Judicial Activism

Davidson Iriekpen's assessment of judicial rulings in ThisDay from 2007 contends that a steady rebuilding of authority for Nigeria's third arm of government is gathering pace:

The year 2007 will go down as one year that witnessed more judicial activism and pragmatism than any other in the history of Nigeria. Before 2007, there were cases where judgments were said to have been delivered at nights. Some judges obviously appeared to have their hands being tied, while others hid behind technicalities and the use of ex-parte orders to favour one party or the other in cases before them...The recent patriotic enthusiasm with which players in the third arm of government dispensed justice in several landmark political cases went a long way to show that the judicial arbitrators and decision makers are ready to ensure that the country is on the part of sanity. This year, landmark cases which could have thrown the country into anarchy were resolved. Not left out of this, was the role the apex court, the Supreme Court, play on all of these. It helped in no small measure to illuminate the dark areas of the constitution, to help correct the anomalies in the political system.