Lottery Regulation: Supreme Court Fixes Date To Hear Lagos, Ekiti Suit Against FG, 34 Other States
The Supreme Court has fixed March 13, 2024, to hear a suit filed in 2008, by the Attorney General of Lagos State against the Federal Government, over who controls and regulates the gaming and lottery sector.
Ekiti state was joined as co-plaintiff in the suit following an order of the court made on October 6, 2020, and while the Attorney General of the Federation is the 1st defendant in the matter, the National Assembly is the 2nd defendant.
The Attorneys General of 34 other States were also joined as defendants by the Supreme Court on November 15, 2022.
A seven-member panel led by Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun fixed the date for the day’s proceedings.
The plaintiffs want 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 are also seeking 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.
