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2007 Assessment

Nigeria: Integrity Indicators Scorecard

Nigeria: Integrity Scorecard Report > Sub-Category: Rule of Law
Indicators		Score
74	Is there an appeals mechanism for challenging criminal judgments?	58
75	In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?	75
76	In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?	50
77	Is the judiciary able to act independently?	69
78	Are judges safe when adjudicating corruption cases?	100
79	Do citizens have equal access to the justice system?	50

Indicator and sub-Indicator Details

Is there an appeals mechanism for challenging criminal judgments?

74a: In law, there is a general right of appeal.

Score:

YES

Comments: The whole hierarchy of courts gives a right of appeals for both civil and criminal cases. The Supreme Court is the apex court.

References: 1. Chapter VII, 1999 Federal Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria

74b: In practice, appeals are resolved within a reasonable time period.

Score:

100

Comments: The process of litigation in Nigeria really takes time. The process can take years, if the parties are persistent in the case.

74c: In practice, citizens can use the appeals mechanism at a reasonable cost.

Score:

100

Comments: The cost of living in the country is generally high, and this includes the costs of legal representation as well.

References: 1. Chibuzor Ekwekwuo, executive director Public and Private Rights Watch, Pact Nigeria's Office, Aug. 28, 2007; 2. J.A Kalu, principal partner, J.A Kalu and Associates, Pact Nigeria's Office, Aug. 28, 2007 3. U.S Department of State, " Nigeria Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2006" Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor March 6, 2007 [ LINK ]

Peer Review Comments: The appeal mechanism is expensive for citizens, especially because some cases drag on for years.

In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?

75: In practice, do judgments in the criminal system follow written law?

Score:

100

Comments: The judgments mostly follow strictly the written laws. There may be a few isolated cases of non-compliance. The challenge is really in the interpretation of the law in cases of ambiguity.

In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?

76: In practice, are judicial decisions enforced by the state?

Score:

100

Comments: Judicial decisions are mostly enforced, although in some cases the state has been weak in enforcing decisions that affect the government negatively. The case for the release of Lagos state funds comes to mind, as an act of lawlessness.

Peer Review Comments: The govenment under the former civilian regime was lawless when it came to obeying court orders. But to a large extent, the incumbent civilian administration at the federal level has been complying with court orders

Is the judiciary able to act independently?

77a: In law, the independence of the judiciary is guaranteed.

Score:

YES

Comments: The judiciary normally gets guaranteed tenure and their funding comes from the consolidated funds without interference from the executive once they are approved by the legislature.

References: Chapter V11, 1999 Federal Constitution

77b: In practice, national-level judges are protected from political interference.

Score:

100

Comments: National level judges, especially the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal judges are mostly independent. They can be influenced by the government and public criticism sometimes and give political judgments. The Supreme Court's judgment on whether the vice president can down the road change political parties and still retain office has been argued by many jurists as being a political judgment.

Peer Review Comments: The example given is speculative not conclusive of the fact that they were influenced. The fact that some people felt that the Court was influenced does not mean that they were infact influenced or, even that they may be influenced. Most Nigerians still have a lot of faith and belief in the impartiality of the Supreme Court and there is no proven case to doubt the impartiality of the Court.

77c: In law, there is a transparent and objective system for distributing cases to national-level judges.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: There is no specific law. The practice is that the head of each court allocates cases to various judges.

77d: In law, national-level judges are protected from removal without relevant justification.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: 1. Section 292, 1999 Federal Constitution

Are judges safe when adjudicating corruption cases?

78a: In practice, in the last year, no judges have been physically harmed because of adjudicating corruption cases.

Score:

YES

Comments: There have been no known cases.

78b: In practice, in the last year, no judges have been killed because of adjudicating corruption cases.

Score:

YES

$Scoring Criteria :: YES: A YES score is earned if there were no documented cases of judges being killed related to their involvement in a corruption case during the study period. YES is a positive score. NO: A NO score is earned if there were any documented cases where a judge was killed because of his/her participation in a corruption trial. The relationship between a mysterious death and a judge\'s involvement in a case may not be clear, however the burden of proof here is low. If it is a reasonable assumption that a judge was killed in relation to his or her work on corruption issues, then the indicator is scored as a NO. Corruption is defined broadly to include any abuses of power, not just the passing of bribes.$

Comments: There have not been any known cases.

Peer Review Comments: But the judge of a high court in Ado-Ekiti, the capital city of Ekiti state, was threatened over a political issue when it became clear that he could not be compromised or bribed.

Do citizens have equal access to the justice system?

79a: In practice, judicial decisions are not affected by racial or ethnic bias.

Score:

100

Comments: This generally does not happen. When it happens, it depends on the personal bias of the judge in question.

79b: In practice, women have full access to the judicial system.

Score:

100

Comments: There were no legal provisions barring women from accessing the courts and from testifying in civil or criminal proceedings, but the testimonies of women and non-Muslims are usually given less weight in Sharia courts. Aside from the Sharia courts which operate in some states, women mostly do not face discrimination in the courts.

79c: In law, the state provides legal counsel for defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford it.

Score:

YES

Comments:

References: Section 46, 1999 Federal Constitution

Peer Review Comments: Such legal counsel is provided through the Legal Aid Council.

79d: In practice, the state provides adequate legal counsel for defendants in criminal cases who cannot afford it.

Score:

100

Comments: These state defenders are from the Legal Aid Council and are under-funded and under-staffed. As a result, many accused persons remain awaiting trail due to lack of representations.

Peer Review Comments: The poor are hardly defended as legal aid is hardly offered. As a matter of fact, lawyers rarely take up government employment due to poor renumeration and bad condition of service.

Peer Review Comments: The Legal Aid Council has been repositioned for such purpose

79e: In practice, citizens earning the median yearly income can afford to bring a legal suit.

Score:

100

Comments: Some middle-income citizens can afford lawsuits, although this is not a very popular option because of the usual length of a trial.

79f: In practice, a typical small retail business can afford to bring a legal suit.

Score:

100

Comments: The cost of the initial lawsuit is not very exorbitant, but the process tends to stretch out and the final accumulative cost tends to be high. This discourages small businesses to file lawsuits and follow through to the end.

79g: In practice, all citizens have access to a court of law, regardless of geographic location.

Score:

100

Comments: Courts are available to most people, but in some remote areas it involves traveling to the court room. The federal courts are mostly in the Federal Capital Territory (F.C.T) and major cities of the country and this involves significant costs in traveling expenses.