers to participate in the upcoming promotion examinations according to the published timetable, while calling on parents and guardians across the FCT to send their children to school, assuring them that academic activities will continue uninterrupted.
Furthermore, the ASUSS FCT Chapter issued specific directives to secondary school principals, vice-principals, and education officers:
“All secondary schools must remain fully open for academic and administrative activities without interruption.
“Ensure that all teachers report to their respective classrooms to execute their normal duties and teach students diligently.
“Disregard any directives or instructions from unauthorized bodies aimed at disrupting the academic calendar.
“Monitor attendance and ensure a safe, conducive learning environment for all students who are innocent victims of unnecessary industrial disruptions.”
A senior lecturer at the Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma in Edo State, Dr. Matthew Uwuigbe, has died under mysterious circumstances following an alleged sex romp with a sex worker in a hotel in Edo State.
It was learnt that the lecturer lodged in the hotel with the 21-year-old commercial sex worker identified as Angela Defa Jacob.
However, tragedy struck after the university don suddenly slumped and died during the encounter at the hotel located in Mosco area of Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State.
The Edo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Eno Ikoedem, confirmed the incident on Tuesday.
She disclosed that three persons have been arrested in connection with the incident.
The command spokesperson said, “On October 5, 2026, at about 8 pm, the command received a report that Matthew Uwuigbe, a lecturer at Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, had lodged at a hotel in Ekpoma and engaged the services of a 21-year-old sex worker, Angela Defa Jacob.
“He subsequently sent the woman to purchase water for him, and upon her return, she found him lying dead in the room.”
She added that the hotel owner, the manager and the sex worker have been detained over the incident as investigation continues.
Ikoedem said the corpse of the victim has been deposited at the Oriaifo Memorial Hospital mortuary.
Yiaga Africa said 84 per cent of Nigerians intend to vote during the 2027 general elections, urging political parties to mobilise citizens to ensure they vote in spite of insecurity, distrust and vote buying threat to turnout.
Yiaga Africa Board Chairman, Hussein Abdul said this on Wednesday while unveiling its third National Voting Intentions Survey, based on interviews with 2,470 Nigerians across 36 states and FCT.
He said, Yiaga’s third voters’ intention study examines Nigerians’ readiness, motivations and expectations ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Abdul said insecurity, fears of election-related violence and low confidence in INEC, judiciary and security agencies could influence citizens’ decisions to vote.
He said the findings were not verdicts, but wake-up calls requiring INEC, security agencies, political parties, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to address identified concerns.
Abdul urged political parties to mobilise voters and strengthen civic education, saying low turnout undermines democracy in spite of more than 100 million registered voters.
The findings showed that 61 per cent of the respondents’ feared violence could prevent them from voting, rising to 78 per cent in the North-East, while 83 per cent wanted improved security.
The survey showed declining trust in INEC, with only 34 per cent confident of credible elections, while 63 per cent had little or no confidence in judicial resolution of electoral disputes.
It said 54 per cent disapproved of the President’s performance, while 71 per cent rated the economy poorly, with 49 per cent seeking leadership change as a voting motivation.
The report urged government and security agencies to strengthen election security, while INEC, judiciary, parties, media and civil society should improve credibility, voter confidence and combat vote buying.
Speaking on the report, Safiya Bichi, Head, Knowledge Management and Learning, Yiaga Africa, said: “Nigerians have not given up on democracy, but wanted votes to count.
Bichi said they see elections as their duty and they believe their votes can make a difference.
“What stands between that willingness and the ballot box is fear, distrust and money.
“Low turnout in Nigeria is a conversion problem, not an apathy problem and the responsibility for fixing it lies with the institutions and actors who control security, credibility and logistics.” Bichi said.
In a panel discussion featured at the launch, Ene Obi, Executive Director, Ene Obi Centre for Development said Nigeria would get it right and there would be more confidence if citizens vote and guard their votes.
The panel discussion was focused on ‘Intensions, Commitments and Pathways to Increasing Turnout’.
“We need to encourage citizens to go out and vote because this is their country, for civil society we are not worried about who wins but about the process, because the process must be fair and transparent.
“We must also take cognisance of those in the IDP camps and the areas they call ungovernable.”
Also speaking at the panel discussion, Chief Ezenwa Nwagwu, Executive Director Peering Advocacy and Advancement Center in Africa (PAACA), called on the media to highlight the positive side of the report of 84 per cent willing to vote.
He also called for investment in political reforms and not only electoral reforms, adding that the values and attitudes of politicians also affect election integrity.
Speaking on behalf of INEC, Victoria Efa-Mesi, Director Voter Education and Publicity called on Nigerians to do the right thing at all times, affirming that INEC was prepared for the 2027 elections.(NAN)
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