JUDICIAL INDISCIPLINE: THE BANE OF DEMOCRATIC INSTABILITY IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The judicial branch of government has the solemn duty to protect citizens' rights and liberties, acting as a bulwark against any form of injustice or violation of the rule of law. It is for this reason that judges are enjoined to be disciplined in and out of the court. They should make decisions objectively, without letting personal feelings or prejudices influence them. Unfortunately, Nigeria’s democracy and indeed her democratic institutions have been weakened and are currently at the verge of collapse and most scholars blame judges for failing in their constitutional mandate to safeguard the Constitution and other laws. The Nigeria’s judiciary has for long time been perceived to be open to political bias and undue influence, bribery and open for executive manipulation. This article is aimed at evaluating the nexus between judicial indiscipline and democratic instability in Nigeria and to recommend ways of remedying it. The doctrinal method of legal research was employed and materials were collected from primary, secondary and internet sources. We found that the manifest indiscipline of the present day Nigeria’s judiciary as epitomized in some of the illustrated cases is directly and indirectly responsible for the weakness of our institutions and democratic instability in Nigeria. We recommend inter alia that a body to be known as ‘the Bar and Bench Joint Judicial Integrity Committee’ be set in each state of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to act as a watch dog on the integrity of lawyers and judges and to, often make confidential recommendations either to the National Judicial Council or to the Nigerian Bar Association whenever necessary. By this, the integrity of individual judges on the one hand and that of the judicial system on the other hand would be strengthened.