The Lagos State Government has approached the Supreme Court of Nigeria seeking leave to initiate contempt proceedings against the National Assembly for allegedly disregarding a subsisting judgment of the apex court which declared federal legislation on lottery and gaming unconstitutional.
In a motion filed by the Attorney‑General of Lagos State, through Bode Olanipekun, SAN, the state urged the Supreme Court to grant leave to commence enforcement proceedings by issuing Form 48, the statutory notice of disobedience to court orders. Form 48 serves as a formal warning to any person or institution in contempt of a court order, with continued disobedience potentially leading to committal proceedings and imprisonment.
According to the affidavit in support of the motion, Lagos contended that the National Assembly’s continued deliberation on the Central Gaming Bill directly contravenes the Supreme Court’s earlier decision in SC.1/2008, Attorney‑General of Lagos State & Ors. v. Attorney‑General of the Federation & Ors., delivered on 22 November 2024.
The state argued that Clauses 7 and 21–64 of the proposed Bill deal exclusively with lottery and gaming—subjects which the Supreme Court had already held to be outside the legislative competence of the National Assembly. Lagos further maintained that the provisions of the new Bill mirror those of the now‑nullified National Lottery Act, struck down in the same 2024 judgment.
The affidavit highlighted that both the voided Act and the Central Gaming Bill define “lottery” and “online gaming” in identical terms, covering any game, scheme, or promotional competition based on chance (or partly chance and skill), requiring licensing for operation. The state described Clause 62 of the Bill as an attempt to revive actions taken under the repealed Act, amounting to a direct challenge to the authority and finality of the Supreme Court’s judgment.
Lagos also noted that since the 2024 ruling, neither the Exclusive Legislative List nor the Concurrent Legislative List in the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution (as amended) has been amended to include lottery or gaming, thereby reaffirming that the National Assembly lacks constitutional competence to legislate on the matter.
In its 2024 decision, the Supreme Court had unequivocally held that lottery and gaming fall within the purview of state governments, rejecting arguments that federal jurisdiction could be derived from Item 62 of the Exclusive Legislative List (trade and commerce) or from the interstate nature of gaming activities.
By returning to the Supreme Court, Lagos State now seeks to enforce that landmark judgment through contempt proceedings—a move that could further delineate the boundaries of federal legislative authority and reinforce the supremacy of judicial pronouncements in Nigeria’s constitutional democracy.
