The Scope and Application of Doctrine of Necessity in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria became an independent sovereign nation on the 1st of October, 1960 and baptized with republican status in 1963. The Constitution has been its supreme law except in few circumstances when it was suspended as a result of military putsches. Nonetheless, the constitution remains the compass that directs the ship of the country. In other words, actions of government are dictated by the supreme law commonly reiterated in the philosophy of Hans Kelsen as the grundnorm. What this presupposes is that actions of government taken outside the purview of the constitution are illegal. The Nigerian courts have declared such actions illegal and so it is because the country threads the path of constitutionalism that resonates with the concept of rule of law. However, in history, the successive leadership of the country has been faced with pressure of circumstance that require the adoption of certain measures or course of action which falls outside the law under the justification of necessity. The aim of this paper therefore, is to analyze the doctrine of necessity and its application. It will further examine the nature, concept, history and its application in Nigeria. It will also juxtapose the concept with rule of law and revolution. In the end, the paper concluded that the application of the doctrine should be guided by law to avoid being used for other purpose. The methodology used in this work is the doctrinal approach. The primary data used are employed through the use of doctrinal methodology. It is mainly the use of manual/ virtual library oriented literatures. Recourse is also heard to the consideration of various types of domestic legislations in the light of constitution as well as judicial authorities. The recommendation of this work is premised on the suggestion that the application of the doctrine should be guided by the position of the law and the courts are also urged to interpret the law with the intention to assuage the purport of applications of the doctrine by the people.