The judiciary and adjudication of electoral disputes in Nigeria, 1999–2011

Abstract

Globally, the judicial resolution of electoral disputes has become a fundamental feature of any electoral democracy, not only for emerging democracies, such as Nigeria, but also for those countries whose democracy could be seen as both advanced and mature. Thus this work interrogates the extent to which various legal regimes and adjudicatory role of the judiciary had impacted on electoral disputes in Nigeria. The paper adopts a historical approach, with the constructive analysis of primary and secondary sources. The study draws inferences from some selected landmark presidential and gubernatorial election petition cases, arising from the 1999 to 2011 cycles of general elections in Nigeria. The paper concludes that the gradual improvements recorded in Nigeria’s electoral process, could not be insulated from judicial activism. This had impacted positively on the institution of pre-(election) lawsuits and post-election petition cases, and had helped to prolong the life of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic, in particular and the polity, at large.