CONCEPTANDDOCTRI

NEOFSEPARATI
ONOFPOWERS

Thedoct r
ineopinesthatthethr
eemaindepar
tmentofgov
ernment
,notonl
ybeseparat
edinto
thr
eedistinctf
uncti
onal depar
tment
s,butmustal
sobeeachmanagedbydif
fer
entanddist
inct
personnel
.

JohnLockepropoundedtheprinci
pleofsepar
ationofpower sinthethenBrit
ishempir
ebefore
BarondeMont esqui
euexpandeditinhisbookthespiritlaw.Hear guedthatt
heconcentr
ati
on
ofpower si
nasingleaut
hori
tycouldleadtoaut
ocr acy
.I tshouldhowev erbenotedt
hat
separat
ionofpowerscannotbeabsoluteinapolit
icalsociety.

SEPARATI
ONOFPOWERSI
NNI
GERI
A

Dur
ingt hefi
rstrepubli
ctherewasaparti
alseparat
ionofpowers.Theexecuti
veandl egislature
werefusedwhi lethejudi
ciar
ywasindependent.
Whent hemil
i
tarycamei ntopowerin1966, l
aw
makingandexecut i
vepowerswerefusedinthesuprememili
tarycounci
l whil
ethejudiciarywas
di
sti
nctf r
om theot herar
msofgov er
nment.Itcanalsobesai
di nthi
scaset hatther
ewasal so
par
ti
al separ
ationofpower s.

Withtheadv entofthepr esi

denti
alsystem ofgovernmentin1979,anewer aofsepar
ati
onof
powerswasusher edi n.I
nthisconsti
tuti
on,unl
iketheprevi
ousones, t
hesepar
ati
onofpowers
amongt hethreeor ganswascl ear-
cut.ThiswascontainedinS.4;5and6oftheconsti
tut
ion
whichisidentical
tot hepresent1999const i
tut
ion.S.
147(4)ofthe1999consti
tuti
onimpl
ies
thatapersoncannotbeamemberofbot htheexecuti
veandlegisl
atur
eatthesametime.

Separ ationofpower sisnotabsol uteint heNiger i

ansituat i
on.Therearebuil
tinmechani smst o
curbt heexcessesofapar ti
culararm ofgov er
nmentt hismechani sm i
sknowascheckand
balanceI .
etheco- mi ngli
ng, i
nter-minglingandMeddl i
ng.Forexampl e,theexecutiveisinvolved
i
nt heappoi ntmentandr emov al ofjudgesascont ainedinSS. 292&231.Al sopur suantto
S.58( 3)CFRN1999, befor eabi llcanbepassedi ntolaw, i
thast obeassentedt obyt he
president .
lnthecaseofI nakojuv sAdel eke,t
hejudi ci
arycheckedt heactivi
ti
esoft helegislatur
e.
Inthatcase, asplintergroupoft heOy ost atehouseofassembl ypurport
edlyimpeachedt he
gov ernor.Howev er,
t hepr ovisi
onsofS. 188oft heconst i
tutionwerenotadequat elyfol
lowed.
Thus, t
hej udi
ciarydecl aredt hi
sactoft helegi
slaturenullandv oid.
ThechiefjusticeofUS
supr emecour tjusti
cemar shalldeclarei nmarbur yvMadi sonanactoft helegi
slaturethatis
repugnantt otheconst i
tutionwi llbev oid.

Thelegi
slat
ureontheotherhandpur suanttoS.147CFRN1999per for
msexecut
ivefunctionsby
confi
rmingappoi
nteesofmi ni
ster
ialposit
ions.I
tisalsothecustodi
anoft
herevenueoft he
feder
ati
onaccordi
ngtoS. 80andS. 81CFRN1999.Thej udi
ciar
y,thr
ought
hepowerofj udici
al
revi
ewcheckstheacti
vit
iesoftheot herar
msofgov ernment.
 SUPREMACYOFTHECONSTI
TUTI
ON

Supremacycanbedef i
nedas“ Thepositi
onofhavingthesuperi
ororgreat
estpoweror
author
it
y”.Theconsti
tuti
oncanal sobedefinedas“Thefundamentalandorgani
clawofa
nati
onorstate.
From t
hef oregoi
ng,itcanbeseenthatconsti
tut
ionalsupr
emacyistheposi
ti
on
oftheconsti
tut
ionhavingthesuperiororgreat
estpowerorauthori
ty.

Thefi
rstsect
ionofthe1999consti
tut
iont
hatdealswiththesupr
emacyoft heconst
it
uti
onis
S.
1(1).I
tprov
idesthus:
“Thi
sconsti
tuti
oni
ssupr emeandi t
sprovi
sionsshal
lhavebi
ndingf
orce
onall
authori
ti
esandpersonsthr
oughouttheFederal
republi
cofNigeri
a”.

Thissect i
onmeanst hattheprovi
sionsoft heconsti
tut
ionarebindi
ngonal lper
sonsnomat t
er
howhi ghorl ow.Eventhenumberoneci ti
zenofthecountr
y,thePresi
dent,i
sboundbyt he
constit
ut i
on.InAGLagosv sAGFeder at
ion,i
twasdeclaredthattheact
ionsofthepresidenti
n
withholdingthefeder
alall
ocati
ontoLagosst at
ewasi ncontr
asttoS.162(5)oftheconsti
tuti
on,
theref
or etheywereunconsti
tuti
onal,nul
l andvoid.

