Laws change. The old version does not stop existing.

1. 2023AlteredIn force

   1999 Constitution as altered by the Fifth Alteration Acts

   What changed

   • A series of Alteration Acts addressing, among other matters, the devolution of certain items between the legislative lists, judicial and legislative administration, and the timing of transitional arrangements.
   • The Fifth Alteration was enacted as a set of separate Acts rather than a single instrument, which is why the alterations are cited individually.

   If you are relying on a constitutional provision, the alterations are where you check that the version in your hand is still the operative one.

2. 2017Altered

   1999 Constitution as altered by the Fourth Alteration Acts

   What changed

   • Alterations addressing, among other things, timelines in election petitions, and aspects of legislative and judicial administration.
3. 2010Altered

   1999 Constitution as altered by the Third Alteration Act

   What changed

   • Established the National Industrial Court as a superior court of record within the constitutional structure and dealt with its jurisdiction.

   This is the alteration behind the modern position of the National Industrial Court, and behind the long argument about appeals from it.

4. 2010Altered

   1999 Constitution as altered by the First and Second Alteration Acts

   What changed

   • Alterations addressing electoral timelines and related institutional provisions.
5. 1999Enacted

   Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999

   What changed

   • Returned Nigeria to constitutional civilian rule, establishing the current structure of the Federation, the fundamental rights in Chapter IV, and the court system in Chapter VII.

   Everything the platform explains about rights, courts and legislative competence begins here.

Where to find the current text: The consolidated Constitution as altered is published by the National Assembly and by the Federal Government. Read the official text, and check whether a later Alteration Act touches the provision you are relying on.

1. 2021Instrument made under itIn force

   Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 (with regulations made under it)

   What changed

   • Companies Regulations made by the Corporate Affairs Commission under the Act deal with the practical machinery — forms, filings and procedure.
   • Regulations change more often than the Act, so the Act alone will not tell you what a filing requires today.

   The commonest mistake is reading the Act and assuming that is the whole obligation. The procedure lives in the regulations.

2. 2020Repealed and replaced

   Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020

   What changed

   • Repealed and replaced the 1990 Act in its entirety.
   • Introduced, among other things, provision for a single-member private company, a statutory framework for limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships, and changes to company secretary requirements for small companies.
   • Reworked provisions on company registers, beneficial interest disclosure and insolvency.

   Anything written about Nigerian company law before 2020 has to be read with care — the governing Act changed completely.

3. 1990Enacted

   Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990

   What changed

   • The previous companies statute, consolidated as Cap C20 of the Laws of the Federation 2004, and the framework under which most older Nigerian companies were incorporated.

Where to find the current text: The Act is published by the Federal Government, and the Corporate Affairs Commission publishes the regulations made under it. Check the Commission's own material for current filing practice.

1. 2023EnactedIn force

   Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023

   What changed

   • Put data protection in Nigeria on a statutory footing for the first time, replacing a regime that had rested on a regulation issued by an agency.
   • Established the Nigeria Data Protection Commission and set out the duties of data controllers and processors, the lawful bases for processing, and the rights of data subjects.

   The change from a regulation to an Act matters: obligations now sit in primary legislation, with a dedicated regulator behind them.

2. 2019Instrument made under it

   Nigeria Data Protection Regulation 2019 (NDPR)

   What changed

   • Issued by the National Information Technology Development Agency, this was the instrument that introduced most Nigerian organisations to data protection compliance.
   • Much of the practice built around it — audits, filings and data protection officers — carried into the current regime.
3. 1999Enacted

   The constitutional privacy guarantee

   What changed

   • Before either instrument, privacy in Nigeria rested on the constitutional guarantee of the privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence and communications.
   • That guarantee has not gone anywhere — it sits beneath the statutory regime rather than being replaced by it.

Where to find the current text: The Act is published by the Federal Government, and the Nigeria Data Protection Commission publishes guidance and instruments made under it. The Commission's own material is the place to check current obligations.

1. 2023Repealed and replacedIn force

   Copyright Act 2022

   What changed

   • Repealed and replaced the previous Copyright Act.
   • Modernised the framework for the digital environment, including provisions addressing online infringement and the responsibilities of intermediaries, and reworked provisions on exceptions and on collective management.

   Advice on Nigerian copyright written before this Act may describe a framework that no longer applies, particularly online.

2. 1988Enacted

   Copyright Act 1988 (Cap C28 LFN 2004)

   What changed

   • The previous copyright statute, consolidated in the 2004 Laws of the Federation, which governed Nigerian copyright for over three decades.

