SOURCE:

Faculty: Law
Department: Law

CONTRIBUTORS:

Iguh, N. A.
Nwogu, K.
Arinze- Umobi, C.

ABSTRACT:

Nigeria has given itself a liberal constitution which aims at establishing a free and democratic society. This Constitution aims at the prosperity and stability of the society. Its makers believe that such a society could be created through the guarantee of the fundamental rights and an independent judiciary to guard and enforce these rights. An independent judiciary is necessary for a free society and a constitutional Democracy. It ensures the rule of law, realization of human rights and the prosperity and stability of a society. The Constitution or the foundational laws on the judiciary are, however, only the starting point in the process of securing judicial independence. Ultimately the independence of the judiciary depends on the totality of a favourable environment created and backed by all state organs and the public opinion. This research therefore sets out to assess the roles performed by the judiciary in the fourth republic Nigeria through judicial activism rather than passivism emphasis on election matters. The approach to be adopted in this work will be critical; analytical, comparative and expository. To achieve this, reliance would be placed on information gathered from statutes, law reports, textbooks, journal and internet-based resources. Based on the findings, the researcher concluded that the judiciary performed better in the present republic than in the other republics. The researcher proffered some recommendations aimed at strengthening the roles of the judiciary one of which is independence of the judiciary.