From t
hef oregoingcase,
itcanbeseent hatactswhichcontr
avenetheprov
isi
onsoft
he
const
it
utionwi l
lbedeclarednull
andvoid(S.1(
3))becausetheconsti
tut
ioni
ssupr
emeandshal
l
havebindingforceonallpersonsandauthorit
iest
hroughoutNiger
ia.

Anot
herprov
isi
onoft
heconst
it
uti
ont
hatbor
der
sonSupr
emacyoft
heconst
it
uti
oni
sS.
1(3)
.It
pr
ovi
desthus:

Ifanylawisinconsi
stentwi
tht
heprov
isi
onsofthi
sconstit
uti
on,
thi
sconst
it
uti
on shal
lpr
evai
l
,
andt hatot
herlawshalltot
heext
entoft
heinconsi
stencybevoi
d.”

Thisprovi
sionissel
fexpl
anator
y,i
tmeansthatanylawthatconfl
i
ctswiththeprovi
sionofthe
consti
tut
ionshallbei
nappl
icabl
etotheext
entofit
sinconsi
stency.Thi
sisalsoknownast he
bl
uepenci l
rule.

ThecourtofAppeal ,i
nt hecaseofInspectorGeneralofPolicevsANPPandOr s,appli
edt hi
s
provi
si
onoft heconst i
tuti
on.Itdecl
aredtheprovisi
onsoft hePubl i
cOr derActwhichprovided
thatapermitisneededf rom t
hegov ernorbef
orepeopl ecanassembl einpubli
ccontrarytothe
provi
si
onoft hef undamentalhumanr ight
soff r
eedom ofexpr essionandassociationwhichis
contai
nedinSS. 39&40oft he1999const i
tut
ion.Therefor
e, t
hosepr ovisi
onsofthepubl i
corder
actweredeclaredunconst i
tut
ional,
nullandvoidtotheextentoft heiri
nconsist
encies.

Theimpl i
cati
onsofthesupremacyoft heNi gerianconsti
tutionist
hatthepeoplear
esov erei
gn.
S.14(
2)(a)CFRN1999( asamended)pr ovi
dest hatsovereigntybel
ongstothepeopl
efr om
whichgov er
nmentder i
vesi
tpowert hrought heconstit
ution.Itmeansthatever
ypoweri nthe
countr
ybei texecuti
ve,l
egi
slat
iveorjudici
alanswer stothepeopl ethr
oughtheprovi
sionsofthe
consti
tuti
onasl ai
ddownbyt hepeople.
HI
STORYOFNI
GERI
ANCONSTI
TUTI
ONALDEVELOPMENT

Theimpor tanceofaconstit
uti
oni nanygivensocietycannotbeov er
emphasi zed.The
consti
tuti
on, i
nNi geri
a’
ssi
tuat
ion,isthesupremel awofthelandwhi challactsofindi
vi
dual
s
andofpar l
iamentmustnotcont ravene.I
tisthefundament al
andor gani
cl awofanat i
onor
stat
et hatestabli
shesthei
nsti
tuti
onsandappar atusofgov er
nment ,def
inesthescopeof
government alsoverei
gnpowers,andguaranteesindiv
idualci
vil
right
sandci vill
iber
ti
es.

Iti
stri
tethatoneoft hesourcesofaconst i
t ut
ionisotherconstit
uti
ons.Thisi
sthemajor
concernofthi
spr esentwork.Theai m ofthiswor kistotracethehistor
yofNigeri
a’s
consti
tuti
onfrom the1922const it
uti
ont ot he1979const it
uti
on.Thiswill
helpustounderstand
bett
er,howpreviousconsti
tutionshavebeenf ashionedforNigeriaandwillgoagreatl
engthin
makingusunder standthesour ceofourpr esentconstit
utionfrom t
helookinggl
assof
consti
tuti
onalhi
story.

BACKGROUND:

Aftertheannexati
onofLagosbyt heBr i
ti
shi n1861, al egisl
ativeandexecut ivecounci lwas
constitut
edforit
.In1862, Lagosandot herBrit
isht err
itoriesintheGol dcoast ,Sier
raLeoneand
Gambi awer ebyacommi ssiondat ed19Febr uary1866, placedunderaGov ernorGener albased
i
nSi erraLeone.Howev er,t
heyeachhadsepar atelegislativecounci l
s.In1874, theGol dcoast
andLagoswer eformedi ntoasepar atecolonywi thagov ernorandl egisl
ativecounci lbasedi n
theGol dcoast.I
n1886, Lagosbecameasepar atepoliticalenti
tywi thitsownGov ernor,
executiveandlegisl
ati
vecouncils.In1906, thepr otectorateofSout hernNi geri
aandt hecol ony
ofLagoswer eamalgamat edandcal ledthecol onyandpr otectorateofSout her nNigeria.By
Arti
cle4oft heSouthernNi ger
iaPr otect
orateOr derinCounci l1906, theLegi slati
veCounci lof
Lagoswasempower edtomakel awsf orthepr otectorateofSout hernNi geriabyor dinance.

