Senate Condemns Dormancy of Law Reform Commission

Senate Condemns Dormancy of Law Reform Commission

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

The Senate wednesrday expressed concern over the dormancy of the Nigeria Law Reform Commission which has culminated in the existence of obsolete laws in the country’s statue books.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, stated this during the screening of the chairman and three other board nominees whose names were forwarded to the Senate last week by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He stressed that the dormancy of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission is a dormant institution largely responsible for the continued existence of obsolete laws in the country’s statue books. The committee chairman, however, promised that the Senate would expedite action on the passage of a Reform bill for the commission to be able perform optimally

According to him, “Be rest assured that the Senate will work on the bill in getting it passed very soon as a way of strengthening the commission for better performance and invariably upgrading our legal system for effective dispensation of justice.”

Speaking in the same vein, a member of the committee, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, said: “This commission as the body constitutionally saddled with the responsibility of law reforms is ordinarily supposed to be visible but not visible at all.”

Responding, the commission’s chairmanship nominee, Professor Jummai Audi, emphasised that it has always been the wish of the commission to carry out law reforms against obsolete laws but the Extant Act regulating the activities of the commission is more of stumbling block against such moves.

According to her, the Extant Act empowers only the Attorney General of the Federation for that purpose and no other person or body.

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