Our Privacy Policy is changing on 24 May 2018.

Learn more

Law of Nigeria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The law of Nigeria consists of courts, offences, and various types of laws. Nigeria has its own
constitution which was established on 29 May 1999. The Constitution of Nigeria is the supreme
law of the country. There are four distinct legal systems in Nigeria, which include English
law, Common law, Customary law, and Sharia (Islamic) Law. English law in Nigeria is derived
from the colonial Nigeria, while common law is a development from its post colonial
independence. Customary law is derived from indigenous traditional norms and practices,
including the dispute resolution meetings of pre-colonial Yoruba land secret societies and
the Èkpè and Okónkò of Igboland and Ibibioland. Sharia Law (also known as Islamic Law) is
used only in Northern Nigeria, where Islam is the predominant religion. The country has a judicial
branch, the highest court of which is the Supreme Court of Nigeria.[1]

Contents
[hide]

 1Hierarchy of the Nigerian Legal System range

o 1.1Tier 1 Court: Supreme Court
o 1.2Tier 2 Court: Court of Appeal
o 1.3Tier 3 Courts
o 1.4Tier 4 Courts: State Courts
o 1.5Other Courts
 1.5.1Election Tribunals
 1.5.2Code of Conduct Tribunal
 2Sharia
 3List of acts and decrees
o 3.1Acts of the National Assembly
o 3.2Decrees of the Federal Military Government
 4Legal training
 5Offences
 6External links
 7References

Hierarchy of the Nigerian Legal System range[edit]

See also: Supreme Court of Nigeria
The Nigerian constitution recognizes courts as either Federal or State courts. A primary
difference between both is that the President appoints Justices/Judges to federal courts, while
State Governors appoint Judges to state courts. All appointments (federal or state) are based on
the recommendations of the National Judicial Council.[citation needed]
The Federal courts are: the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court.
The State courts include: the High Court of a State, the Customary Court of Appeal of a State
and the Sharia Court of Appeal of a State. Each of the states (currently thirty-six) is
constitutionally allowed to have all of these courts. However, the predominantly Muslim northern
states tend to have Sharia courts rather than Customary courts. The predominantly Christian
southern states tend to have Customary courts and not Sharia courts.[citation needed]
Due to the fact that the Nigerian capital (known as happy town or The Federal Capital Territory,
FCT) is not a state, it has no Governor. Its courts that are equivalent to the state courts have
their Judges appointed by the President and are thus federal courts. The FCT courts are: the
High Court of the FCT, the Customary Court of Appeal of the FCT and the Sharia Court of
Appeal of the FCT.[citation needed]
Tier 1 Court: Supreme Court[edit]
The Supreme Court of Nigeria is the highest court in Nigeria. It is based in the capital, Abuja. The
Supreme Court is mainly a court of appellate jurisdiction and is the final appeal court in the
country. It also has original jurisdiction in State vs. State and State vs. Federal Government
cases. The Supreme Court is headed by a Chief Justice who is assisted by other Justices. The
appointment of the Chief Justice and Justices requires confirmation by the Senate.[citation needed]
Tier 2 Court: Court of Appeal[edit]
The next highest court is the Court of Appeal, in Abuja. However, to bring the administration of
justice closer to the people, the Court of Appeal has multiple divisions (currently sixteen) in
various parts of the country. The head of the Court of Appeal has the title President of the Appeal
Court. He/She is assisted by Justices. Only the appointment of the President of the Appeal Court
requires Senate confirmation.[citation needed]
The Court of Appeal is mainly a court of appellate jurisdiction, however it has original
jurisdiction for presidential and vice-presidential election petitions.[2] The Federal Court of Appeal
is where the multiple legal systems (English, Customary and Sharia) of Nigeria converge. It is
constitutionally required to have at least three Judges who are versed in customary law and at
least three Judges who are versed in Islamic personal law.[citation needed]
Judgements from the tier 2 court can be appealed to the Supreme Court (the tier 1 court).[2]
Tier 3 Courts[edit]
Just below the Federal Court of Appeal are the tier 3 courts. They include: (1) the Federal High
Court and (2) the High Court of a state/FCT, (3) the Customary Court of Appeal of a state/FCT
and (4) the Sharia Court of Appeal of a state/FCT.[3]
The Federal High Court is based in Abuja. In order to bring the administration of justice closer to
the people it has a division in each of the thirty-six states of the country. The Federal High Court
is generally a court of original jurisdiction. However, it has appellate jurisdiction from tribunals
such as the Tax Appeal Tribunal. It is presided over by a Chief Judge who is assisted by other
Judges.[citation needed]
The High Court of a state/FCT is the highest English law court in a state or the FCT. The High
Court of a state/FCT and the Federal High Court have similar powers. Due to the fact that there
is a division of the Federal High Court in each state and that each state has its own High Court,
there is usually some confusion as to which court is which. For example, in Lagos state, there is
a Federal High Court, Lagos and a High Court of Lagos State (sometimes referred to as The
Lagos State High Court). It is presided over by a Chief Judge who is assisted by other
Judges.[citation needed]
The Customary Court of Appeal of a state/FCT is the highest Customary law court in a
state/FCT. It is presided over by a Judge who has the title: President of the Customary Court of
Appeal of the state/FCT and is assisted by other Judges.[citation needed]
The Sharia Court of Appeal of a state/FCT is the highest Sharia law court in a state/FCT. It is
presided over by a Grand Khadi who is assisted by other Khadis.[citation needed]
Judgements from the tier 3 courts can be appealed to the tier 2 court (Federal Court of
Appeal).[citation needed]
Tier 4 Courts: State Courts[edit]
The lowest courts in the country are all state courts (there is no federal court in this group). They
include (i) the Magistrate Courts that handle English law cases (ii) the Customary Courts that
handle Customary law cases and (iii) the Sharia Courts that handle Sharia law cases.[citation needed]
Judgements from the tier 4 courts can be appealed only to their respective higher tier 3 courts
(e.g. judgements from the English law Magistrates Court can only be appealed to the tier 3
English law court (the High Court of a state/FCT).[citation needed]
Other Courts[edit]
Election Tribunals[edit]
There are two types of election tribunals viz.: (1) National Assembly Election Tribunals that deal
with petitions from the Senate and House of Representatives elections and (2) Governorship and
Legislative Election Tribunals that deal with petitions from the Gubernatorial and State House of
Assembly elections. Election tribunals are set up by the President of the Federal Court of Appeal
in consultation with the Chief Judges of the High Courts of the states, Presidents of the
Customary Courts of Appeal of the states and/or Grand Khadis of the Sharia Courts of Appeal of
the states.[citation needed]
Code of Conduct Tribunal[edit]
The Code Of Conduct Tribunal is established by the Chapter C15 Code of Conduct Bureau and
Tribunal Act, No. 1 of 1989 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 with commencement date of
1 January 1991, which "provide for the establishment of the Code of Conduct Bureau and
Tribunal to deal with complaints of Corruption by public servants for the breaches of its
provisions.[citation needed]
The Code Of Conduct Tribunal (CCT) shall consist of a chairman and two other members, whose
chairman shall be a person who has held or is qualified to hold office as a Judge of a superior
court of record in Nigeria and shall receive such remuneration as may be prescribed by law. The
chairman and other members of the Tribunal shall be appointed by the President on the
recommendation of the National Judicial Council. The tenure of office of the CCT chairman and
members shall expired when he attains the age of seventy years.[citation needed]
A person holding the office of chairman or member of the Code Of Conduct Tribunal shall not be
removed from his office or appointment by the President except upon an address supported by
two-thirds majority of each House of the National Assembly of Nigeria praying that he be so
removed for inability to discharge the functions of the office in question (whether arising from
infirmity of mind or body) or for misconduct or for contravention of the Act. A person holding the
office of chairman or member of the Tribunal shall not be removed from office before retiring age,
save in accordance with the provisions of the section of the Act.[4]
Judgements from the Code Of Conduct Tribunal can be appealed to the tier 2 court (Federal
Court of Appeal).[citation needed]

