In this post, we looked at History of Courts in Nigeria, Court ranking and Tiers, types of courts, Court of Appeal, Election Tribunals, Supreme Court, etc the features of Nigerian Legal System and Court structure / organization.
INTRODUCTION
The legal system of a nation is critical to the maintenance of law and order in that nation. The legal order is the foundation upon which the peace, order, justice and development of the nation depend. The Courts play a pivotal role in the organization and maintenance of the legal order. This applies to Nigeria. This article examines Nigeria’s legal order especially the hierarchy of Courts in Nigeria, the jurisdictional limits of the various courts in Nigerian as well as the appellate system of Nigerian courts. Nigerian legal system is essentially a colonial heritage which springs from British colonial rule in Nigeria.
Undoubtedly, it is for this reason that Nigeria’s legal system is patterned after the British legal system. However, there is a fundamental difference between Britain and Nigeria in relation to political organization of the state; while Britain adopted the unitary system of government wherein powers of government are legitimately concentrated at the center, Nigeria adopted federal system of government by which governmental powers are constitutionally shared between the central government and federating entities. Directly flowing from these differences in the political arrangements of the two countries is the fact that Nigeria’s legal system and in particular, its court hierarchy ought to be different from that of Britain.
Read: History of Nigeria
This is not entirely correct as Nigeria’s court system retains some essential attributes of a court arrangement suited for unitary systems of government. Despite this seeming anomaly, Nigerian courts are creations of the constitution and it is the constitution that donates the jurisdictional limits of the courts. The same is the case with the appellate system which is also constitutionally and statutorily granted to litigants in Nigeria.
History of Courts in Nigeria
In 1963, the Federal Republic of Nigeria was proclaimed and Nnamdi Azikiwe became its first President. Appeals from the Federal Supreme Court to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council were abolished at that point, and the Supreme Court became the highest court in Nigeria. In 1976, the Court of Appeal (originally known as the Federal Court of Appeal) was established as a national court to entertain appeals from the High Courts of each of Nigeria’s 36 states, which are the trial courts of general jurisdiction. The Supreme Court in its current form was shaped by the Supreme Court Act of 1990 and by Chapter VII of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria.
Under the 1999 constitution, the Supreme Court has both original and appellate jurisdictions, has the sole authority and jurisdiction to entertain appeals from Court of Appeal, having appellate jurisdiction over all lower federal courts and highest state courts. Decisions rendered by the court are binding on all courts in Nigeria except the Supreme Court itself. Courts are the major institution for conflict resolution in Nigeria. In other to understand the history of court system in Nigeria, we must trace it back to the period before and after European colonialism. Before the coming of Europeans in Nigeria, we already had ways that we used in resolving disputes in our different regions. The precolonial western region of Nigeria was partially centralised and highly democratic. This is so because, they followed the principle of checks and balances.
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Unlike the Eastern region, the West had a ruler (Alafin). But powers were not solely concentrated on him. He was checked by the Oyomesi. When he fails in his obligations, he can be removed by Bashorun through the Oyomesi. This helped to ensure that the Alafin is not authocratic. The Western region also had a particular way through which disputes were resolved before colonialism. They had the Oba’s court or palace. The Oba and his cabinet or council of chiefs were the judiciary, rooted with the responsibility of deciding cases of serious offences. Matters of less serious offences could also be referred to the Alafin. Implementation of decisions reached after court cases were done by the “Elege” (Also called the Elegbe). This was the nature of court system in the Western part of Nigeria. In the precolonial era, the Eastern region of Nigeria was a federal community, which is composed of the family heads (That is, the village heads headed by the Okpara), Ala, Ozo title holders, Age grade etc.
It was the largest and most complex community in Nigeria. The Eastern region had serious divisions and districts during the pre-colonial era because of ethnicity. The Eastern region of Nigeria (at that time) was acephalous in nature. They had no central administration. Anytime there is dispute in the society, parties in the dispute were reported to the village heads. The Village heads are people with high prestige, known to be the elders in the community. They will sort for ways to resolve the dispute pacifically among parties. That was the nature of court system in the pre-colonial Eastern region of Nigeria. The Northern region of Nigeria practiced centralization. All administrative powers of the region were given to their ruler (The Emir). Emirs were the head of Northern emirates. They were responsible for resolving disputes in their emirates.
Nevertheless, the emirs did not work alone. He is allowed to appoint officials who will work with him. But this does not reduce his ultimate power in the emirate. The Emir serves as the judiciary in the Northern region of Nigeria before the colonial masters came. When the whites (Colonial Masters) came to Nigeria, they harnessed the indirect rule system (policy of association) to influence and change some of the culture of Nigeria. This system first worked in the north because of the centralization of power practiced there. Afterward, the western and northern regions joined the system after several attempts of duress. Adjudicatory system of dispute resolution was later introduced by colonial masters in the 1980s. They started creating small courts like; customary courts etc.
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Meanwhile, the Supreme Court of Nigeria was built in 1863 by the the Europeans through the enactment of the Supreme Court Ordinance No. II. Until 1963, the final court of appeal was the Federal Supreme Court to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. This was the highest court of appeal in Britain. Note that it was the 1963 Republican constitution (Under section 111) that abolished the privy council of Britain and made the Supreme Court of Nigeria highest. The Supreme Court was later given jurisdiction on matters relating to state and federal laws. Accordingly, the Court of Appeal was created in 1976. It was established to entertain appeals from both federal high and state high courts in Nigeria.