In1914, theColonyandPr otectorateofSout

hernNigeri
awasmer gedwiththePr
otectorat
eof
Nor t
hernNi ger
iaandt heywer ereferr
edtoastheColonyandprot
ectorat
eofNigeri
a.The
l
egislati
v ecouncilwasthisti
meal l
owedtomakel awforonl
ythecolony.Thegover
normade
l
awsf ortheprotector
ates.LordLugar dsai
dthereasonfort
hiswas“untilcommuni
cationsby
rail
wayar egreatlyext
ended,thepr oposi
ti
onisphysi
cal
lyimpossi
ble”
.Thiswasduetot helar
ge
sizeoft hecountry.
Inpl
aceofal egislat
ivecouncilf
orthecount
ry,
therewasestablishedanadv i
sorybodycal l
ed
theNigeri
ancounci l
.Ithad30member sofwhom 17wer eoffici
alsand13non- offi
cial
s.Ofthe
non-off
ici
als,
fourwer enominatedbythegovernort
orepresentcommer cial,
shippi
ng,mi ni
ng
andbankinginterest
s.whiletheLagosChamberofCommer ce,Calabarchamberofcommer ce
ofchamberofmi nesappointedonemembereach.Ther emainingmember swereNigerians
appoint
edbyt hegov ernor
.

THE1922CONSTI
TUTI
ON

Onassumi ngof fi
cein1919, Si
rHughCl i
fford,t
hegov er
nor ,
waspr essuredbyt hethenWest
Africancongr ess,ledbyCaseleyHay ford,toprovideconst it
utionsinWestAf r
icansubject
states.Thi sledt othemaki ngoftheCl if
fordconst i
tuti
onof1922.I tintr
oducedt hefi
rst
electoral system inNiger
ia.Thef i
rstelecti
onwasconduct edintothelegisl
ati
vecouncilwith
foursl ots:3forLagoswhi le1forCal abar.Howev er,theelectionwasbasedonl imit
edfranchise
whichr estri
ctedtheelect
iont othoset hatearnedami ni
mum of100poundsannual l
y,which
wasv eryexpensi veformostNi gerians.

Ital
soint
roducedal egislati
vecouncil
whichreplacedtheNigeri
ancouncil
.Itconsist
edof46
member swit
ht hegov ernorasthehead.Outoft he46, 23wereoff
ici
almember sand19wer e
unoff
ici
almember s.Ther emai
ningfourwereelectedasprevi
ouslyst
ated.Howev er,t
hecounci
l
coul
donlylegi
slatefort heSouth.Thegovernorlegisl
atedf
ortheNorthviaprocl
amat i
on.

Ther
ewasal soanexecut
ivecounci
l,however,i
thadnoNi geri
ans.Itconsi
stedofthegover
nor
,
chi
efsecr
etary
,li
eut
enantgovernor
s,anadmi ni
str
atorforLagos,attor
ney–general,
commandantoftheNigeri
anregiment,
dir
ectorofmedicalservi
ce,Compt r
oll
ergeneral
and
Secr
etar
yfornati
veaff
air
s.

Aft
erHughCl i
ff
ord,t
hereweretwoot hergovernors,
CameroonandBernardBoudil
l
ion.They
di
dn’tdomuchi nter
msofconst i
tuti
onaldevelopment.However
,Boudi
l
iondiv
idedNi geri
aint
o
East
, WestandNorthforadmi
nistrat
ivepurposes.Thiswasthebedr
ockforf
utureregional
ism.

THERI
CHARDSCONSTI
TUTI
ON

Bef
ore,
theendof1944,
thet
hengov
ernor
,Si
rAr
thurRi
char
dspr
ovi
dedanewpr
oposal
for
consti
tuti
onalamendment.Thiswasasar esul
tofpressurebei
ngmountedonhi m byt
he
educatedeli
tes.Theyf
eltt
hattheCli
ffordConsti
tut
iondidnotrepr
esentt
heindigenous
populati
on.Theref
ore,
thegovernori
ntroducedtheconstit
uti
onwhichhadthefoll
owingai
ms:

•Topr
omot
eNi
ger
ia’
suni
ty

•Topr
ovi
deadequat
elywi
thi
nthatdesi
ref
ort
hedi
ver
seel
ement
sthatmakeupt
hecount
ry

•Topr
ovi
degr
eat
erpar
ti
cipat
ionofAf
ri
cansi
nthedet
ermi
nat
ionoft
hei
rownaf
fai
rs.

Theconsti
tuti
onprov i
dedforanewlegisl
ati
vecounci
l,
ithad:Thegover
nor,
16off
icialmembers,
and28unof f
ici
almember s.Ofthe28,t
wower enominatedbythegover
norwhi
l
e4wer eel
ect
ed.
TheNorthhad11member s,
theWesthad8member swhil
etheEasthad6member s.The
el
ect
ed4wer efrom LagosandCalabar
.Also,t
heconsti
tuti
onmadethecounci
ll
egislat
efort
he
whol
ecount r
y .

Theconstit
utionalsoprovi
dedforregionalhousesofassembly.Themember soft heregi
onal
assemblywer enomi nat
edbythenativeauthori
ty.However,t
heyweren’
tlegi
slati
vebodies.They
werejustgroundsf ordi
scussi
ngnationali
ssues.Also,i
twasf r
om t
hehouseofassembl ythat
member swer enomi nat
edtothelegi
slati
vecouncil.TheEastandWesthaduni cameral
l
egisl
aturewhi l
etheNorth,i
nadditi
ont oahouseofassembl y,hadahouseofchi efs.

Also,
theconstit
uti
onreducedtheamountofthel
imitedf
ranchi
sefr
om 100poundsto50
pounds.Thisisconsi
deredasaplusbecausemorepeopl
ecouldvoteandbevotedf
or.
Howev er
,itwassti
llt
ooexpensiv
eformostNiger
ians.

