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The Constitution of Nigeria is the written supreme law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.[1][2] Nigeria has had many constitutions. Its current form was enacted on 29 May 1999 and inaugurated the Fourth Nigerian Republic.[3]

Nigeria's structure and composition are a legacy of British colonial rule.[4] It has over 374 multilingual groups with different cultures and traditions.[5] This diversity contributes to Nigeria being "one of the world's most deeply divided countries" with rampant political corruption.[6][7] As a result, Nigeria has undergone many attempts to form an effective constitution. These efforts include civilian and military rule, centrifugal and centralized federalism, presidential and parliamentary systems, and other political institutions.[7]

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An Order in Council enacted Nigeria's first constitutions during the colonial era when the country was administered as a Crown Colony. These constitutions include the Clifford Constitution of 1922, the Richards Constitution of 1946, the Macpherson Constitution of 1951, and the Lyttleton Constitution of 1954.[8][6][9]

Westminster approved a new constitution for Nigeria in 1946.[10] It was called the Richards Constitution after Governor-General Sir Arthur Richards, who was responsible for its formulation. Although it left effective power in the hands of the Governor-General and his appointed Executive Council, it also established an expanded Legislative Council empowered to deliberate on matters affecting the country. It also created three regional Houses of Assembly to consider local questions and advise the lieutenant governors.

An inter-parliamentary conference at Ibadan in 1950 drafted a new constitution. It was dubbed the Macpherson Constitution after the incumbent Governor-General John Stuart Macpherson. It went into effect the following year, in 1951.[11]

The next revision of the constitution was called the Lyttleton Constitution after Oliver Lyttelton, 1st Viscount Chandos. It was enacted in 1954 and firmly established the federal principle. This paved the way for Nigeria's independence from Great Britain.

A British Order-in-Council enacted Nigeria's first constitution as a sovereign state. It came into force upon the country's independence on 1 October 1960. Under this constitution, Nigeria retained Queen Elizabeth II as titular head of state, Queen of Nigeria. Nnamdi Azikiwe represented the queen as Governor-General.[12]

Independent Nigeria's second constitution abolished the monarchy and established the First Nigerian Republic.[13] It came into force on 1 October 1963, the third anniversary of Nigeria's independence. Nnamdi Azikiwe became the first President of Nigeria. The 1963 constitution was based on the Westminster system. It was used until a military coup in 1966 that overthrew Nigeria's democratic institutions.[14]

The 1979 constitution established the Second Nigerian Republic. It abandoned the Westminster system in favour of a United States-style presidential system with direct elections.[15] To avoid the pitfalls of the First Nigerian Republic, the 1979 constitution mandated political parties which were required to register in at least two-thirds of the states.[14] In addition, it established a Cabinet of Nigeria, with each state having at least one member.[14] This gave a "federal character" to the nation.[14]

The 1993 constitution established the Third Nigerian Republic. This constitution was supposed to return democratic rule to Nigeria but it was never fully implemented. The military controlled the country until 1999.[16][17]

The 1999 constitution identifies the national capital, 36 states and their capitals, and 774 local government areas within Nigeria.[20][21][22][23] It establishes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government and details their duties and the separation of powers between the branches and federal and state governments.[24][2] Nigeria's legislative powers are vested in a National Assembly with two chambers: a Senate and a House of Representatives.[25] The constitution gives the National Assembly the power to make laws for "peace, order and good government of the Federation".

In addition, the constitution outlines the individual's fundamental rights, including life, liberty, dignity, privacy, freedom of expression, religious freedom, and security from slavery, violence, discrimination, and forced service in the military.[2][26] It also defines a person's right to a timely and fair trial if arrested and the presumption of innocence.[26] Nigerians also have the right to own land, a right of assembly, and freedom of movement.[2]

The constitution also protects four laws: the Land Use Act, the National Securities Agencies Act, the National Youth Service legislation, and the Public Complaints Commission Act.[2] In January 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan signed two amendments to the constitution, the first modifications since it came into use in 1999.[27]

191. (1) The Deputy Governor of a Stateshall hold the office of Governor of the State if the office of Governorbecomes vacant by reason of death, resignation, impeachment, permanentincapacity or removal of the governor from office for any other reason inaccordance with section 188 or 189 of this constitution.

216.(1) Subject to the provisions of thisconstitution, the Nigeria Police Council may, with the approval of thePresident and subject to such conditions as it may think fit, delegate any ofthe powers conferred upon it by this Constitution to any of its members or tothe Inspector-General of Police or any other member of the Nigeria PoliceForce.

(g) any admiralty jurisdiction, including shipping andnavigation on the River Niger or River Benue and their affluents and on suchother inland waterway as may be designated by any enactment to be aninternational waterway, all Federal ports, (including the constitution andpowers of the ports authorities for Federal ports) and carriage by sea;

(2) Where any question as to the interpretation or application of thisconstitution arises in any proceedings in the Federal High Court or a HighCourt, and the court is of opinion that the question involves a substantialquestion of law, the court may, and shall if any party to the proceedings sorequests, refer the question to the Court of Appeal; and where any question isreferred in pursuance of this subsection, the court shall give its decisionupon the question and the court in which the question arose shall dispose ofthe case in accordance with that decision.

(3) Where any question as to the interpretation or application of thisconstitution arises in any proceedings in the Court of Appeal and the court isof opinion that the question involves a substantial question of law, the courtmay, and shall if any party to the proceedings so requests, refer the questionto the Supreme Court which shall give its decision upon the question and givesuch directions to the Court of Appeal as it deems appropriate.

317. (1) Without prejudice to the generalityof section 315 of this constitution, any property, right, privilege, liabilityor obligation which immediately before the date when this section comes intoforce was vested in, exercisable or enforceable by or against-

"Concurrent Legislative List" meansthe list of matters set out in the first column in Part 11 of the secondschedule to this constitution with respect to which the National Assembly and aHouse of Assembly may make laws to the extent prescribed, respectively,opposite thereto in the second column thereof;

"federal character of Nigeria"refers to the distinctive desire of the peoples of Nigeria to promote nationalunity, foster national loyalty and give every citizen of Nigeria a sense ofbelonging to the nation as expressed in section 14 (3) and (4) of thisconstitution;

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This version of the Nigerian constitution is interactive, meaning, that it is fully a hyperlinked PDF soft-copy, thereby easy to navigate to the various sections of the constitution without time-consuming long scrolling. As a matter of fact, it was the frustration of having to endure long scrolling to the various sections of the constitution that gave birth to this interactive edition of the Nigerian constitution.

As citizens, we have a duty to be aware of the constitutional provisions that govern our political and legal life. It is hoped that this particular edition will encourage citizen-interest in reading the constitution. We are particularly happy to have provided this free service to more than 100,000 Nigerians, as at last count.

This article revisits the legitimacy question as it touches the Nigerian 1999 Constitution, bringing to the discourse a review and application of pertinent theoretical perspectives on constitution making and constitutional legitimacy. This theoretical and pragmatic approach introduces a refreshing angle to the debate, revealing the paucity of any attempt to ascribe any legitimacy claim to a constitution with a doubtful normative claim and fraudulent attribution of its source and legitimacy to the people. The author finds the consent basis of constitutional legitimacy as most attractive to a divided state like Nigeria, and concludes by advocating the adoption of a blend of the principles of the constituent assembly and post sovereign constitution-making models for the production of a new people-driven and inclusive constitution to meet the needs of the Nigerian people.

Nigeria's Senate kills a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed the country's president to run for a third term. Critics said the proposal would widen regional, ethnic and religious rifts. They hailed its failure as a victory for democracy. 2351a5e196