Supreme Court strikes down National Lottery Act

The Supreme Court overturned the National Lottery Act 2005, which was passed by the National Assembly.

Justice Mohammed Idris read the unanimous decision of a seven-member panel of the Supreme Court, which ruled that the National Assembly lacks the jurisdiction to pass legislation governing lotteries and games of chance.

The court ruled that such authority rests only with the state Houses of Assembly, which have exclusive jurisdiction over lotteries and games of chance.

Justice Idris declared that all states, with the exception of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where the National Assembly has legislative jurisdiction, should no longer enforce the National Lottery Act of 2005.

The Attorney General of Lagos State launched a lawsuit against the Federal Government in 2008 to discover who oversees and regulates the gaming and lottery industries.

Following a court order on October 6, 2020, Ekiti State joined the claim as a co-plaintiff.

On November 15, 2022, the Supreme Court added 34 other state solicitors general as defendants.

The plaintiffs had requested the Supreme Court to rule that the lottery is not one of the 68 things for which the National Assembly has the sole authority to enact legislation under Part 1 of the Second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

They also requested a ruling that the National Assembly lacks the legal and constitutional authority to enact any legislation to regulate and control the functioning of the lottery in Nigeria.