ELECTORAL LAWS AND CREDIBLE ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA: AN APPRAISAL OF 2010 ELECTORAL ACT ON 2011 AND 2015 GENERAL ELECTIONS

ABSTRACT

Towards the end of 1990, international dynamics, pressures and persuasion combined to move Nigeria towards the embrace of a political system based on the global principles of democracy. The legal framework for this foundation was provided for by Decree No. 24 of May, 1999 which was a prelude to the promulgation of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This inter- alia provides for the transition to civil rule through the conduct of elections by Independent Electoral Commission to the offices of President and the Vice-President, Governors and Deputy-Governors, Chairmen and Vice Chairmen, the National Assembly, the Houses of Assembly and the Local government councils. That attempt was initiated in 1999 and was again repeated in April 2003; April 2007; April 2011and in February 2015. This democratic position is further consolidated by the provisions of the said Constitution which provides in Section 1 (2) that the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any persons or group of persons take control of the Government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Furthermore, Chapter 2 of the same Constitution under section 14(2) (a) and (c) and section 15 (3) (d) strengthen the aforementioned democratic position as it provides that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through the Constitution derives all its powers and authority and the participation by the people in their government shall be ensured in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Stemming from the constitution the Electoral Act was promulgated. The 2006 Electoral Act provided the platform for the rules for the conduct of the 2007 election in Nigeria. It did not provide the free and fair election as desired. This led to several amendments leading to the promulgation of the 2010 Electoral Act which provided the ground rules for the conduct of the 2011 and 2015 General Elections in Nigeria. The thesis appraises the 2010 Electoral Act on the 2011 and 2015 General Elections. It focuses on issues relating to the Elections management by INEC, electoral fraud/ offences ad provided in the Act and the desirability to enfranchise Nigerian Diaspora population. The thesis submits that the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended) did not provide the desired platform for free, fair and credible elections in 2011 and 2015 General Elections in Nigeria. Even as great improvements had been recorded compared to previous Elections. The thesis however submits that amendments to some provisions of both the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended), are necessary to strengthen the Electoral system to give Nigerians free, fair and credible election in 2019 and beyond.

THE CONCEPT OF SULH IN ISLAMIC LAW: A CASE STUDY OF THE PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE OF THE KATSINA STATE SHARIA COURTS

Abstract:

This study entitled “The Concept of Sulh in Islamic Law: A Case Study of the Practice and Procedure of the Katsina State Sharia Courts” has examined the concept of Sulh as a type of dispute resolution in which a third party intervenes to help disputing parties reach a mutually satisfactory agreement and the practice thereby in Katsina State Sharia Courts (KSSC). The research work is predicated upon the problem of the volume of cases coming before the KSSC and the latent absence of formal adoption of the rules and principles of Islamic law relating to amicable settlement of disputes within the judicial setting in Katsina State. The main objective of this work therefore, is to offer a highlight on the concept of Sulh as the Islamic perspective of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). To achieve this, doctrinal and empirical methods of legal research was adopted. It is argued that Islamic law contemplate amicable resolution of disputes some 1400 years ago right from the 7th Century A.D. in advance of any Western move on the subject and in view of this, it was observed that, in its Islamic law conception, Sulh is one of the characteristic features of administration of justice in Islamic law. The findings of the study was that some of the rules of practice and procedure related to the concept of Sulh in KSSC are to a large extent, reminiscent of English style of mediation rules than that of Islamic law per se. Additionally, it was found that much of the current challenges and legal problems associated with the practice of Sulh before the KSSC due to the neglect by the government over the years of affording to Muslims a religiously based amicable dispute resolution as per the provisions of Islamic law. The study concludes with recommendations that Sulhu should be formally recognized as an amicable dispute resolution mechanism alongside adjudication in the KSSC it being more advantageous to Muslims than the Western conception of ADR. It is further recommended that it is expedient that the practice of Sulh shall be extended to the sphere of Islamic criminal justice and in line with this, the Sharia Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code of Katsina State shall be amended urgently to reflect the teachings of Islamic law on the practice of Sulhu in criminal cases. It was also recommended that there shall be accessibility by all persons to the Sulhu-Door facility of the KTMDCH instead of being centralized in Katsina metropolis alone.It is also recommended that theSharia Court Rules and the Sulhu-Door Rules of Katsina State should be amended to additionally reflect the rules and principles of the Shariaor where possible, their replacement with a purely Sharia-based rules of procedure for the Sharia Court and the Sulhu Door respectively.

THE ROLE OF AFRICAN UNION (A.U.) IN PROMOTING PEACE AND SECURITY IN AFRICA

Abstract:

Since the transformation of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) to African Union (A.U.) various measures were adopted by the newly formed organization to promote peace and security in the African continent, apart from the efforts of the United Nations (UN) whose primary purpose is to promote peace and security all over the world. The role of the newly formed African Union has been expanded to include issue of human right promotion, conflict management, promotion of good governance and the issue of unconstitutional change of government. This is the first time in the history of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) that the issue of “exclusive domain” has been removed from the Charter of the OAU and by including in the new Constitutive Act of the AU the right of the Union to intervene in the internal affairs of a member country where there is arm conflict. Various specialize agencies were created in the new AU Act including African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the African Human Right Commission, the African Human Right Court, all in a bid to provide peace and security in the continent. The reason why African Union is promoting peace and security in the continent is simple: peace and security is a desirable societal objective as opposed to war and conflicts and to mark a departure from the traditional one-level belief by the International Community that African countries are more conflictual in nature. The end of the Cold War has altered the international strategic environment and forced a radical revision of the global power structure disrupting the natural harmony amongst people and replaced them with hostile ideologies. African States were products of colonial designs. Their economies operated in a system of global transactions that seems biased against them. After independent, erstwhile colonial masters continued to influence direction by providing aids, advice and models of development, which at the end of it not viii beneficial. Lack of unity, good governance and a strong economic base has made Africans have a significant share of responsibility for its failure. By late 1980s a continent touted as a “continent of promise” in the independence decade of the 1980s was fast becoming a “global basket case.” All through the 1960s and the first half of the subsequent decade, Africa was perceived as having more opportunities than Asia or Latin America but lack basic social structure. The reverse turned out to be the case as the story of African development was marked more by human and natural tragedies combined with remarkable failure of socio-economic and political management, vast population increase, declining food production rates, debts overhang, unemployment, bad governance, lack of good health facilities and accelerated poverty all contributed to lack of peace and security in Africa. African Leaders and some commentators on African Affairs agreed that some of the provisions of the OAU Charter were major barriers to the promotion of peace and security in Africa. Therefore in September, 1999 in Sirte, Libya, African leaders agreed that the OAU is due for review and by July 10, 2002 in Durban South Africa, the formal launching of the African Union took place to replace it with the former OAU. The idea was not only to change the negative perception of the continent as a continent of conflicts and wars but a holistic approach to promote peace and security.