Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria

Rivers State was created out of the former Eastern Nigeria on 27 May 1967 by virtue of the States (Creation and Transitional Provisions) Decree No. 14 of 1967. Rivers State inherited Eastern Nigeria legislation in accordance with section 1(5) of the said Decree. Consequently, legislation applicable to Rivers State as at 27 May 1967 consisted of the Laws contained in The Revised Edition of The Laws of Eastern Nigeria 1963 and those enacted between 1963 and 1967 excluding, of course, the Decrees promulgated by the Government of the Republic of Biafra. Thereafter, Edicts were promulgated by the successive Military Governors of Rivers State between 1968 and 28 May 1999, interspersed with brief periods of democratic Government that enacted Laws. Since 29 May 1999 that Nigeria returned to democracy, the Rivers State House of Assembly has been enacting Laws for the State by virtue of its legislative powers under section 100 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999. Today, the current Laws of Rivers State consist of Laws published in The Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999 containing legislation still in force (from Eastern Nigeria Laws inherited as mentioned above and Rivers State Laws made thereafter) and Laws enacted between 1999 and 2010. It should be noted that by virtue of section 3 of the Revised Edition (Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria) Law 1991, there may be Laws which, although omitted in The Laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999, still have the force of law just like those included in it. Unfortunately, there is an operational disconnect between the enactment of legislation and their publication in the official form either in the Official Gazette or in bound annual volumes as required by law. Consequently, it becomes a Herculean task to search for every piece of legislation which may be hidden in volumes of files containing signed copies or among thousands of copies of the Official Gazette littered in several locations! Herein lies one aspect of the indispensability of this book, the first edition of which was published in 1994. Furthermore, this book features notes on each Law – an introduction to the subject matter, amendment, repeal, status, and sometimes a brief comment on other issues. Without this book, even lawyers may not be aware of some of the existing Laws. Without any doubt, this book facilitates access to Rivers State legislation. Its electronic version shall be updated regularly.