Theex ecut
ivecounci
li
nLagosal
sohadf
ort
hef
ir
stt
ime,
Niger
ians.t
heywer
eSi
rAdey
emo
Alaki
j
aandBankol eRhodes.

Despit
ealltheseimpr ovementscompar edtotheClif
fordconstit
uti
on,theconstituti
onst i
llhad
somedef ects.Fi
rst
,itli
mitedfranchisetoonlyLagosandCal abar.Also,themoneyr equir
edf or
theri
ghttov otewasst i
llt
ooexpensi veformostNi geri
ans.Also,
theregionalhousesof
assembli
escoul dnotmakel aws, theywer emerelygroundsforpublicdiscussi
on.The
consti
tut
ionalsodidnoti ncl
udet heelit
es.Thi
si sbecausethosenomi natedintot heregional
housesofassembl yandt helegislat
ivecouncilwerenominatedbyt henat i
veauthority.

MACPHERSONCONSTI
TUTI
ON
Duetotheabovecr i
ti
cism oftheRichardconstitution,i
twasf el
tthatanewconst i
tuti
onwas
needed.Thegovernor,
SirJohnMacpher son,notwant i
ngt omaket hemi stakehi
spredecessor
made,decidedt
oincludeNi geri
anintheconst i
tutionalmaki ngprocess.Ther ewaswi de
consul
tati
onofNigeri
ansev entothev il
l
agel evels.Also,therewast heIbadanconferenceof
1950.Theresul
tofallthesewast hatitl
edt othecr eationoftheMacpher sonconsti
tuti
on.

Theconsti
tut
ionprovi
dedforafederall
egi
slat
urecal
l
edt
hehouseofrepr
esentati
ves.I
thad
136el
ectedrepresent
ati
ves,
6ex-offi
ciomembersand6nomi
natedbythegovernor.68
memberswer efrom t
heNorth,
34f r
om theWestand34fr
om t
heEast.

I
tal
sopr ovi
dedf
orregi
onallegi
slaturesthatcouldmakel awsf
ort
heirr
egions.Thelegislatures
i
ntheWestandNor t
hwer ebi-
camer al,eachhavingahouseofchi
efsalongsidetheregional
l
egi
slat
ure.I
ntheEast,
itwasauni camer allegi
slat
ure.I
twasal
sofrom theregi
onallegislatures
t
hatmember swerenominatedtothel egisl
ati
vecouncil
.

LYTTLETONCONSTI
TUTI
ON

Despite,t
heimprovementsintheMacphersonconst i
tuti
on,i
tcouldnotkeepNi geriansunit
ed.I
t
coll
apsedsoonduet oproblemsf r
om thel
egi sl
ature.In1953,Ant
honyEnahorooft heA.G
proposedont hefl
oorofthehouset hatNi
geriashoul dbegivenindependencein1956.The
Northerner
s,whofeltt
heywer enotreadyforindependence,opposedt hi
s.Theypr oposedthat
i
ndependenceshoul dbegiven‘assoonaspr acti
cable’.Thi
sledtobeenbooedi nLagos.This
l
edt oar i
otinKanoinreact
iontowhathappenedi nLagos.Also,theNorththreatenedtosecede.

Inor
dertocal
mthingsdown,
thet hencol
onialsecr
etar
y, Ol
i
v erLy
ttl
etoncall
edtheleader
sfora
conf
erencei
nLondon.Someissueswerediscussedduringtheconferenceandcommi tt
ees
weresetup.
Thei
rrepor
tswer
et obeconsideredintheLagosconferenceof1954.Itwasthe
conf
erencet
hatl
edt ot
heLyt
tlet
onconsti
tution.

Theconsti
tut
ionalconf
erencesof1953and1954heldi nLondonandLagosr espect
ivel
ygav
e
bi
rthtot
heLy tt
let
onconstit
uti
on.Theconsti
tut
ionf
ullyint
roducedafeder
alsystem,
wi t
hNort
h,
East,
WestandSout her
nCamer oons.Whil
etheFederalcapit
alter
ri
tor
ywasinLagos.

Judi
ci
all
y,t
heWestAf
ri
cancour
tofappeal
wasabol
i
shed.Ther
ewasasupr
emecour
tfor
Ni
ger i
aandindivi
dualhi
ghcour t
sfortheregions.However
,thehighestcourtofappealwasthe
j
udici
al committ
eeoftheprivycouncil
.TheEasternandWest er
nregionsbecamesel f-
gover
ning
i
n1957whi l
etheNorthbecamesel f
-gover
ningin1959.SouthernCamer oonthrougha
r
eferendum optedoutofNigeri
a.

THEI
NDEPENDENCECONSTI
TUTI
ON

On1stOct ober1960,Niger
iabecamei ndependent.ThismeantthatNiger
iawasasov er
eign
st
ateindependentofcoloniali
nfl
uences.Howev er,t
hiswasnotfull
ythecase.TheQueenwas
st
il
ltheheadofst at
e,al
thoughshewasr epr
esentedbyaNi ger
ianinthepersonofDrNnamdi
Azi
kiwewhowast heGov ernor
-Generalwhil
eTaf awaBalewawast hePrimemi ni
ster
.

