The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice (HAGF), Lateef Fagbemi SAN, has advocated for unity of purpose and steadfastness in the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s resolve to produce a legal framework worthy of the aspirations of Nigerians.
The HAGF advocated this at the opening of the Second Retreat of the Committee on Review, Revision and Consolidation of Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN) 2004 – 2024 holding at Rock View Hotel, Abuja from 13th – 17th April, 2025.
“Let me urge all participants to use this retreat as a platform for robust engagement, peer learning, and practical collaboration. We must remain united in purpose and steadfast in our resolve to produce a legal framework that is worthy of our nation’s aspirations”. The HAGF emphasized.
He added that “the general purpose of law is to regulate human behaviour by protecting lives and properties in the society. The inauguration of the Committee on the 24th October, 2024 marked a historic milestone in our collective efforts to modernize, consolidate, and harmonize Nigeria’s body of federal statutes. The retreat successfully provided a clear framework for the structure and methodology of the revision exercise, oriented the 14 Working Groups tasked with reviewing specific legal subject areas, and fostered collaboration among key institutions and stakeholders on the project”.
Following the initial retreat, the HAGF revealed that the Committee had recorded steady progress in its work. He also revealed that Federal Ministry of Justice had taken several measures to ensure that the assignment was delivered efficiently, including: training sessions for secretaries of the working groups to enhance documentation and coordination; technical meetings of the main committee and its various sub-committees; working sessions and deliberations among editors and reviewers; and ongoing technical collation of revised laws by the Secretariat of the committee.
Fagbemi further highlighted that second retreat was a strategic consolidation of the nation’s national law reform efforts and provided 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 the review, revision and consolidation.
He commended the leadership of the LFN Committee, the Secretariat for its diligent coordination and day-to-day management as well as the Working Groups, Editors, and Reviewers, for their intellectual rigour and professionalism. He also expressed special gratitude to development partners, particularly RoLAC, for standing firmly behind project.
In his welcome address, Chairman’s of the Committee, Mr. Olawale Fapohunda, a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in Ekiti state, declared that his committee had so far reviewed 697 laws out of the mandated total of 737, with just 40 more to review. He assured the HAGF that the committee would conclude its work in 2025.
He stated further that the committee’s approach had been inclusive and consultative, including getting inputs from relevant stakeholders in order to deliver timely and meet the expectations of Nigerians.
Speaking earlier in a goodwill message, the representative of the Rule of Law and Anti-Corruption (RoLAC), Mr. Toyin Badejogbon, had called for support for the review process, saying legislative development updates would enhance access to justice. He stated that the courts, research institutes, law reforms commission and the citizens all needed the law to engage meaningfully.
Signed
Aderemi Adelabu
– CIO
For: Director (Information & Public Relations)
Federal Ministry of Justice
14th April, 2025
