AN EXAMINATION OF THE DOCTRINE OF SEPARATION OF POWER AND CHALLENGES OF THE JUDICIAL AUTONOMY IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

It is no doubt that people in the country tend to lose trust in the Judiciary especially in a country like Nigeria where most of the citizens disregard the judiciary as a place to settle their disputes freely and fairly because they believe the judiciary is being controlled by other organs and so this project will be examining some of the reasons why the Nigerian Judiciary is not truly Autonomous in practice. For a judiciary to be fully autonomous, the doctrine of separation of power must be adhered to strictly so that other organs know the limits of their powers and not unnecessarily interfere with the functions or influence the judiciary’s decisions in any way. This project is about the examination of the doctrine of separation of powers in Nigeria and how the doctrine affects the judicial autonomy in Nigeria. This project examines what separation of power is and the legal frameworks that enables its operation in Nigeria and also the factors that militate against the independence of the judiciary. This project work recommends that financial autonomy should be given to the judiciary to enable it operate freely without control from other organs and also that judicial officers be given better retirement benefits than what they are given now. This research concludes that there is need for a paradigm shift in the allocation of funds to the judiciary as well as benefits accorded to judicial officers to eliminate corrupt practices by judicial officers and to ensure a practicable judicial autonomy.