KEBBI STATE LEGAL SYSTEM AND PROFILE

Kebbi State, with capital at Birnin-Kebbi, was created on 27 August, 1991 under the military dictatorship of General Ibrahim Babangida (rtd.) out of the old Sokoto State. The State derived its name from the 14^th century “Kebbi Kingdom” which was then a province of the former Songhai Empire.

Kebbi State is located in the north western part of Nigeria between latitude 10^o8^’N and 13^o15^’N and longitude 3^o30^’E and 6^o02^’E. Its area of 36,800km²  is bounded by Sokoto State to the north east, Zamfara State on the eastern part, Niger State to the south and an international boundary with Benin Republic to the west.

The population of Kebbi State according to the National Population Commission is 3,256,541- Male: 1,631,629; Female: 1,624,912. The State is endowed with very fertile soil which is why agriculture remains the backbone of the State’s economy and a major employer of labour.

Currently, the State owes its legal existence to the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As a State, it is constitutionally mandated to establish:

1. an Executive arm of government headed by an elected Governor;
2. a legislative arm of government which members shall be drawn from constituencies defined in the Constitution. Its activities are presided over by a Speaker elected by the members of the State House of Assembly which oversees the exercise of the State’s legislative energies;

3. a judicial arm made up of judges, magistrates and other officers that help in the administration of justice and related activities within the State. The judicial arm is headed by the State’s Chief Justice. Nonetheless, judicial pronouncement of the State’s tribunals are subject to the appellate review of the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in that order;
4. maintain the Local Government level of governance. Presently, the Nigerian Constitution prescribes21 local Local Government Areas for the State; and
5. mobilize the powers of the State, the institutions and resources of  its arms and levels of government in order to secure a socio-economic environment for persons resident in the State and its other stakeholders to pursue legitimate goals in dignity under the State’s justice administration umbrella.

The Kebbi State legal system comprises;

1. The compendium of Constitutional provisions applicable to the State as one of the 36 States that constitute the Nigerian Federation;
2. Laws made by the Federal Legislature applicable throughout the entire federation or specifically to Kebbi State;
3. Laws made (or deemed to have been made), by the State’s legislature;
4. Laws made by Local Government Councils in the State;
5. Customary laws or other customs of the economic space applicable under the operations of the Laws;
6. Judicial precedents of the courts of the State  and of appellate courts with jurisdictions over its tribunals  like the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Nigeria;
7. Judicial precedents of federation tribunals like the Federal High Court, the National Industrial Court, Code of Conduct Tribunal, Investments and Securities Tribunal and so on to the extent to which their mandates allow; and
8. Law enforcement institutions, law enforcement officers, judges, legal practitioners, judiciary workers, other professionals and persons recognized at various levels as part of the justice administration complex of the State

Sources of Kebbi State Legal System include:

1. The Constitution of Nigeria (including its amendments and other laws it refers to expressly as having the same character as provisions contained within the formal Constitutional document;
2. Laws of the Federation of Nigeria;
3. Legislations of the National Assembly applicable to Kebbi State;
4. Legislations of the State House of Assembly;
5. Recognized customs of the people of Kebbi State;
6. Judicial precedents of courts with judicial authority over Kebbi State;
7. Local Government edicts.

KEBBI STATE BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS

LEGAL SYSTEMS OF THE FEDERATING UNITS OF NIGERIA – 37 STATES/FCT