The Infallibility of Supreme Court Verdicts and Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria

Lecturer Department Of Political Science Chukwuemeke Ojukwu University Igbariam Campus ,Maduekwe, Vincent Chuks

doi:10.47191/ijsshr/v4-i8-27

Lecturer Department Of Political Science Chukwuemeke Ojukwu University Igbariam Campus , Maduekwe, Vincent Chuks

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.47191/ijsshr/v4-i8-27

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Abstract

The Supreme Court is final not because it is infallible; but it is infallible because it is final” – this status quo of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and its application in various electoral cases, especially in the just concluded 2019 general elections in Nigeria has aroused mixed feelings and raised questions on the credibility of the Nigerian Judiciary and its capability of enshrining sustainable democracy in Nigeria. Meanwhile, according to the report of the Kayode Eso Panel on Reform of the Judiciary, the mindset of an average Nigerian is that “the Nigerian Judiciary hardly redeems itself from the unfortunate image it acquired during the military interregnum when it was described as a judiciary in patent chaos, riddled with corrupt Judges and in need of urgent and radical reform”. This study which sought to explore the infallibility of the Supreme Court and sustainable democracy in Nigeria; the effect of the infallibility of the Supreme Court verdicts on sustainable democracy in Nigeria; and the effects of bribery and corruption of the Supreme Court Justices on sustainable democracy in Nigeria, is an exploratory research which employed qualitative method of research and adopted the Transitional Jurisprudence Model as propounded by Ruti Teitel (2015) to analyze these. The study found that the bribery and corruption of the Supreme Court Justices has significant effect on sustainable democracy in Nigeria; and that the infallibility of the Supreme Court verdicts have significant effect on sustainable democracy in Nigeria. The study recommends among others that there is need for the independence and accountability of the Judiciary with the other arms of the government in Nigeria.

Highlights

Over the years, in every election held in Nigeria as a nation, Nigerians from all walks of life troop out in millions to make it a memorable event; more especially, whenever there is impending change to democratic rule
The clearest evidence of this fact is the increasing number of judicial decisions that have upturned the results of several rigged elections, mainly in favor of opposition parties or individuals opposed to the federal government
The transformation of the Nigerian judiciary has been underlined by some other judicial pronouncements which restored state governors wrongfully removed from office in the course of disagreement with the federal government or political godfathers

Summary

Introduction

In every election held in Nigeria as a nation, Nigerians from all walks of life troop out in millions to make it a memorable event; more especially, whenever there is impending change to democratic rule. As soon as the results of these elections were announced, the political aspirants who lost the race, usually rush to castigate the process of the elections, while manipulating their political thugs and supporters to unleash violence and mayhem on their perceived opponents When such tactics failed, they issued open invitations to the military to seize power and disband all democratic structures, as a way of punishing their rivals. While some still practice violence and political thuggery many others prefer to use judicial channels to resolve their conflicts These politicians are learning to accept the decisions of the courts as final, whether or not they are in their favor. It has other notable functions which include swearing-in of the President and other important

Objectives

Findings

Conclusion