Theconst i
tut
ionwasl ikethe1954const i
tuti
onbutwithsomechanges.Ther ewast heincl
usion
ofprovisi
onsforacquir i
ngcit
izenshipofthecountr
y.Therewasalsoincludedinthe
consti
tuti
onpr ovi
sionsfortheprocedureforamendmentoft heconsti
tution.Judi
ciall
y,Judges
ofthecourtswer eappoi nt
edthroughnomi nati
onbythejudi
cial
servi
cecommi ssi
onupont he
assentofthepr i
vycounci l
.Theprivycouncilwasal
sothehighestcourtofappealint hecountry
.

Theconstit
ut i
ondi vi
dedlegi
slativepower sbetweenthecenterandt heregional l
egislatur
e.It
madepr ovi
sionsf oranexclusivel egi
slat
ivel
ist
.Ital
somadepr ov isi
onsf oraconcur rentli
st.
It
emsi ntheexcl usivel
i
stwer et obelegisl
atedbyonlythecentrallegi
slature.It
emsi nt he
concurr
entlistwer etobelegislateduponbyt hecentral
legi
slat
ur eandt her egi
onallegisl
atures.
It
emsnoti ncludedi nanyofthel istswereregardedasresi
duallistswhichwer ewit
hint hesole
purvi
ewoft her egionall
egi
slature.

Ital
sopr ovi
dedforadualexecut
ive.Thi
smeantthatwehadt heHeadofStateandtheHeadof
Governmenti nt
wodiffer
entpeople.TheheadofgovernmentwasNnamdi Aziki
wewhil
ethe
headofst at
ewasTaf awaBalewa.Theheadofstatehadonlyceremoni
alfuncti
onswhi
lethe
headofgov ernmenthadexecuti
vepowers.Hewasr esponsi
blef
orthedaytodayrunni
ngofthe
acti
vi
tiesofgovernment.

Theconstitut
ional
sopr
ovidedfori
tssupremacy.Thiswasincont r
asttot
heconvent
ioni
na
parl
iamentarysyst
em.I
napar l
i
ament ar
ysystem whatwehav eisparl
iament
arysupr
emacy,not
constit
uti
onalsupr
emacy.
Howev er
,duetotheheterogeneousnatureofNi
geri
a,t
heconst
it
ution
hadt obesupremeinor
dertodissuadefear
sofdomi nati
onofmi nori
tygr
oups.
AlthoughNi ger
iawaspur port
edtohav egainedindependencefrom theBr it
ish,ther
ewer esti
l
l
somev esti
gesofimper i
ali
sm i
ntheindependenceconst it
uti
on.Oneoft hem isthatthequeen
wasst i
lltheheadofst at
e,whowasr epresentedbyaNi geri
an.Also,thehighestcourtofappeal
wast heJudi ci
alcommi t
teeofthepriv
ycounci li
nthehouseofLor dsinsteadoft heNigeri
an
Supremecour t
.I
twasduet othesethatanewconst i
tut
ionhadt obemade.Thi swast he1963
republi
canconst i
tut
ion.

THE1963REPUBLI
CANCONSTI
TUTI
ON

Therepubl
icanconsti
tuti
onwaspassedint
olawbythef
ederalhouseofrepresentat
iveson
Sept
ember19, 1963,andcameint
oforceon1stOct
ober1963.Thiswasaftertheconstit
uti
onal
conf
erenceheldinLagosonJuly25and261963whereissuesborder
ingont hereal
i
ndependenceofNigeriawer
eresol
ved.

Oneofthemai nfeatur
eswast hatthequeenofEngl
andceasedtobetheheadofstat
e.The
headofstatewast hepresidentwhowast obechosenbysecretbal
l
otofajoi
ntsessi
onofbot
h
housesofthenationalassembl y
.thepresi
dentwhowasDr.Nnamdi Azi
ki
wewast he
commander -
in-
chiefofthear medforces.

TheSupremecour tratherthanthepri
vycouncilbecamethehighestcourtofappealinthe
countr
y.Al
so,thejudicialServ
icecommi ssi
onwasabol i
shed.Theappointmentofjudgesand
thei
rpromoti
onwasv estedinthepri
memi ni
ster
.Thepowerofj udi
cialr
evi
ewwasv est
edinthe
Supremecourt.I
thadt hepowert odeclareact
ionswhichwerecontrarytoconsti
tut
ional
provi
si
onsnullandv oid.

Theseat si
nthesenateandhouseofrepresentati
veswereincreased.Thesenatewasi ncreased
from 44to56whil
ethehouseofrepresent
ativ
eswasi ncreasedf r
o305t o312.Thereasonf or
thisi
ncreasewasthecreat
ionofthemid-westernstat
e.Hence, newseatshadtobecr eatedt o
accommodat efort
his.

Despit
eallthesechangesi ntheconstitut
ion,t
herestil
lsomecrit
ici
smsl ev
eledagai nstit
.Fi
rst
wasthatthepr esi
dentwasel ectedbythenat i
onalassembl yi
nsteadoftheelectorates.The
nati
onalassembl yconsi
stedofj ustafewpeopl eincompar i
sonwi t
hthewhol eelectorat
es.Thi
s
mightendupmaki ngthepresidentloy
al t
ot helegi
slatur
einst
eadoft hepeople.
Also,t
heaboli
ti
onoft hej
udi
cialservicecommi ssi
oncouldbesaidtobeabadmov e.Thisi
s
becauseleav
ingtheregul
ati
onoft hej udi
ciar
ywhichoughttobeindependenti
nthehandoft he
executi
vecompromisedthejudi
ciary.Judgeswoul dnotwanttooff
endt hepri
memi ni
steri
n
orderfort
hem t
ogetpr omoted,
therebycircumventi
ngjust
ice.

