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How to read legal citations in Nigeria

Nigeria inherited English common law, now mixed with Islamic law in the north and customary law across the country. Cases are cited to the main law reports, usually the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports (NWLR), with a part number.

Updated October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.

Style guide: Nigerian court practice; the Nigerian Weekly Law Reports (NWLR). Nigeria has no single mandatory style guide. Courts and lawyers follow the form of the main law reports, and the Nigerian Bar Association publishes practice directions.

Real citations, decoded

Click or hover over any underlined piece to see what it means.

A Supreme Court case Case

  1. Case name Military Governor of Lagos State v Ojukwu
    The parties. The case is about whether the state may use self-help while a court case is going on.
  2. Year (1986)
    The year of the report.
  3. Volume 1
    The first volume of the year.
  4. Report series NWLR
    Nigerian Weekly Law Reports, the main report series.
  5. Part (Pt 18)
    The NWLR is also numbered in 'parts' that run through the whole series, so a case needs the part number too.
  6. First page 621
    The page where the report begins.

Always check the part number against the report. Reports in this series are often cited with small differences.

Full citation: Military Governor of Lagos State v Ojukwu (1986) 1 NWLR (Pt 18) 621

The Constitution Constitution

,

  1. Instrument Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999
    Nigeria's current constitution. It is often cited with the year.
  2. Section s 36(1)
    's' means section. Section 36(1) is the right to a fair hearing: any dispute about a person's civil rights must be decided by a court or tribunal that is fair and impartial.
Full citation: Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, s 36(1)

A statute in the revised laws Statute

, ,

  1. Title Criminal Code Act
    A federal statute, applicable in the southern states.
  2. Chapter Cap C38
    The statute's chapter in the revised edition of the laws. 'Cap' means chapter, and C38 is its place in the alphabetical list.
  3. Edition Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004
    The revised edition of the federal laws. Cite the edition so a reader knows which version of the text is meant.
Full citation: Criminal Code Act, Cap C38, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004

Things to remember

  • Other common Nigerian reports are the Supreme Court Monthly (SCM), All Nigeria Law Reports (ANLR) and the Federation Weekly Law Reports (FWLR).
  • Nigeria is a federation: federal laws are in the Laws of the Federation, and each of the 36 states has its own laws and courts.
  • The Supreme Court is the final court. The Court of Appeal comes next, and the Federal High Court and the state High Courts below it.
  • Decisions of the Supreme Court are binding on all other courts in Nigeria.

Where to find the text, free

To understand how courts and law fit together in Nigeria, read the Nigeria profile in the Legal Families Atlas.

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TheLawToKnow Tools’s citation guide is an educational overview of standard conventions. Courts and journals sometimes vary, so check the style guide before submitting or publishing. It is not legal advice. Report a mistake.