AN APPRAISAL OF MILITARY RULE AND THE NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION
AN APPRAISAL OF MILITARY RULE AND THE NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION
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Date
1999-02
Authors
BASHIR, Yusuf Ibrahim
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Abstract
'Constitution' may be defined as a- document having a
special legal sanctity which sets out the framework and the
principal functions of the organs of government within the
state, 'and declares the principles which those' organs must
operate. Moreover, it includes the whole system of government of
a country, the collection of rules which establish and regulate
or govern the government. Therefore, a constitution may be
written or unwritten. But the practice of most modern
governments, including Nigeria, is to "have a'' written
constitution.
Constitutional principles were gradually introduced into
Nigeria,by the British colonial power from annexation of Lagos
in 1862 to independence in 1"960. Thus, the issue of constitution
for Nigeria has been as old as the formation of the country
itself . Even after independence, the search for a durable
constitution had occupied the government. The post independent
constitutions for. Nigeria were usually short-lived as a result
of Military ' Coup D'etat. "Of the thirt y nine years of the
country's existence, only ten years ' were spent under
constitutional governments. Dictatorships, military or otherwise
are antithesis of constitutional government. The Practice of
Military Governments in Nigeria has been to' suspend or abrogate
some certain sections of the. constitution. A kind of combination
of dictatorship and constitutionalism.
This thesis is an attempt to examine the extent to which
the Military Government maintained constitutional principles.
The extent of military encroachment on the .constitution wil l be
determined. In order to achieve this objective some traditional
constitutional concepts are chosen for examination. Examples of
such concepts are: the rule of law, separation of powers and
fundamental Rights. It is worthy of noting, that the Military
participated in overthrowing the 1963 and 197 9 constitutions but
were responsible for making the 1979 and 1989 constitutions, and
the 1995 draft constitution. The thesis extends to military and
constitution making.
The thesis is divided into six chapters. The firs t chapter
provides a brief background of the study, setting out the
objective, nature, and scope of the study, followed by a brief
literature review and the organisational layout.
While the second chapter begins with the evolution of the
Nigerian constitution. The history and nature of every
constitution that was made or operated at any given time is
discussed. This includes pre, and post independent constitutions.
The role of military Government in constitution making is
highlighted as well. ' .
In the third chapter, the constitutionality of Military
rule is discussed. The Nature of Military 'Governments • is
examined and compared with constitutional one's.
doctrine of separation of powers. Beginning with it s historical
background, that is , how it came into being and finall y found a
place in the constitutions .of many countries. It involves the . -
legislature, executive, the judiciary, and "the principle of
checks and balances in the constitution. The extent to which
military rule affected the doctrine of separation of powers is
also discussed.
The fift h chapter examined the Nigerian bil l of rights.
Fundamental Rights and freedoms were enjoyed by the- subjects or
citizens in Nigeria under constitutional regimes. The enjoyments
of these rights are usually curtailed under military regimes.
So many Decrees were promulgated' by the Military Government,
which adversely affected the citizen's fundamental rights and
freedoms. Al l such Decrees could not be discussed, but most of
them are highlighted.
Finally, chapter six contained a brief summary and
conclusion of what was learned in the course of writing the
thesis. The conclusion is simply that there is no substitute to
constitutional government.
Description
A Thesis Submitted to the Postgraduate School, Ahmadu
Bello University, Zaria in Partial Fulfilment of
the Requirement for the Award of Doctor
of Philosophy Law (Ph.D).
Keywords
MILITARY RULE,, NIGERIAN CONSTITUTION