The Supreme Court of Nigeria has declared the National Lottery Act 2005 unconstitutional.
In a unanimous decision by a seven-member panel, the court ruled that the National Assembly lacks the authority to legislate on lotteries and games of chance, which are under the exclusive jurisdiction of state Houses of Assembly.
Justice Mohammed Idris delivered the lead judgment, stating that the Act should no longer be enforced in any state except the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), where the National Assembly has legislative power.
This ruling follows a 2008 suit filed by Lagos State and others challenging the Act’s constitutionality.
Ekiti State, meanwhile, was joined as co-plaintiff in the suit following an order of the court made on October 6, 2020, according to reports.
Subsequently, attorneys general of 34 other states were joined as defendants by the Supreme Court on November 15, 2022.
The plaintiffs had asked the apex court to declare that the lottery is not one of the 68 items for which the National Assembly has the exclusive vires to make laws under Part 1 of the Second Schedule of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
They also sought a declaration that the National Assembly lacks the vires to legally and constitutionally make any law to regulate and control the operation of lottery in Nigeria.
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