The Federal Republic of Nigeria's Legal System
INTRODUCTION
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is located in the Western part of Africa. It became an independent state on October 1, 1960, after about 100 years under British colonization, and attained a republican status within the British Commonwealth three years after in 1963. Since independence, Nigeria has come under both military and civil administrations. On 29 May 1999, after a general election which ushered in the present democratic dispensation, popularly referred to as “the Fourth Republic”, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired Army General and a one-time military Head of State, became the President and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. President Olusegun Obasanjo’s ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party, also won the second term after another general election in April 2003. In view of the fact that 28 of Nigeria’s post independence years were spent under the Military, the country may rightly be said to be experiencing its tender years of democracy. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is made up of 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory located in Abuja. The states are as follows: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara. At independence, Nigeria consisted of three regions, namely, the Northern Region, the Eastern Region and the Western Region. Apart from the Mid-Western Region which was carved out of the Western Region in 1964 through the process laid down by the 1963 Republican Constitution, the other five subsequent exercises of creation of states were undertaken by the Military. Because of the multiplicity of these states, they are as a matter of convenience and political expediency grouped into the six geo-political zones of North East, North West, North Central, South East, South West and South South.
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is located in the Western part of Africa. It became an independent state on October 1, 1960, after about 100 years under British colonization, and attained a republican status within the British Commonwealth three years after in 1963. Since independence, Nigeria has come under both military and civil administrations. On 29 May 1999, after a general election which ushered in the present democratic dispensation, popularly referred to as “the Fourth Republic”, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a retired Army General and a one-time military Head of State, became the President and Commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces. President Olusegun Obasanjo’s ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party, also won the second term after another general election in April 2003. In view of the fact that 28 of Nigeria’s post independence years were spent under the Military, the country may rightly be said to be experiencing its tender years of democracy. The Federal Republic of Nigeria is made up of 36 states and a Federal Capital Territory located in Abuja. The states are as follows: Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross-River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Sokoto, Taraba, Yobe, Zamfara. At independence, Nigeria consisted of three regions, namely, the Northern Region, the Eastern Region and the Western Region. Apart from the Mid-Western Region which was carved out of the Western Region in 1964 through the process laid down by the 1963 Republican Constitution, the other five subsequent exercises of creation of states were undertaken by the Military. Because of the multiplicity of these states, they are as a matter of convenience and political expediency grouped into the six geo-political zones of North East, North West, North Central, South East, South West and South South.