Duetopolit
ical
cri
sesi
nthecountr
y,ther
epubli
canconst
it
uti
ondidnotlast
.OnJanuar
y15
1966,t
herewasacoupd’et
atwhichremovedthepol
it
ici
ans.Thi
sbroughtaboutmi
li
tar
yrul
e
unti
l1979.

THEPRESI
DENTI
ALCONSTI
TUTI
ONOF1979

In1975,General Murtal
aMuhammedcamei nt
opower .Oncomingtopower ,hepr
omisedto
bri
ngbackci v
il
ianrulet oNigeri
a.Sadl
y,hecouldnotseethisthr
oughashewasassassi nated.
Hissuccessor,Obasanj ocarr
iedonhisvisi
onofusheringindemocracy.A49member
consti
tuti
onaldraft
ingcommi tt
eeheadedbyF. R.
AWi l
li
amswasappoi ntedtomakeadr af
t
consti
tuti
on.Aftertheyweredone, aconsti
tuentassemblyheadedbyJusticeUdoUdomamade
fi
naladjust
ment stot heconstit
uti
on.Theconstit
uti
onwaspr omulgat
edandi tcamei
ntoforce
on1st,October1979.

Theconstituti
onjetti
sonedthepar l
iamentarysystem ofgover
nmentandr epl
acedi twitha
presi
denti
al syst
em.Thepr esidentwasbot hheadofst ateandheadofgov er
nment ,
commanderi nchiefofthearmedf orces.Thepresidentwaschosenbyt heelect
oratesina
generalel
ect i
on.Hedidnotappoi nthisminist
ersf r
om thepar
liamentunli
ketheprev i
ous
consti
tuti
on.Therewasal soanexecut i
vegovernorforeachstatewhowast hechiefexecuti
ve
ofthestate.

Thelegisl
atur
ewasbi cameralwhichconsi
stedofsenat eandhouseofrepr
esentat
ives.The
senatehad95member swhilethehouseofrepresentati
veshad450member s.Thestates,on
theotherhandhadauni camerall
egisl
atur
e.Thelegislat
urehadthepowertoimpeacht he
presi
dent.Soalso,
didthehouseofassembl yhavepowert oimpeachthegovernor
.

Thejudi ci
alser
vicecommissionwasreintr
oduced.Ithadthepowerstorecommendj udgesfor
appointmentsubj ectt
oassentbythepresi
dentandscr eeni
ngbythelegi
slat
ure.Thejudi
ciar
y
wasal sogiventhepowertointer
prett
heconstitut
ionandanydeclareactsthatarecontr
arynul
l
andvoi d.
 STRUCTURESUNDERMI
LITARYRULE

Undermili
tar
ydispensat
ion,botht
helegisl
ati
veandt
heexecuti
vepoweri
sv est
edi
nthe
SupremeMi l
i
tar
yCounci lorArmedForcesRuli
ngCounci
lorNati
onal
DefenceandSecur
it
y
Council
ortheProvisi
onalRuli
ngCouncil
.

Iti
swor t
hytonotethatthemil
it
arygov ernmentthattoppledtheadmi nistrat
ionofAl haji
Tafawa
Balewacamei nwithDecree1of1966cal l
ed“modifi
cati
onandsuspensi on”t hatsuspended
andmodi f
iedtheexist
ing1963consti
tut i
on.Si
milar
ly,Decreesweremadebyt hemilit
arythat
toppl
edtheAlh.ShehuShagariadministrati
onwhichisDecr ee1,1984( modi fi
cati
onand
suspensi
on).ThisDecreemodif
iedandsuspendedt he1979const it
ution.Not ealsothatthe
unsuspendedandunmodi fi
edconsti
tutionalpr
ovisi
onissubj ectt
oami li
tarydecree.

Thesuperior
it
yofami lit
arydecreeov erandabov eunsuspendedorunmodi fi
edconsti
tuti
onal
provi
sionwasf i
rsttestedinthecaseofLakanmi &Or sv .A.
GofWest ernSt ate&ors(1971)1
UILRpg.201wher ethetri
bunal ofenquir
yintotheassetofpubl icoff
icersofWest ernStatewas
setupunderthepubl icoffi
cersandot herpersons( invest i
gati
onofasset ).Edict5of1967made
anordervesti
ngt heproperti
esandaccountoft hePl ai
nt i
ffinthestategov ernmentuntil
the
governoroft
hest ateshalldir
ectot herwi
se.ThePl aintiffchall
engedt hevalidit
yoftheEdicti
n
theHighCourt.TheHi ghcour theldthattheorderv estinghi spropert
yandaccounti nthe
governoroft
hest atewasnotul tr
a-vi
resandtheEdi ctwasv al
idlymade.

