The Machinery of Justice in Nigeria

ABSTRACT

The human society is dynamic, interrelated and ever growing and advancing in every ramification. The rule of the jungle where the fittest and the fiercest is in charge cannot be tolerated if there is going to be anything like civilisation. Yet human nature itself breeds oppression of the weak by the strong - while the evolution of the state itself has to do with protection of the weak from the oppressive tendencies of the strong. The quest for justice and protection brought the law and the law itself is a sure safeguard and handmaiden for Justice. Without law there is no justice, yet persons who are trained to do justice must administer justice itself according to set rules and laws.

The machinery of justice is as important as justice, and the law itself, because it forms the basis, for the dispensation of justice. Where the machinery is faulty the dispensation of justice itself will not be entirely free from fault. The ultimate aim of every good government, and in fact a veritable test of good governance is the faith people repose in the administration of justice, and contentment in the system believing that the judicial system is free from bias, and fundamentally positioned to effect justice in all issues. Failure of the machinery of justice therefore is an invitation to anarchy, when people lose faith in the system. The law of the jungle will take over.

The reason for this paper is to examine the Machinery of Justice in Nigeria, test its efficiency, and determine its adequacy and areas for reform.