Sharia[edit]
See also: Sharia in Nigeria
Sharia law (also known as Islamic law) is law that is used only in the predominantly Muslim
north of the country. Sharia, meaning "way" or "path" in religious law of Islam,[5] has been in
Nigeria for a long time. Civil sharia law has been enshrined in the various Nigerian constitutions
since independence. The most recent constitution came into effect in 1999. With the return of the
country to democratic rule in 1999, some of the predominantly Muslim northern states have
instituted full sharia law (criminal and civil).[6] Full sharia law was first passed into law
in Zamfara in late 1999 and the law came into effect in January 2000. Since then eleven other
states have followed suit. These states
are Kano, Katsina, Niger, Bauchi, Borno, Kaduna, Gombe, Sokoto, Jigawa, Yobe, and Kebbi.[7]

List of acts and decrees[edit]

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
The following is a list of legislation and acts created by the National Assembly:
Acts of the National Assembly[edit]

 The Bills of Exchange Act [1] (1917)

 Electricity Ordinance Act 1929.
 The Anatomy Act [2] (1933)
 Electricity Corporation of Nigeria Ordinance 1950. No. 15.
 The Acts Authentication Act [3] (1962)
 The Niger Dams Act 1962.
 National Electric Power Authority Decree 1972. No. 24.
 The Bankruptcy Act [4] (1979)
 Energy Commission of Nigeria Decree 1989. No. 19
 Energy Commission of Nigeria Act 1988. No 32
 Electricity Act 1990
 National Electricity Power Authority (NEPA) Act 1990.
 The Arbitration and Conciliation Act [5] (1998)
 National Electric Power Authority (Amendment) Act 1998. No.
29.
4th Parliament: 1999 - 2003

