Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies Academic Directorate Journals
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The practice of federalism in Nigeria and the national debate on ‘restructuring’: pathways for conflict resolutions and stability
No full textAt independence in 1960, a federal system of government was maintained due to the multi-ethnic nature of the country. The imbalance in the federal structure amongst other factors led to the fall of the First Republic and eventual military takeover in 1966. The military rule of 1966 - 1979 and 1983 - 1999 (Second Republic 1979 - 1983 and abolition of Third Republic in 1993) created a monolithic structure of government with law making powers and higher revenue concentrated at the centre. In the Fourth Republic, that is, 1999 to date, the items in the Exclusive Legislative List have increased and the Federal Government collects larger percentage of resource allocation. This has resulted into ethnic militias‖ uprisings, call for Sovereign National Conference and the recent call for ―restructuring‖. This paper seeks to critically analyse the structure of the federal system in Nigeria from 1960 to the present administration. This is especially within the context of the division of legislative powers and sharing of revenue between the federal government and the states. Several Constitutional Conferences and Committees have deliberated on the areas of conflict and the measures to address it. This paper proposes negotiation, compromise, consensus and aligns with some of these recommendations as the pathway for sustaining the federal structure
The constitutionality or otherwise of the 2017 guidelines on the implementation of treasury single account (tsa)/e collection in Nigeria
No full textBy now, it is trite that Sections 80 (1) and 162 (1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (the Constitution), provide for the Treasury Single Account (TSA) and Federation Account (FA); which sections also exempt certain receipts from the TSA and FA. This paper therefore considers the 2017 Guidelines on the Implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA)/e-Collection (the Guidelines), which the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation empowered to monitor and manage the Treasury Single Account and the Federation Account has issued. These Guidelines directs all federal government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to remit their revenue to the TSA, TSA Sub-Accounts or FA, whilst only exempting Federal Government equity funded enterprises which are still required to pay dividends into the TSA. This sweeping directive is claimed to have been released to ensure total compliance with sections 80 (1) and 162 (1) of the Constitution. It is against the backdrop of the foregoing that this paper x-rays the provisions of the Constitution, and as a corollary, various Acts of the National Assembly, to the end of determining the conformity or otherwise of the Guidelines, to their provisions
Examination of issues of constitutional consideration by a legislative drafter in drafting a bill
No full textDrafting legislation across the globe vary markedly in length and specificity. In drafting legislations, the drafter thus faces choices of style, as well as substance. In choosing any style, Constitutional consideration is crucial. This is because the Constitution is the prerogative of the people and the basic law distinct from ordinary legislation. For this, the article investigates the rationale for Constitutional consideration in legislative drafting. It examines the role of the drafter in legislative drafting in Constitutional consideration. The article inquiries into the duties of the legislative drafter while drafting legislation, stating what the drafter ought to consider in legislative drafting with the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria. To do this, the article adopts doctrinal research methodology and looks at primary and secondary sources such as textbooks, journal articles, legislations, the Constitution and the Internet. It argues that the legislative drafter requires an ability to draft a legislation with clarity and express them in the language that does not conflict with the Constitution. The article concludes that the drafter must first consider the provisions of the Constitution while embarking on legislative drafting so as to produce a draft that is independent of the Constitution and its entire provisions
From the polling booths to the Courtrooms: challenges of strict application of time frame in judicial contestation of election disputes in Nigeria
No full textAfter her longest military interregnum spanning almost two decades since 1984, Nigeria returned to a democratic system of government in May 1999. By May 2019, five presidential and other national and sub-national elections held in the country. Virtually all of these elections were characterized by intense political strife and electoral malpractices of varying degrees, leading to contestations of elections in the election petition tribunals and other courts, long after the conclusion of the polls. This challenge has heightened the spate of judicialisation of politics - the practice of excessive utilization of the courts for adjudication of core political matters in the country. But a significant by-product of judicialisation of politics in Nigeria is the apparent relegation of substantial justice and possible miscarriage of justice arising from resort to technicality in the strict interpretation and enforcement of time frame for such adjudications. This chapter, using doctrinal research methodology of relying on primary and secondary sources of information, shows that the current strict interpretation of the constitutional provisions on time limit for adjudication of electoral disputes defeats the essence of substantial justice and impacts negatively on the role of the judiciary in social engineering. The chapter concludes that a review of the law is imperative and then makes some recommendations.
