…seeks contempt proceedings for alleged violation of judgment

The Lagos State Government has approached the Supreme Court, seeking leave to initiate contempt proceedings against the National Assembly for allegedly violating a subsisting judgment of the apex court on the regulation of lottery and gaming in the country.

In a motion filed by its Attorney-General through Bode Olanipekun (SAN), Lagos is praying the court to grant it permission to commence judgment enforcement proceedings by issuing Form 48 — a statutory notice warning of the consequences of disobeying a court order.

The dispute

The latest legal move is the culmination of a long-running face-off between the state government and the federal legislature over the proposed Central Gaming Bill 2025, which seeks to regulate online and remote gaming across all states of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The bill, currently before both chambers of the National Assembly, aims to create a unified regulatory framework to replace the repealed National Lottery Act of 2005.

However, Lagos insists that the proposed law is in clear violation of a Supreme Court judgment delivered in November 2024, which ruled that the National Assembly lacks constitutional powers to legislate on lottery and gaming matters.

Apex court’s position

In the 2024 judgment, a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court held unanimously that lottery and gaming do not fall under trade and commerce in the Exclusive Legislative List contained in the 1999 Constitution.

The court further affirmed that only state houses of assembly have the power to make laws regulating such activities within their jurisdictions.

The legal tussle dates back to 2008 when Lagos dragged the Federal Government and National Assembly to court, arguing that the National Lottery Act encroached on the states’ constitutional powers. Ekiti State joined the suit as co-plaintiff in 2020, with several other states later joining on both sides of the divide.

Lagos’ argument

In its fresh motion, Lagos contends that the Central Gaming Bill 2025 mirrors the repealed National Lottery Act 2005 in definition and intent, thus amounting to a willful disregard of the Supreme Court’s pronouncement.

The state government argued that since the 2024 judgment, the Constitution has not been amended to bring lottery or gaming under the Exclusive List, making the National Assembly’s current action unlawful.

“The proposed legislation deals entirely with gaming and lottery, which this Honourable Court has already declared to be outside the jurisdiction of the National Assembly,” the affidavit read in part.

With the fresh motion, the battle between Lagos and the federal legislature over control of gaming and lottery regulation appears far from over.