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Abuse of powers of impeachment in Nigeria*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2010

Mamman Lawan
Mamman Lawan
Affiliation:
Faculty of Law, Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

The powers of impeachment provided under the Nigerian constitution provide a means of checking the excesses of certain executive officers who enjoy the privilege of constitutional immunity against civil or criminal proceedings while they remain in office. Instead of being invoked in appropriate circumstances, however, this article shows that these powers have been abused. It examines cases of impeachment at the state level during the Obasanjo administration and shows how constitutional provisions were flagrantly breached. It provides evidence that the federal government was complicit in such cases, even though under the federal structure by which Nigeria operates, impeachment at the state level is exclusively a state business. It argues that the abuses are a symptom of imbalance of power between the executive and the legislature as well as evidence of the limits of constitutionalism in the face of politics.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 48 , Issue 2 , June 2010 , pp. 311 - 338
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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