1 Provision for the fully responsible status of Nigeria.U.K.

(1)On the first day of October, nineteen hundred and sixty (in this Act referred to as “the appointed day”), the Colony and the Protectorate as respectively defined by the Nigeria (Constitution) Orders in Council, 1954 to 1960, shall together constitute part of Her Majesty’s dominions under the name of Nigeria.

(2)No Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed on or after the appointed day shall extend, or be deemed to extend, to Nigeria or any part thereof as part of the law thereof, and as from that day—

(a)Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom shall have no responsibility for the government of Nigeria or any part thereof; and

(b)the provisions of the First Schedule to this Act shall have effect with respect to legislative powers in Nigeria.

(3)Without prejudice to subsection (2) of this section, nothing in subsection (1) thereof shall affect the operation in Nigeria or any part thereof on and after the appointed day of any enactment, or any other instrument having the effect of law, passed or made with respect thereto before that day.

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3 Consequential modification of other enactments.U.K.

(1). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F2

F3(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F4(3). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)As from the appointed day, the provisions specified in the Second Schedule to this Act shall have effect subject to the amendments respectively specified in that Schedule, . . . F5

4 Modification of Overseas Service Act, 1958.U.K.

(1)In relation to any person who at the date of the passing of this Act is serving in the naval forces of the Federation of Nigeria established by section three of the M1Nigeria (Constitution) Order in Council 1954, the M2Overseas Service Act 1958 (which authorises the Secretary of State to appoint officers to be available for civilian employment in the public service of an overseas territory in accordance with arrangements made by the Secretary of State with the government of that territory and to make provision as to superannuation in respect of officers so appointed) shall have effect as if service in those forces and service on or after the appointed day in the naval forces of Nigeria were civilian employment in the public service of that Federation or, as the case may be, of Nigeria.

(2)In relation to any person who, having served in the naval forces of the said Federation in accordance with arrangements made by the Secretary of State with the government of that Federation, has by reason of death or retirement ceased so to serve before the date of the passing of this Act, subsection (2) of section four of the said Act of 1958 (which authorises the Secretary of State to pay pensions to or in respect of persons who have served as officers to whom that Act applies) shall have effect as if that person were a person who has served as such an officer and as if those arrangements were such arrangements as are mentioned in subsection (1) of section one of that Act.

5 Short title and interpretation.U.K.

(1)This Act may be cited as the Nigeria Independence Act 1960.

(2)References in this Act to any enactment are references to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any other enactment.

SCHEDULES

Section 1.

FIRST SCHEDULEU.K. Legislative Powers in Nigeria

1U.K.The M3Colonial Laws Validity Act 1865 shall not apply to any law made on or after the appointed day by any legislature established for Nigeria or any part thereof.

2U.K.No law and no provision of any law made on or after the appointed day by any such legislature as aforesaid shall be void or inoperative on the ground that it is repugnant to the law of England, or to the provisions of any Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, including this Act, or to any order, rule or regulation made under any such Act, and, subject to paragraph 6 of this Schedule, the powers of any such legislature shall include the power to repeal or amend any such Act, order, rule or regulation in so far as it is part of the law of Nigeria or any part thereof and in so far as it relates to matters within the legislative powers of that legislature.

3U.K.Any such legislature as aforesaid shall have full power to make laws having extra-territorial operation, so far as those laws relate to matters within the legislative powers of that legislature.

F64U.K.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5U.K.Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions of this Schedule, section four of the M4Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act 1890 (which requires certain laws to be reserved for the signification of Her Majesty’s pleasure or to contain a suspending clause) and so much of section seven of that Act as requires the approval of Her Majesty in Council to any rules of court for regulating the practice and procedure of a Colonial Court of Admiralty shall cease to have effect in Nigeria.

6U.K.Nothing in this Act shall confer on any such legislature as aforesaid any power to repeal, amend or modify the constitutional provisions otherwise than in such manner as may be provided for in those provisions.

In this paragraph, the expression “the constitutional provisions” means this Act, any Order in Council made before the appointed day which revokes the Nigeria (Constitution) Orders in Council, 1954 to 1960, and any law, or instrument made under a law, of any such legislature as aforesaid made on or after that day which amends, modifies, re-enacts with or without amendment or modification, or makes different provision in lieu of, any of the provisions of this Act, that Order in Council or any such law or instrument previously made.

Section 3.

SECOND SCHEDULEU.K. Amendments not affecting Law of Nigeria

Diplomatic immunitiesU.K.

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2U.K.In subsection (6) of section one of the M5Diplomatic Immunities (Commonwealth Countries and Republic of Ireland) Act, 1952, immediately before the word “and” in the last place where it occurs there shall be inserted the word “Nigeria”.

FinancialU.K.

3U.K.In section two of the M6Import Duties Act, 1958, in subsection (4), after the words “New Zealand” there shall be inserted the word “Nigeria”.

4U.K.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F8

Visiting forcesU.K.

5U.K.In the M7Visiting Forces (British Commonwealth) Act 1933 section four (which deals with attachment and mutual powers of command) and the definition of “visiting force” for the purposes of that Act which is contained in section eight thereof shall apply in relation to forces raised in Nigeria as they apply in relation to forces raised in Dominions within the meaning of the M8Statute of Westminster 1931.

6U.K.In the M9Visiting Forces Act 1952—

(a)in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section one (which specifies the countries to which that Act applies) the word “or” in the first place where it occurs shall be omitted, and at the end there shall be added the words “Nigeria or”;

(b)in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section ten the expression “colony” shall not include Nigeria or any part thereof;

and, until express provision with respect to Nigeria is made by an Order in Council under section eight of that Act (which relates to the application to visiting forces of law relating to homes forces), any such Order for the time being in force shall be deemed to apply to visiting forces of Nigeria.

Ships and aircraftU.K.

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11U.K.In the M10Whaling Industry (Regulation) Act 1934, the expression “British ship to which this Act applies” shall not include a British ship registered in Nigeria.

CopyrightU.K.

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Commonwealth InstituteU.K.

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