Editing Politics of Nigeria (section)

==Legal system==

The law of [[Nigeria]] is based on the [[rule of law]], the independence of the [[judiciary]], and [[British common law]] (due to [[Colonial Nigeria|the long history of British colonial influence]]). The common law in the legal system is similar to common-law systems used in [[England and Wales]] and other [[Commonwealth countries]]. The constitutional framework for the legal system is provided by the [[Constitution of Nigeria]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=GUIDE TO NIGERIAN LEGAL INFORMATION – GlobaLex|url=https://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Nigeria.html|access-date=2021-05-21|website=www.nyulawglobal.org}}</ref>

The major influences on Nigeria's legal system are:

*[[English law]], derived from its [[British Empire|colonial]] past with Britain: Nigeria belongs to the common law family. This is because English law makes up a substantial part of the Nigerian law. Nigeria, though now a sovereign nation, was once under British rule. Upon gaining independence in 1960, numerous English laws were copied, and most of the laws have since been repealed in England. Nigeria also adopted all laws that were in force in England on 1 January 1900.<ref>{{Cite web |last=ACMC |first=Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka |date=2020-06-24 |title=Meaning & Characteristics of Nigerian Legal System |url=https://bscholarly.com/characteristics-of-nigerian-legal-system/ |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=Bscholarly |language=en-US}}</ref>
*[[Common law]], case law has developed since colonial independence; common law can be defined as that unwritten body of laws based on judicial precedents. For unusual and irregular occurring cases where the result can in no way be resolved by the basis of current laws or written law regulations, common law guides the decision-making process.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Common Law – Definition, Understanding, and Why Common Law is Important? |url=https://cleartax.in/g/terms/common-law |access-date=2022-12-21 |website=cleartax.in |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Customary law]], which is derived from Indigenous traditional norms and practices. In Nigeria, customary law can be divided, in terms of nature, into two different classes, which are the ethnic or non-Muslim customary law and the Muslim law ([[Sharia in Nigeria|Sharia]]). The ethnic customary law in Nigeria is Indigenous, and this system of customary law applies and is valid to members of a specific ethnic group.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-22 |title=Home |url=https://www.cambridge.org/ |access-date=2023-11-25 |website=Cambridge University Press & Assessment |language=en}}</ref> Muslim law is a religious law that is solely based on the Muslim faith and applies to the members of such faith. In the nation of Nigeria, it is not an indigenous law; it is a received customary law introduced into the country as part of Islam.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Enabulele |first1=Amos O. |last2=Bazuaye |first2=Bright |date=February 2019 |title=Validity and Enforceability of Customary Law in Nigeria: Towards a Correct Delimitation of the Province of the Courts |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-african-law/article/abs/validity-and-enforceability-of-customary-law-in-nigeria-towards-a-correct-delimitation-of-the-province-of-the-courts/627B68AFDE12F3AD635CFEF2E50D086F |journal=Journal of African Law |language=en |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=79–104 |doi=10.1017/S002185531800030X |s2cid=150032798 |issn=0021-8553}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-07-28 |title=Customary law |url=https://www.icrc.org/en/war-and-law/treaties-customary-law/customary-law |access-date=2022-12-22 |website=International Committee of the Red Cross |language=en}}</ref>
*[[Sharia law]], law used in some states in the northern region. In two principal respects the sharia law greatly differs from Western systems of law. Sharia law possesses a much wider scope, since it regulates the individual's relationship, not only with his or her neighbors and the state, which is perceived as the limit of most other legal systems, but also with God and with the individual's own conscience. Ritual practices—such as daily prayers (''[[Salah|ṣalāt]]''), almsgiving [[Zakat|(''zakāt'')]], fasting (''ṣawm''), and pilgrimage ([[hajj]])—are an integral part of sharia law and usually occupy the first chapters in legal manuals. The sharia is concerned as much with ethical standards as with legal rules, indicating not only what an individual is entitled, or bound to do in law, but also what one ought, in conscience, to do, or to refrain from doing.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sharia {{!}} Definition, Law, & Countries {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Shariah |access-date=2022-12-22 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Legislation as a source of Nigerian law===
The two fundamental sources of Nigerian law through legislation are:<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = SOURCES AND CLASSIFICATION OF NIGERIAN LAW|url = http://www.mynewswatchtimesng.com/sources-classification-nigerian-law/|website = Newswatch Times|access-date = 2016-02-23|language = en-US|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160221184044/http://www.mynewswatchtimesng.com/sources-classification-nigerian-law|archive-date = 2016-02-21}}</ref>

(1) Acts of British parliament, popularly referred to as statutes of general application during the period before independence.<ref name=":15">{{Cite journal|last=Ollennu|first=N. M.|date=1961|title=The Influence of English Law on West Africa|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/745094|journal=Journal of African Law|volume=5|issue=1|pages=21–35|doi=10.1017/S002185530000293X|jstor=745094|s2cid=144898409 |issn=0021-8553}}</ref>

(2) Local legislation (comprising enactments of the Nigerian legislatures from colonial period to date). There were other sources which, though subsumed in Nigerian legislations, were distinctly imported into the Nigerian legal systems. They are called the ''criminal and penal codes'' of Nigeria.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Nigerian Legal System {{!}} Post-Independence Nigerian Government|url=https://nigerianscholars.com/tutorials/post-independence-nigerian-government/nigerian-legal-system/|access-date=2021-05-21|website=Nigerian Scholars|language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Nigerian statutes as sources of Nigerian law===
Nigerian legislation may be classified as follows: ''The colonial era until 1960, post-independence legislation 1960–1966, the military era 1966–1999''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nigeria – Independent Nigeria|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nigeria|access-date=2021-05-21|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>

=== Post-independence legislation 1960–1966===
The grant of [[independence]] to Nigeria was a milestone in the political history of the country. This period witnessed the consolidation of political gains made during the colonial era. Politicians genuinely focused their lapses on the polity. It achieved for herself a republican status by shaking off the last vestiges of colonial authority.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dunmoye|first=R. Ayo|title=traditional leadership and political hegemony in Nigeria: past, present and future|publisher=department of political science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria|year=1987}}</ref> However, despite the violent violation of its provisions, the constitution remained the subsequent administrations (military or otherwise).<ref name=":1"/><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Maduekwe |first=Nkiruka |date=2014-12-01 |title=Role of the Legislature in Post-Independence Nigeria: 1960–1966 |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/abstract=2813054 |language=en |location=Rochester, NY|doi=10.2139/ssrn.2813054 |ssrn=2813054 }}</ref>

=== Military regime, 1966–1999 ===
The [[Armed Forces of Nigeria]] assumed the rulership of Nigeria from 1966–1979 and 1983–1999.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Nigerian Legal System under the Military Government |url=http://www.wefinder24.com/2022/06/the-nigerian-legal-system-under.html |access-date=2022-12-23}}</ref> The breakdown of law and order which occurred in the period under review would not be attributed to any defect in the Nigerian legal system. Corrupt practices both in the body politics and all aspects of Nigerian life eroded efficiency and progress. There were eight [[Coup d'état|coups]] generally; five were successful and three were unsuccessful.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Nigeria – Military regimes, 1983–99 {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Nigeria/Military-regimes-1983-99 |access-date=2022-12-23 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>