Onf urt
herappeal ,thesupr emeCour theldi nf av oroft heappel l
antwher einthedeci sionoft he
tri
alCourtwasov erruledandsetasi debyt heFeder alMi li
tarygov ernmentbyt hepr omul gation
oftheFeder al Mili
tar ygovernment( supr emacyandenf orcementofpower )Decree28of1970
whichoust edt hej urisdict
ionoftheCour tf rom enqui r
ingi nt
ot hev alidityofanyDecr eeorEdi ct
.
Bythepr omul gat i
onofDecr ee28of1970, itwasmadecl eart hatami li
tarydecreear et he
supremel awsoft hel andandt hatthev alidityofei therami l
itarydecr eeoranEdi ctofast ate
cannotbechal lengedi ncourtexceptitcl asheswi t
hDecr ee.TheSupr emeCour ti nasi mi l
ar
caseofMi l
itaryGov ernorofOndoSt atev .Adewunmi (1994)4NWLRpar t336atpg.26st ated
thehierarchyofl awsunderami l
it
aryr egimeasf ol
lows: TheDecr eeoft heFeder alMi li
tary
government , t
heunsuspendedconst it
utional prov i
sions,theexi sti
ngl awsoft heNat i
onal
Assembl y,theEdi ctsofMi li
tar
yGov ernorofst atesandl astl
yt heexi st i
ngl awsoft hest ate.

Notewort
hyisthefactthatanypr ov
isi
onofanystatelaworEdictofmili
tar
ygovernorofastat
e
whichi
sinconsist
entwithexist
inglawsoftheNationalAssemblyorunsuspendedand
unmodifi
edconsti
tut
ionalprovi
sionortheDecreeoftheFederalMil
it
arygovernmentisvoi
dto
theext
entofsuchinconsist
ency .However
,theDecreeofami l
it
arygovernmentatthecent
eris
super
iort
otheunsuspendedandunmodi
fi
edconst
it
uti
onal
prov
isi
ons.

Thejudi
ciar
y,executi
veandlegi
slat
ureunderami l
i
tarydi
spensati
onranf r
om 15thJan1966-
May29,1999sei zedtobeinasingl
ebodyassupr ememi l
it
arycounci
l orprov
isi
onalr
uli
ng
counci
lasthecasemaybe.Theonl ybodyt hatenj
oysali
ttl
ebitofautonomywhi chi
snottot
al
i
sthejudi
ciary.

Underami l
it
arydi
spensati
on,t
heexecuti
veandlegi
slat
ivepowerisbei
ngexer
cisedbythe
SupremeMi l
it
aryCouncil
whichisheadedbytheHeadofState.Thi
ssamebodyact edast
he
l
egislat
ureandexecut
ive.

Concl
usi
vel
y,underami
l
itar
ydi
spensat
ion,
Ther
eisnosepar
ati
onofpower
.

FEDERALI
SM

Gener
all
y,t
heconceptoffederal
ism r
elat
estothediv
isi
onofpowerbetweennati
onal
gover
nment,andot
herregionalorst
ategover
nmentsandsomet i
meslocalgov
ernments.Such
powersmayhoweverbeshar edinvar
iousways,someti
meswithastr
ongercenteror

withweakercent erwhichisoftenreferredtoasco-federal
ism.
BenNwabuezedef i
nes
federal
ism asanar r
angementwher ebypower sofgov er
nmentwithi
nacount r
yar eshared
betweenanat ionalcountr
y-widegov er
nmentandanumberofr egi
onali
zed(i
.e.terr
it
ori
ally
l
ocalized)governmentsinsuchawayt hateachexistsasagov er
nmentseparatelyand
i
ndependent l
yf r
om theothers,operati
ngdi r
ectl
yonper sonsandpropert
ywithinit
sterri
tori
al
area,withawillofit
sownandi tsownappar at
usfortheconductofit
saffai
rs,andwi t
han
authorit
yinsomemat ter
sexclusiveofal lot
hers.

RULEOFLAW

Thehi storyoftheRul eofLawdat esbackt ot hetheoriesofearl

yphilosopher s.Asstatedby
Ari
stot l
e, “
TheRul eofLawi spref
er abl
etot hatofanyi ndi
vidual
”.Adoptingthi stheorytothat
peri
od( Mi ddleAges) ,Bract
on,inthe13t hcent urywasoft heopini
ont hat,“t
heKi nghi mself
oughtnott obesubj ecttomanbutsubj ecttoGod, andthelawbecauset helawmakest he
ki
ng”.Thi swast heext enttowhicht heearlyphilosopherscouldstret
cht heruleofl aw.Much
l
ater,JohnLockeont hesameconceptaddedt hat;
“Freedom ofmenundergov er
nmenti sto
haveast andingruletol i
veby,commont oev eryoneoft hatsoci
ety,andmadebyl egislat
ive
powercr eatedinitandnotbesubj ecttotheconst antandunknownar bit
rary
wi
l
lofanot
herman.
Howev
er,
att
heendoft
heni
net
eent
hcent
uryA.
V.Di
ceydescr
ibedt
he

pri
ncipleofther ul
eofl awasoneoft hetwobasi cprinci
plesoftheEngli
shConst it
uti
on.Duri
ng
thelastthi
rtyyears,prominentj
uristshavedev otedmuchat t
enti
ontothest udyoftheideal
sof
theruleoflaw.InNigeria,t
heSupr emeCour thasemphasi zedonsev eraloccasionsthe
i
mpor tanceandcont i
nuingrel
evanceoft heideaoft heruleoflawevenint hecontextofa
mili
tarygovernment .Av er
ycarefulanaly
sisoft hisi
deaisespeciall
ytopi
cal inNigeri
agoingby
i
tsimpl i
cat
ionaspr ov i
dedinthe1999Const i
tutionFederalRepubli
cofNi geri
a.

