Lagos Drags National Assembly To Supreme Court

The Lagos State Government has approached the Supreme Court seeking leave to initiate contempt proceedings against the National Assembly for allegedly disregarding a subsisting judgment of the apex court, which had declared federal legislation on lottery and gaming unconstitutional.

In a motion filed by the Lagos State Attorney-General through Bode Olanipekun, SAN, the state urged the Supreme Court to grant it leave to commence judgment enforcement proceedings by issuing Form 48, the statutory notice of disobedience to court orders.

The issuance of Form 48 serves as an official warning to any individual or institution in contempt of a court order. Failure to comply after its issuance may lead to the commencement of committal proceedings, which could result in imprisonment.

According to an affidavit attached to the motion, Lagos State argued that the National Assembly’s continued deliberation on the Central Gaming Bill directly contravenes the Supreme Court’s earlier decision in SC.1/2008, Attorney-General of Lagos State & Ors. v. Attorney-General of the Federation & Ors., delivered on November 22, 2024.

The state maintained that Clauses 7 and 21–64 of the proposed Bill deal exclusively with matters relating to lottery and gaming, subjects which the Supreme Court had already declared to be outside the legislative powers of the National Assembly.

Lagos contended that the provisions in the new Bill mirror those contained in the now-nullified National Lottery Act, which was struck down in the same 2024 judgment.

The affidavit also highlighted that both the voided National Lottery Act and the Central Gaming Bill define “lottery” and “online gaming” in virtually identical terms, as any game, scheme, or promotional competition based on chance, or partly on chance and skill, requiring licensing for operation.

The state government described Clause 62 of the proposed Central Gaming Bill as an attempt to revive actions taken under the repealed National Lottery Act, noting that this constitutes a direct challenge to the authority and finality of the Supreme Court’s judgment.

Lagos also pointed out that since the apex court’s 2024 ruling, neither the Exclusive nor the Concurrent Legislative Lists in the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended) have been amended to include “lottery” or “gaming,” reaffirming that the National Assembly lacks constitutional competence to legislate on the subject.

The Supreme Court had, in its 2024 decision, held unequivocally that lottery and gaming fall within the purview of state governments, rejecting arguments that federal jurisdiction could be derived from Item 62 of the Exclusive Legislative List, which relates to “trade and commerce,” or that the interstate nature of gaming activities warranted federal oversight.

 

 

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