LAGOS DRAGS NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TO SUPREME COURT OVER ALLEGED CONTEMPT ON LOTTERY RULING

The Lagos State Government has approached the Supreme Court seeking permission to commence contempt proceedings against the National Assembly for allegedly violating a subsisting judgment of the apex court that declared federal legislation on lottery and gaming unconstitutional.

In a motion filed by the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Lagos is asking the Supreme Court to grant leave to initiate judgment-enforcement proceedings through the issuance of Form 48 — a legal notice that precedes contempt or committal proceedings.

According to Lagos’ counsel, BODE OLANIPEKUN (SAN), the National Assembly’s ongoing consideration of the proposed Central Gaming Bill directly breaches the Supreme Court’s judgment delivered on November 22, 2024.

In a supporting affidavit, the state argued that several provisions of the bill, particularly Clauses 7 and 21–64, deal with lottery and gaming matters, despite the apex court having ruled that such issues fall outside the National Assembly’s legislative competence and also pointed to Clause 62 of the bill, which seeks to preserve previous actions taken under the nullified law, describing it as a deliberate attempt to undermine the Supreme Court’s authority.

By returning to the Supreme Court, Lagos is seeking to enforce that judgment through contempt proceedings, a move that could set an important precedent on the limits of federal legislative power and the supremacy of judicial authority within Nigeria’s constitutional framework.