Whati
sthei
deaoft
heconceptoft
he“
Rul
eofLaw?
”

*
SupremacyoftheLaw(secti
on1-
31999const
it
uti
on)
:Fort
hepur
poseoft
hisdi
scussi
on,
thi
s
f
ormulat
ioncanbesubj
ectedto

atleasttwointerpr
etat
ions.
Fir
stl
y,i
tmaymeant hatpower , nomat terfrom whom i tcame, must
beexer ci
sedinaccordancewiththeexist
inglawsofthel and. Thesecondpossi bleint
erpret
ation
i
st hattheci
tizencouldonlybepunishedforabreachoft hel awestablishedi nt
he
constit
uti
onal mannerbeforeaconsti
tuti
onall
yconstit
utedcour tofthel and.Thisissuecame
upcompr ehensivel
yinthepopularcaseofMohammedOl ay ori
andot her s.Theissueinthat
casewaswhet heradecreewhichconferredspeci
alpower sont heChi efofAr mySt afft
odet ain
personsduringtheperiodofemergencywasenf orceable.TAYLORC. J.sai d;

“
…Ifwear
etol
i
vebyt
her
uleofl
aw,
ifwear
etohav
e

ouract
ionsgui
dedandr
est
rai
nedi
ncer
tai
nway
sfort
he

benef
it
sofsoci
etyi
ngener
alandi
ndi
vi
dual
member
sin

par
ti
cul
art
hen,
what
everst
atusorpostwehol
d,wemust

succumbt
other
uleofl
aw”
.

Thecour
t,i
nthemosti
nst
ruct
ivemannercondemnedt
hear
bit
rar
y

power soft heChiefofAr myStaf

f.
Inthegener al
sense,t
hef i
rstfor
mulati
onmeanst hattheRul
e
ofLawpr esupposest heabsenceofarbi
trar
yandcapr i
ciouslaw.Theref
ore,f
orapersont obe
punishedf oralaw, t
hatlawmustbewr i
tt
enandascer t
ainable.Thi
swast hedeci
sionofthe
NigeriaSupr emeCour tinAOKOVFAGBEMI( 1969)
1ALLN. L.R.400.I
tisalsoaconstit
uti
onal
provisionbyt heprovi
sionsofsecti
on33oft he1999const i
tuti
onoftheFederalRepubl
icof
Nigeria.

*Equali
tybeforetheLaw: Thispostulati
oni stot
heeffectthateverypersonnomat t
erhisst
atus
i
ssubj ecttothelawsofthel and.Inthissense,i
tmeansequal it
ybeforet helaworequal
subjecti
onofal l
classesofper sonstot heordi
naryl
awoft helandadmi nisteredbytheordi
nary
l
awcour t
.Thi
spost ul
ati
onincludesequal it
y,j
usti
ce,
andequal it
yofrights.Iti
salsoa
constit
uti
onal pr
ovisi
onbyt hepr ovi
sionsofsecti
on17( 1)ofthe1999const it
uti
onoftheFederal
Republ
icofNigeri
AThispostul
ationistot heeffectt
hateverypersonnomat t
erhisstatusi
s
subj
ecttothelawsoftheland.Inthi
ssense, i
tmeansequal i
tybefor
et helaworequal
subj
ecti
onofallcl
assesofpersonst ot heordinaryl
awoft helandadmi ni
steredbytheordinar
y
l
awcour t
.Thi
spostulat
ionincl
udesequal ity
,justi
ce,
andequalityofri
ghts.Iti
salsoa
const
it
uti
onalprovi
sionbytheprov i
sionsofsect i
on17(1)ofthe1999const it
uti
onoft heFederal
Republ
icofNigeri
a.I
nGOVERNMENTOFLAGOSSTATEVOJUKWU( 1986)1N. W.L.R.

621at647Oput aJ.S.C.saidthattheRuleofLawpresupposes,Thatt
hest
ate….i
ssubjectto
l
aw, Thatthej
udici
aryisnecessaryagencyoftheRul
eofLaw, andThatgov
ernmentshould
respecttheri
ghtofindiv
idualci
ti
zens.

*EnforcementofRi ghtsandPr otection:InA.V.Dicey’

sv i
ew, t
heconst itutional l
awofEngl andis
notthesour cebutt heresul toft heor dinarylawoftheland.Di ceyher emer elyemphasi zedt he
protectionofandt heenf orcementofper sonal r
ight
sandf r
eedomsbyt hecour t
sev ent hough
theremaybenowr i
tt
enconst it
ut i
oni nEngl andconferr
ingsuchr i
ghts.Hedi dnotr eal
ly
considert hewiderconst itutional principl
essuchast hesov er eigntyofpar l
iamentwhi chi n
essencemeanst hatpar l
iamentcoul dmakel awsdeny i
ngbot ht heri
ghtandt heremedyand
nothingcoul dbedoneagai nstsuchl aw.Whiletheabovei strueofEngl and, itisnotthesame
casei nalljuri
sdi
ct i
ons.Fori nstance, i
njuri
sdicti
onswher ether earel aiddownconst i
tutional
provisi
onsonhumanr ightsl i
keNi geria,f
undament alhumanr ightsareent renchedi nthe
const i
tuti
onbyv irtueofspeci fi
cchapt ers.Chapter4oft he1999Const ituti
onoft heFeder al
Republ i
cofNi geria.

WRI
TTENBYFELI
XCHI
BUI
KE(UNI
CAL)

(
07089621300)