Foremost human rights lawyer, Femi Falana SAN has called on the House of Representatives to discontinue consideration of the Infectious Disease Control Bill currently before it.
He made the call while appearing on Channels Television programme, Politics Today on Wednesday.
Falana described the bill as “superfluous”, ” illegal” and “unconstitutional”.
According to the senior lawyer, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Act 2018 had addressed the issues which the sponsors of the bill touted as necessitating it.
He added that the House’s efforts to replace the Quarantine Act 1926 with the new bill was therefore a waste of time.
The bill is being sponsored by Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila and two colleagues.
Falana said, “It is pertinent to inform Nigerians that in November 2018, a law was enacted in this country – the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control Act, NCDC Act, which has taken care of infectious diseases in the country.
“So, it is not correct, in fact, it is misleading on the part of the House of Representatives to say that it is amending the 1926 Quarantine Act because there is already a development between 1926 and now. You had the 2018 Act which has taken care of the entire provisions of the new bill.
“The new bill, as far as the law is concerned, is superfluous. Its provisions are largely illegal and unconstitutional.”
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