 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999[8]

 The Criminal Code Act [6]
 The Penal Code
 The Child Right act 2003
 National Electric Power Authority Act 2004.
 Electric Power Sector Reform (EPSR) Act 2005. No. 6.
5th Parliament: 2003 - 2007

 Border Communities Development Agency Act, 2003[9]

6th Parliament: 2007 - 2011

 Public Procurement Act 2007[10]

7th Parliament: 2011 - 2015

 Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service Act 2015[11]

8th Parliament: 2015 - 2019

 Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition), (Enforcement And

Administration) Act, 2015[12]
Decrees of the Federal Military Government[edit]

 Energy Commission of Nigeria Decree 1979. No. 62

 Electricity (Amendment) Decree 1998.
 NEPA (Amendment) Decree 1998.
  Privatization and Commercialization Decree 1988. No. 25.
 The Administration of Justice Commission Decree 1991 (No
55) [7]
 The Admiralty Jurisdiction Decree 1991 (No 59) [8]
 The Banks and Other Financial Institutions Decree 1991 [9]
 The Central Bank of Nigeria Decree 1991 [10] (No 24)
 The Exclusive Economic Zone Decree
 The Land Use Decree 1978
 The Petroleum Decree 1978

Legal training[edit]
 See Nigerian Law School.
 See University of Benin
 See University of Abuja
 See University of Lagos
 see University of Ibadan
 see University of Nigeria, Nsukka
 see Nnamdi Azikiwe University

Offences[edit]
See the following:

 Assaults
 Battery
 Perjury
 Insult to religion

External links[edit]
Wikiversity has learning
resources about Law of
Nigeria

 Resources on Nigerian law on CommonLII

 Guide to Law Online - Nigeria from the Library of Congress

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "Africa :: Nigeria". The World Factbook. Central
Intelligence Agency (United States).
2. ^ Jump up to:a b "CourtofAppealAct". nigeria-law.org. Retrieved 19
October 2016.
3. Jump up^ "Lagos State Judiciary In Brief". nigeria-law.org.
Retrieved 19 October 2016.
4. Jump up^ "CODE OF CONDUCT BUREAU AND TRIBUNAL
ACT"
5. Jump up^ "Sharia Courts in Nigeria". insideislam.wisc.edu.
Retrieved 18 October 2016.|first1= missing |last1= in
Authors list (help)
 6. Jump up^ "Portraits of Ordinary Muslims: Nigeria". Public
Broadcasting Service (PBS). Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).
Retrieved 18 October 2016.
7. Jump up^ Nmehielle, Vincent Obisienunwo Orlu (August
2004). "Sharia Law in the Northern States of Nigeria: To
Implement or Not to Implement, the Constitutionality is the
Question"(PDF). Human Rights Quarterly. The Johns Hopkins
University Press. 26 (3): 730–
759. doi:10.1353/hrq.2004.0039. ISSN 0275-0392.
Retrieved 2011-05-27.
8. Jump up^ "Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria".
9. Jump up^ "Border Communities Development Agency Act, 2003".
10. Jump up^ "Public Procurement Act".
11. Jump up^ "Federal Capital Territory Internal Revenue Service
Act, 2015".
12. Jump up^ "Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition), (Enforcement And
Administration) Act, 2015".

[hide]

Law of Africa

ana

a Faso

di

oon

Verde (Cabo Verde)

African Republic

os

ratic Republic of the Congo

ic of the Congo

ti

rial Guinea

mbia
 -Bissau

Coast (Côte d'Ivoire)

ascar

ania

ius

co

mbique

ia

mé and Príncipe

lles

Leone

Africa

Sudan

and

ia

bwe

wi Arab Democratic Republic

land

Islands / Ceuta / Melilla (Spain)

 a (Portugal)

e / Réunion (France)

Helena / Ascension Island / Tristan da Cunha (United Kingdom)

Categories:
 Nigerian law
Navigation menu
 Not logged in

 Talk

 Contributions

 Create account

 Log in
 Article
 Talk
 Read
 Edit
 View history
Search
Go

 Main page
 Contents
 Featured content
 Current events
 Random article
 Donate to Wikipedia
 Wikipedia store
Interaction
 Help
 About Wikipedia
 Community portal
 Recent changes
 Contact page
Tools
 What links here
 Related changes
 Upload file
 Special pages
 Permanent link
 Page information
 Wikidata item
 Cite this page
Print/export
 Create a book
 Download as PDF
 Printable version
 In other projects
 Wikimedia Commons
Languages
 Français
Edit links
 This page was last edited on 12 April 2018, at 15:28.
 Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of
Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.

 Privacy policy

 About Wikipedia

 Disclaimers

 Contact Wikipedia

 Developers

 Cookie statement

 Mobile view