Features of Nigerian Legal System
Nigerian legal system thus refers to the process for interpreting and enforcing the laws in Nigeria. The system is a juxtaposition of many laws. Some of which are; common law, status of general application, equity, customary law, constitution etc. Nigerian legal system has been confirmed to have contributed greatly in maintaining order and reducing chaos in the country. Coupled with that, it ensures that the interest of every Nigerian is protected. Below are the characteristics of Nigerian legal system. The following are features of Nigerian legal system:
- It is adversarial in nature.
- Hierarchy of courts.
- Lots of external influence.
- Judicial president.
- Cultural diversity.
- Influence of military rule.
- Duality
- Fusion of legal profession
- External influence
- Accusatorial
Court structure and organization
The Law of Nigeria consists of courts, offences, and various types of laws. Nigeria has its own constitution which was established on 29 May 1999. The Constitution of Nigeria is the supreme law of the country. There are four distinct legal systems in Nigeria, which include English law, Common law, Customary law, and Sharia Law. English law in Nigeria is derived from the colonial Nigeria, while common law is a development from its post-colonial independence. Customary law is derived from indigenous traditional norms and practices, including the dispute resolution meetings of pre-colonial Yoruba land secret societies and the Èkpè and Okónkò of Igboland and Ibibioland. Sharia Law (also known as Islamic Law) used to be used only in Northern Nigeria, where Islam is the predominant religion. It is also being used in Lagos State, Oyo State, Kwara State, Ogun State, and Osun State by Muslims.
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The country has a judicial branch, the highest court of which is the Supreme Court of Nigeria. The Nigerian constitution recognizes courts as either Federal or State courts. A primary difference between both is that the President appoints justices/judges to federal courts, while State Governors appoint judges to state courts. All appointments (federal or state) are based on the recommendations of the National Judicial Council. The Federal courts are: the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court. The State courts include: the High Court of a State, the Customary Court of Appeal of a State and the Sharia Court of Appeal of a State. Each of the states (currently thirty-six) is constitutionally allowed to have all of these courts. However, the predominantly Muslim northern states tend to have Sharia courts rather than Customary courts. The predominantly Christian southern states tend to have Customary courts and not Sharia courts.
Tier 1 Court: Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of Nigeria is the highest court in Nigeria. It is based in the capital, Abuja. The Supreme Court is mainly a court of appellate jurisdiction and is the final appeal court in the country. It also has original jurisdiction in State vs. State and State vs. Federal Government cases. The Supreme Court is headed by a Chief Justice who is assisted by other Justices. The appointment of the Chief Justice and Justices requires confirmation by the presiding Senate.
Tier 2 Court: Court of Appeal
The next highest court is the Court of Appeal, in Abuja. However, to bring the administration of justice closer to the people, the Court of Appeal has multiple divisions (currently sixteen) in various parts of the country. The head of the Court of Appeal has the title President of the Appeal Court. The President is assisted by Justices. Only the appointment of the President of the Appeal Court requires Senate confirmation.
The Court of Appeal is mainly a court of appellate jurisdiction; however, it has original jurisdiction for presidential and vice-presidential election petitions. The Federal Court of Appeal is where the multiple legal systems (English, Customary and Sharia) of Nigeria converge. It is constitutionally required to have at least three Judges who are versed in customary law and at least three Judges who are versed in Islamic personal law. Judgements from the tier 2 court can be appealed to the Supreme Court (the tier 1 court).
Tier 3 Courts
Just below the Federal Court of Appeal are the tier 3 courts. They include: (1) the Federal High Court and (2) the High Court of a stat e/FCT, (3) the Customary Court of Appeal of a state/FCT and (4) the Sharia Court of Appeal of a state/FCT. The Federal High Court is based in Abuja. In order to bring the administration of justice closer to the people it has a division in each of the thirty-six states of the country. The Federal High Court is generally a court of original jurisdiction.
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However, it has appellate jurisdiction from tribunals such as the Tax Appeal Tribunal. It is presided over by a Chief Judge who is assisted by other Judges. The High Court of a state/FCT is the highest English law court in a state or the FCT. The High Court of a state/FCT and the Federal High Court have similar powers. Due to the fact that there is a division of the Federal High Court in each state and that each state has its own High Court, there is usually some confusion as to which court is which. For example, in Lagos state, there is a Federal High Court, Lagos and a High Court of Lagos State (sometimes referred to as The Lagos State High Court). It is presided over by a Chief Judge who is assisted by other Judges.
The Customary Court of Appeal of a state/FCT is the highest Customary law court in a state/FCT. It is presided over by a Judge who has the title: President of the Customary Court of Appeal of the state/FCT and is assisted by other Judges. The Sharia Court of Appeal of a state/FCT is the highest Sharia law court in a state/FCT. It is presided over by a Grand Khadi who is assisted by other Khadis. Judgements from the tier 3 courts can be appealed to the tier 2 court (Federal Court of Appeal).
Tier 4 Courts: State Courts
The lowest courts in the country are all state courts (there is no federal court in this group). They include (i) the Magistrate Courts that handle English law cases (ii) the Customary Courts that handle Customary law cases and (iii) the Sharia Courts that handle Sharia law cases. Judgements from the tier 4 courts can be appealed only to their respective higher tier 3 courts (e.g., judgements from the English law Magistrates Court can only be appealed to the tier 3 English law court (the High Court of a state/FCT)
Other Courts
Election Tribunals
There are two types of election tribunals viz.:
(1) Presidential Election Tribunals that deal with petitions from the Presidential elections and
(2) Governorship and Legislative Election Tribunals that deal with petitions from the Gubernatorial, Senate and House of Representatives elections and State House of Assembly elections.
Election tribunals are set up by the President of the Federal Court of Appeal in consultation with the Chief Judges of the High Courts of the states, Presidents of the Customary Courts of Appeal of the states and/or Grand Khadis of the Sharia Courts of Appeal of the states.