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Jurisprudential issues and conflicts arising from the enactment of the child’s rights act, 2003
No full textBefore the enactment of the child’s right Act 2003 (CRA) there were many laws in Nigeria that regulate the protection of the rights of the child. These include the Children and Young person Act (CYPA). Criminal code Act, penal code Act and the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which equally has elaborate provisions dealing with the rights of the child. Apart from the laws above, there are also established cultural/traditional and religious practices and rules with respect to the child prevalent in all communities in Nigeria. It is observed that the provisions of the CRA which is the most recent in time raises many jurisprudential issues as well as having conflicting provisions with the provisions of other existing laws. Issues such as, the supremacy of the CRA, minimum age of marriage, jurisdictions of the Family Court qua the Sharia Court of Appeal and so on are germane. Based on the above conflicting issues raised, this paper examines some of the jurisprudential conflicting issues arising from the enactment of the CRA with the aim of proffering solutions. The research recommends among others that the CRA be amended to accommodate the jurisdiction of Sharia Court of Appeal with respect to issues of custody, guardianship, and adoption or fosterage of the child in order to allay the grievances of the Muslim faithful. This research adopts a doctrinal method in making its findings and conclusion
The international criminal court and the African perspective
No full textThe paper examines the international criminal court and the African perspective to the ICC, the paper, attempts a prognosis of the future shape of ICC prosecutions in light of its challenges and proposes reforms to the operations of the Court and its constitutive instrument to improve the dispensation of justice. It further evaluates the role of the Court as it ensures international cooperation with domestic efforts to promote the ―Rule of law‖, uphold the principles of international humanitarian law, human rights law and combat impunity being the first permanent treaty-based international criminal court with the intent and purpose of ending impunity for perpetrators of the most heinous crimes of concern to the international community and thus contributes to the prevention of such crimes. The work is substantially on the roles of the ICC in its prosecutorial powers particularly as it affects African states. Is the ICC specifically made to prosecute African states? the answer to this question is the fulcrum of the paper, it has been argued that the ICC is not specifically made against African states, but if impunity must be avoided in Africa, the ICC is the answer
Crafting the phishing offence in the cybercrime act: A drafter’s inelegance that is the court’s nightmare
No full textThe adoption of e-payment systems tilted the threat landscape for cybercrime significantly. In terms of scale, criminals were able to target more victims and develop schemes to match the increasing population online. In particular, because crimes on e-payment systems are dependent on the ability of criminals to extract and misuse personal information, ‘phishing’ has become more adaptive and prevalent in the financial industry. This article examines the legislative response to the phishing scam. It argues that in spite of the passage of the Cybercrime Act 2015, the threat posed by ‘phishing’ has not been adequately addressed. The article found that this inadequacy is due largely to the way the phishing offence was crafted and the possible interpretative problems it indicates. Based on comparative analysis of laws relating to phishing in the US, the article concludes that the definition of phishing under the Nigerian law has to change if the law is to be used to effectively fight scourge of phishing. What is/are the finding(s) of the examination, and the recommendation(s) flowing from your argument
Legislative drafting and interpretation act
No full textThe Interpretation law is a very important legislation. As a statutory workhorse, Interpretation law illuminates the meaning of laws as it provides interpretive guidance to judges in the exercise of their statutory role of interpreting laws to give effect to legislative intent. The study examines the historical development of legislative drafting and the Interpretation law, analyzes the application, scope and key provisions of the Interpretation Act in Nigeria and appraises the impact on legislative drafting. The study uses the doctrinal research methodology and relies on primary and secondary sources from the Constitution, textbooks, statutes, case law, articles sourced from journals and the internet. The study finds that legislative drafting is a new sub-discipline of law and legal science. The study also finds that the philosophy behind Interpretation law has impacted legislative drafting as modern statutes now have interpretation provisions that provide interpretive guidance to judges as they clarify legislative intent. The study further establishes that Interpretation law in some jurisdictions like Nigeria have not advanced like modern legislative drafting thereby constraining judges to interpret modern laws using archaic rules of construction. The study recommends that Nigeria's Interpretation Act should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect the developments in modern legislative drafting
A review of the National legislative drafting guide
No full textLegislation plays a key role in any given society. It brings policies of the government to life and basically runs the affairs and conduct of a sovereign state. It manages the economic, political, social, administrative and legal affairs of a state. The smooth implementation of any legislation is hinged on various factors. One of the most common factors is the drafting style adopted by the drafter. It is trite that drafting styles differ in jurisdictions and a jurisdiction may even deploy various drafting styles. This brings about disparity and may, in turn, lead to the substantive details of the legislation being misconstrued as consistency is key to a good leg The absence of a standard drafting guide in Nigeria had resulted in such dispar The need for a National Legislative Drafting Guide was met in May, 2022, after the Governing Council of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) resolved to standardize draft bills for consideration by the National Assembly. LLislative draft
X-raying the constitutional and extra constitutional limitations in the legislative process
No full textLegislation is science and arts in nature. By virtue of section 4 and 58 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (As Amended), the legislature is empowered to make law for the good of the country. They are, however, bound to ensure maximum compliance with the provisions of the Constitution as well as consider other extra-Constitutional limitations as the validity, legitimacy and enforceability of the laws so enacted lie in these factors. There have been instances where a bill failed to see the light of the day even after having passed several stages of the law-making process because of constitutional violations. The Nudity Bill for instance, crashed mid-way having received wide criticisms notwithstanding, for obvious constitutional reasons, irrespective of the core essence of the bill which includes public protection. The paper examines the Constitutional and extra-Constitutional limitations in the legislative process. It notes that exercise of legislative power is subject to constitutional and extra-constitutional limitations. It further extracts the constitutional provisions that must be strictly adhered to in the legislative process such as fundamental human rights, legislative jurisdiction amongst many others. In addition, it examines other requirements outside the Constitutions such as legislating on moral issues, quo-bono etc. The paper concludes by emphasising that the legitimacy, validity and enforceability of laws lie in strict adherence to the above stated and other factors examined in the paper, hence, everyone involved in the process should be guided accordingly.
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