Supreme Court Voids NIWA Act Sections on Land Control

On a recent ruling, the Supreme Court of Nigeria declared parts of the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) Act unconstitutional, specifically sections 12 and 13, which were found to exceed the legislative competence of the National Assembly. The court issued a perpetual injunction restraining the federal government from controlling lands adjoining waterways within Lagos State and other states for non-navigational purposes.

The judgment was delivered by a seven-man panel led by Justice Moham Lawal Garba, with dissenting opinions from Justices Emmanuel Akomay Agim and Moham Baba Idris regarding certain reliefs. The case, marked SC/CV/541/2025, was brought by Lagos State, represented by senior advocates including Babatunde Raji Fashola, Olasupo Shasor, and Muiz Banir, against the federal government, represented by Akin Olujimi, SAN.

The court upheld that the provisions of the NIWA Act were inconsistent with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, particularly concerning the exclusive legislative list.