Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN) has declared that the country?s laws are outdated.

Fagbemi said that the existing laws urgently needed to be comprehensively reviewed to capture the emerging issues and socio-economic realities for the greater interest of all Nigerians.

He spoke in Ikogosi-Ekiti at the opening ceremony of ?a four-day retreat for the members of the committee for review of outdated Nigerian laws organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice.

The Minister lamented that the current laws, which were last reviewed in 2004 have lost their merits when applied to the current realities in the country.

He noted that there are several lapses in the existing laws, which as a matter of urgency, needed to be reviewed in order to align with international best practices.

He added that the laws when overhauled, would not only engender socio-economic growth and development but also attract foreign investment into the country.

He said: ?The issue of implementation is there when it comes to reviewing laws because the laws become obsolete. In updating the laws, you now take off the lapses that are inherent in the previous laws or the ones you are reviewing.

?A number of factors are responsible for poor implementation, there are loopholes in some and when it?s not implemented to the spirit of the legislation, it will require bringing the law up to date.

?To attract foreign investment generally, you need to update your laws to the standard that is known worldwide, which comply with the international best practices of law in countries.

?These are some of the reasons that made us set up this panel to come up with the idea of reviewing law,? he added.

The chairman of the Nigerian Laws Review Committee Olawale Fapohunda, SAN said the retreat was organised to fine-tune their strategies towards achieving the mandate of reviewing the outdated laws within the stipulated timeline.

The former Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General of Ekiti State noted that the review of the existing laws was necessary to match up with the global standards.

He said: ?The laws of the federation have not been reviewed since 2004 and a lot of things have changed since the world is evolving and not static.

?ICT, socio-economic growth is no more the same. We will be able to articulate those laws that make sense and the ones that should no longer be in the laws.

?The task is enormous because we have over 400 laws. We are working within a limited timeframe to review, update, and consolidate the laws of the federation,? he added. (The Nation)

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