Why Govt Is Reviewing Federal Laws – Fagbemi

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has said the federal government was committed to upholding the rule of law.

Naijaonpoint reports that Fagbemi said the government embarked on reviewing federal laws to modernize, consolidate and harmonize Nigeria’s body of federal statutes.

The Minister of Justice disclosed this on Monday, in Abuja, while declaring open the second retreat of the Committee on Review, Revision and Consolidation of Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN).

He emphasized that the general purpose of law is to regulate human behavior by protecting lives and properties in society.

The Minister stated that the second retreat provided an opportunity to consolidate the progress made in the first phase.

“This second retreat is a strategic consolidation of our national law reform efforts and provides an invaluable opportunity to: Review progress made since the first phase: Address any technical or structural challenges encountered during the collation process; Harmonize the output across working groups; and Set the tone for the final stages of this important project.

“The next stage of the law review and consolidation process would include editing and proofreading the reviewed legislation, ahead of the final collation, production and printing of the laws of the federation,” he said.

The Attorney General expressed conviction the second and the editing and proofreading phases would be executed with greater commitment.

“It is my conviction that these phases will be executed with even greater commitment by the Committee, with the support of stakeholders and development partners,” he added.

The committee’s Chairman and former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ekiti State, Olawale Fapohunda (SAN), explained that the committee reviewed 679 laws and has 40 more to review.

He stated that all stakeholders have been carried along and consulted in the exercise. He reaffirmed that the committee was open to engagement and would deliver on time.

“The committee’s mandate is to review 737 laws of the federation, but we have so far completed 697 with 40 more outstanding to go. Our approach has been inclusive and consultative with the intention to engage the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and other broadways of stakeholders. We are open and available for engagement, and we are on course to deliver timely and meet the expectations of Nigerians,” he said.