Common mistakes Nigerian Lawyers make:

Common Legal Mistakes in Nigeria No. 1: Inclusion of “As Amended” in Citation of or Reference to any Amended Legislation

It is unnecessary, and also professionally wrong, to add “as amended” to the citation of any legislation that has been amended. An amendment becomes an integral part of the legislation and does not deserve inclusion in the citation or reference. After all, every legislation is expected to be amended from time to time to make it reflect changes in the society.

For example, many Nigerian lawyers and students are citing the current Nigerian Constitution as “Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended)”.

We hear this strange citation in Nigerian courts everyday, in Nigerian legal articles, speeches, books, etc. Who introduced this unorthodox, curious citation that has now become a practice in Nigeria?

The United States Constitution that was enacted more than 200 years ago, which has been amended not less than 27 times, is simply cited as the Constitution of the United States of America. That is the correct universal legal position.