Where to find the current text: The Act is published by the Federal Government, and the Nigerian Copyright Commission publishes material on its administration.

1. 2015 onwardsEnactedIn force

   State Administration of Criminal Justice Laws

   What changed

   • States have progressively enacted their own criminal justice administration laws modelled on the federal Act.
   • Which law governs your matter depends on the court — the federal Act does not automatically apply in a state court.

   This is why a general statement about criminal procedure in Nigeria can be right in one state and wrong in another.

2. 2015Repealed and replaced

   Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015

   What changed

   • Replaced the older Criminal Procedure Act and Criminal Procedure Code framework for federal courts with a single administration of criminal justice statute.
   • Introduced measures aimed at reducing delay and at regulating arrest and custody practice, including provisions on the recording of confessional statements and on reporting persons held in custody.

   Most of what is modern in Nigerian criminal procedure — and most of what a person in custody can point to — comes from this Act.

3. Colonial era, consolidated 2004Enacted

   Criminal Procedure Act and Criminal Procedure Code

   What changed

   • The two older procedural codes, applying in the southern and northern parts of the country respectively, which governed criminal procedure before the 2015 Act.

Where to find the current text: The Act is published by the Federal Government. Many states have enacted their own Administration of Criminal Justice Laws, and which one applies depends on the court your matter is in.

1. 1999EnactedIn force

   Land Use Act 1978, entrenched by the Constitution

   What changed

   • The 1999 Constitution carries the Land Use Act within its provisions, which is why the Act is not amended the way an ordinary statute is.
   • Practice around it — consent applications, certificates of occupancy, governor's consent for alienation — is administered at state level and changes without the Act changing.

   The Act is stable; the state-level procedure under it is not. Confirm current practice with the relevant state land authority.

2. 1978Enacted

   Land Use Act 1978

   What changed

   • Vested land in each state in the Governor to hold in trust, and converted existing freehold interests into rights of occupancy.
   • Introduced the requirement of the Governor's consent for the alienation of an interest in land.

   Every Nigerian land transaction since is conducted in the shadow of this Act.

Where to find the current text: The Act is consolidated in the Laws of the Federation, and it is also entrenched in the Constitution. State governments publish their own procedures for consent and for certificates of occupancy.

1. 2018Repealed and replacedIn force

   Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018

   What changed

   • Repealed and replaced the previous consumer protection statute and established the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
   • Brought competition law and consumer protection into a single framework, with provisions on restrictive agreements, abuse of dominance, merger review and consumer rights.

   Nigeria acquired a general competition regime with this Act. Before it, there was consumer protection but no across-the-board competition law.

2. 1992Enacted

   Consumer Protection Council Act

   What changed

   • Established the Consumer Protection Council, the body whose functions the 2018 Act reorganised into the current Commission.

Where to find the current text: The Act is published by the Federal Government, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission publishes its own regulations, orders and guidance.

1. 2010 onwardsEnactedIn force

   The Labour Act as applied by the National Industrial Court

   What changed

   • The constitutional alteration that established the National Industrial Court gave employment matters a specialist court that applies international labour standards and best practice.
   • Much of what is current in Nigerian employment law is found in that court's decisions rather than in an amendment to the Act.

   Reading the Labour Act alone gives an incomplete picture of what an employer can and cannot do today.

2. 2004Enacted

   Labour Act, consolidated as Cap L1 LFN 2004

   What changed

   • The consolidation in which the Act is normally cited. It applies principally to workers doing manual labour or clerical work, which is a limitation many readers do not expect.
3. 1974Enacted

   Labour Act 1974

   What changed

   • The original statute governing contracts of employment, wages, hours and terms for the workers it covers.

Where to find the current text: The Labour Act is consolidated in the Laws of the Federation. Employment questions in Nigeria are also shaped by the decisions of the National Industrial Court, which applies international best practice in the way the Constitution permits.

1. 2024AmendedIn force

   Cybercrimes Act 2015 as amended

   What changed

   • An amendment Act addressed provisions of the 2015 Act, including the much-litigated provision on cyberstalking, which had been the subject of sustained criticism and of litigation over its effect on expression.

   If you have read about this Act and free expression, check which version the discussion is about — the provision at the centre of that argument has been amended.

2. 2015Enacted

   Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention etc.) Act 2015

   What changed

   • Nigeria's principal statute on offences committed with computers and networks, covering unauthorised access, computer-related fraud, identity theft and related conduct, together with duties placed on service providers.

Where to find the current text: The Act and its amendment are published by the Federal Government. Where a provision of the Act is being applied to you, read the current text — this is an area where the wording has been changed.