How judiciary is preventing election violence, deepening democracy in Nigeria

The trajectory of election litigation in Nigeria shows that despite widespread disaffection with the performance of courts in the discharge of their duty as the last arbiter of election disputes, it has impacted positively on the democracy.

A senior lecturer at Baze University, Dr. Sam Amadi, who made this submission at a roundtable organized by the Centre for Peace and Development (CEPAD) of Veritas University in collaboration with Rosa Luxemburg at the weekend, added that courts are making positive contributions such as mitigation of election violence, increasing confidence of political actors in the democratic process, aiding the development of electoral laws, among other positive developments.

Speaking on “when the court casts the final vote: examining the implications of election litigations in Nigeria’s emerging democracy – 2019 in focus,” Amadi said the judiciary needs to improve to live up to its billings.