{"id":930,"date":"2016-03-21T09:52:10","date_gmt":"2016-03-21T09:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/afribary.com\/blog\/?p=930"},"modified":"2022-09-03T00:08:13","modified_gmt":"2022-09-03T00:08:13","slug":"sources-of-nigerian-law","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/afribary.com\/blog\/930\/sources-of-nigerian-law\/","title":{"rendered":"Sources of Nigerian Law"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sources of Nigerian law denote where Nigerian law came from. The major question is that where did we get the present laws that we now call our own? Did they fall from heaven? Where did we get them from? We generally have six sources of Nigerian law <\/a>they include:<\/p>\n

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  1. The Received English law:\u00a0<\/strong>This consists of the common law, doctrines of equity and statutes of general application which were applicable in Britain by 1st January \u00a01900. These were laws that we used when we were colonized by Britain. The laws applicable in Britain were also applicable in Nigeria.<\/li>\n
  2. Nigerian Legislation:\u00a0<\/strong>This is the most important of the sources of Nigerian law. This is because it is Nigerian legislation that gives life to other sources of law. It is the pillar upon which the Nigerian legal system rests. It consists of the exclusive list, concurrent list and \u00a0residual \u00a0list.<\/li>\n
  3. Case Laws:\u00a0<\/strong>Summarily, these are laws that are developed by the courts and become binding according to the principle of stare decisis\/judicial precedent.<\/li>\n
  4. Customary law:\u00a0<\/strong>These are the laws of the indigenous peoples of Nigeria prior to the advent of the colonialists. However, they are only applicable in civil circumstances. Customary criminal law has been abolished by various statutes like the\u00a0Penal Code\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0Criminal Code.<\/strong><\/li>\n
  5. Delegated Legislation:\u00a0<\/strong>This is legislation made by other bodies that are not the legislature. However, before this can be valid, the power to make these laws has to be vested in such person\/body by the legislature.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    THE RECEIVED ENGLISH LAW<\/strong><\/p>\n

    These are laws that were in operation in England and due to the reception of English law, they become applicable in Nigeria. The reception of English law deals with the way the received English law was accepted into Nigerian legal system. The major reception act in Nigeria is the Interpretation Act. The Interpretation Act receives English law in S.32(1) which provides that the rules of common law, the doctrines of equity and statutes of general application which are within the competence of the federal legislature in existence before 1900 shall be in force in Nigeria.<\/p>\n

    However, S.32(2) provides that their application is limited subject to Nigerian jurisdiction or when there is a Nigerian federal law or court decision available. This was seen in the case of\u00a0LabinjohvsAbake<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0where the application of the Infant Relief Act was rejected because there was already a local legislation that covered that area. S.32(3) allows for the alteration of the imperial laws in order to make it applicable to the Nigerian situation. For example, where England is used, it would be replaced with Nigeria, when the British currency is used it would be replaced with the Nigerian currency and so on.<\/p>\n

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    NIGERIAN LEGISLATION.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    This is the most important source of Nigerian law. It is usually made by the legislature which consists of the house of rep and the Senate .They are referred to as the national assembly S.4(1) CFRN 1999. Legislation is classified into statute or subsidiary legislation. Statutes are laws that originate from any chamber of the national assembly. Subsidiary legislation are those that emanate from a body that is not the legislature. They can also be called delegated legislation. They are usually empowered by an enabling statute of the national assembly. Subsidiary legislation can be called rules, legislation, bye-laws, instruments, orders etc. Also, a subsidiary legislation must not exceed the limit of the power delegated to it by the enabling statute. Thus, subsidiary legislation is inferior to statutes. \u00a0This means that a statute can repeal or amend the power of a subsidiary legislation.<\/p>\n

    FORMS OF LEGISLATION<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Legislation can be in form of ordinances, acts, laws, decrees or edicts. Ordinances are laws made by the federal legislature before 1st October 1954. Acts are laws made by the by the national assembly which is made up of house of reps and the senate. Laws are legislation made by a state house of assembly. Decrees are laws made by the federal military government while edict are legislation made by state military governments.<\/p>\n

    It should be noted that for any legislation to be valid, it should originate from the appropriate authority. During the civilian regime, it is the national assembly or state house of assembly. In the military regime, it is the federal military government and state military government.<\/p>\n

    DIVISION OF LEGISLATIVE POWER.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    These are divisions of legislation during a civilian regime. They are divided into:<\/p>\n