Facts:

On March 30 2005, the 2nd Defendant (the National Assembly) enacted the National Lottery Act, CAP N145, LFN, which deals on lottery. According to the Plaintiffs, lottery as a game of chance, does not fall within the items listed on either the Exclusive or Concurrent Legislative Lists and neither is it incidental or supplementary to any matter on the Exclusive Legislative List, as contained in Parts I and II of the Second Schedule to the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended).

Before the enactment and commencement of the National Lottery Act the”1st, 4th, 5th, 8th, 9th, 13th, 16th, 17th, 19th and 21st Plaintiffs had enacted respective State laws regulating lotteries in the States. Knowing fully well that the states mentioned have laws which regulates lotteries, gambling and gaming in general, the 1st and 2nd Defendants insisted on enforcing the Act in the Plaintiffs’ States despite the Constitution’s allocation of lotteries as a residual matter within the exclusive legislative competence of State governments.

The Plaintiffs argued that the regulation and operation of lotteries within individual States are vested exclusively in the respective State governments and that any notion or act of the National Assemble legislating on such matters outside it purview of legislative powers only seeks to undermine the provisions of the Constitution which is regarded as the supreme law of the land. This is because by the principle of federalism the powers exercisable by the legislature of each federating unit are clearly marked out in a manner devoid of any form of ambiguity. Therefore, the State legislatures, through their Houses of Assembly, possess the authority to enact relevant laws and designate officials to enforce such legislation as opposed to the Federal statute and Federal personnel. Thus, the suit by the Plaintiffs seeks to questions the constitutionality of the National Lottery Act, CAP N145, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, and the validity of its continued applicability and enforcement in the States.